5 Easy Steps to Creating a Vision Board
Maybe you have heard of vision boards but aren’t sure exactly what they are, or your friend gushes about hers and you are a little jealous (or secretly roll your eyes) or you think it sounds kind of hooey. Isn’t that some law-of-attraction thing?
Yes and no.
Creating a vision board is one of the easiest things you can do to accelerate success — and get more joy flowing into your life while you do it.
A vision board is simply a visual representation of things you want to attract more of in your life, from more money in the bank to new or enhanced relationships to pets to new projects or hobbies that light you up. If you create one and hang it someplace you can see it every day, you will be training your unconscious mind to look out for the things on the board and bring them into your life. It is that simple.
Vision boards also provide a reliable mood booster that can lift your spirits when you need it most. When I quarantined for two months during the pandemic in Connecticut (far from my beloved New York City apartment and normal life) looking at my vision board right by my bed every morning was a reliable source of happiness, calm and hope.
I made my first vision board with friends in an entrepreneurs’ community as a group exercise. I remember how energizing it was to connect what I wanted more of in my life and see my friends’ dreams and plans too. Since then, I have been making vision boards just about every year with fellow entrepreneurs and through teaching vision board workshops. It’s uncanny how many women who attended my workshops return the following year to tell me about new business they closed, cars they bought, pets they adopted and romantic love they found that looked exactly like what they put on the board!
Read on to find out why vision boards are so popular and how to make yours in 5 easy steps.
Why does visualizing work?
Human beings have always loved visualizing what they want more of in their lives. Cave people drew their successful hunts on the walls with charcoal sticks, religious Christians surround themselves with images of Jesus and his good deeds and most families choose to adorn at least some of their walls with photos of favorite vacations and good times. Why wouldn’t we want to see images that make us happy, remind us to dream big, and bring us back to who we are or want to be?
By putting visual representations of the things that light you up into one place, you can easily get the good energy that comes with looking at what you love and want more of. When you look at your Vision Board, imagine these things are already in your life and feel the great energy that brings you. This good energy will help you pursue and get those very things.
Many people believe that through the law of attraction, visualization “magnetizes” and “attracts” the people, resources, and opportunities you need to achieve your goals or fulfill your desires. If you make looking at your vision board a daily practice, you will start to feel unconscious shifts that make it easier to take risks, make bold choices and pursue your dreams. Having a vision board reminds you to focus on what you want (not on what you don’t want, where a lot of people spend much of their mental energy) whether it’s business success, joy with friends and loved ones or adopting a new pet.
5 Easy Steps to Creating Your Unique Vision Board:
1) Collect or buy magazines with pictures you like (some of my faves: Entrepreneur, Fitness, Travel & Leisure, Home & Garden, Vogue, Vanity Fair)
time: 30 minutes
2) Cut out pictures that represent your goals and inspire you and put them in a big pile
time: 60 minutes
3) Find or create motivational “affirmation words” that represent how you want to feel when you obtain the things on your vision board. You can write these or cut out the words or phrases from magazines.
time: 30 minutes
4) Make a collage out of your photos and words on paper or cardboard (see bonus below about lamination)
time: 60 minutes
5) Post your vision board someplace you walk by every day (bedroom, laundry room, office, etc.) and make a few moments to contemplate and enjoy your vision board every day
time: 5 minutes every day
Once you have your Vision Board remember to:
Take note of the changes within you from looking at it every day.
Contemplate how you naturally draw to you the things you most desire.
Express gratitude for the things that came to you from your Vision Board.
Make a date with yourself or friends every year to make a new one. When you do share what came true off the prior one and express gratitude!
Bonus Tips:
Invest in good glue. Glue sticks might be fine for school projects, but I suggest a stronger glue for this such as Scotch Quick Drying Tacky Glue
Try laminating your vision board. For extra longevity, you can have your vision board laminated at a Staples or Fedex. It costs under $30 (depending on the size) and will give it a glossy look and allow you to keep it for longer.
Share your vision board. If you create your vision board with others, your friends can help you find images and phrases to add to your vision board and you will all get to know each others dreams and be able to help each other reach them.
In my mindset coaching, I teach that whatever we have in our life is the result of thoughts we have had over and over again, which became beliefs. These beliefs lead us to take certain actions and get the accompanying results. If you want new results, you’ll need to go all the way back to the beginning of the chain and change your thoughts. A great way to accelerate that thought-changing process is to expose your conscious and unconscious mind to images of what you want. So enjoy making your vision board and having more joy-provoking thoughts, taking new actions and getting new results that take you closer to your desired outcomes.