“Crafting a vision board is like painting your dreams onto a canvas of possibility.”
Need a more creative way to think through your goals? Vision boards help us imagine what a positive future could look like for us. Imagining a positive future is a helpful way to increase positive emotions and optimism. And positive emotions often create opportunities and increase the chances of success.
What Is A Vision Board And Why Make One?
A vision board is usually a collage of images that represent goals and dreams. It can include cut-out pictures from magazines and words that help inspire you to manifest your dreams and get where you want to go (here is a complete guide on how to manifest something).
Although vision boarding is a commonly used tool, there is not a lot of research on its effectiveness. Initial research suggests it can help us more easily reach our goals. This may be due to how vision boards help us gain self-awareness and self-reflect on what is important to us.
Even though this research doesn’t directly assess the benefits of making a vision board, it suggests that many of the components of vision boarding have potential benefits for our well-being and success. It’s just key to remember that vision boards are not magic. Rather, they can help you better understand what it is you’d like to manifest.
Things to Think About Before You Make A Vision Board
Start by exploring your values
If your goals are not aligned with your personal values, achieving these goals won’t provide the sense of satisfaction and well-being that you’re seeking. Ask yourself, what really matters to you? What gives you meaning? Who do you want to be? Who do you want to help? And how do you want to spend your time? When making a vision board and thinking through your goals, keep these values-focused questions in mind.
Think about what motivates you
If you pursue goals that you find motivating, you’ll have an easier time reaching them. So ask yourself, what do you want and why do you want it? Does it have anything to do with your childhood or past experiences? Does it have to do with your personality?
Try to better understand why the goals you’ve set are so important to you. Or revise them if you discover they are not as important as you once thought.
Set priorities
Sometimes vision boards can end up being a collection of all the goals we aspire to—being rich, beautiful, and successful. If we really want to achieve these goals, we need to be more realistic with them. What can we reasonably accomplish in a year or five years? You can visualize your priorities by focusing a vision board on your most important life goals or by placing them above, in the center, or over a greater majority of the board.
How To Make A Vision Board
Creating a vision board is a totally personal and customizable activity, so there’s no one way to do it. That said, here are some basic supplies you might want to start with:
- A board for your base. Cork, wire, or a magnetic whiteboard would all work.
- Scissors.
- Depending on your base, pushpins, tape or glue, magnets, or clips to secure images.
- Images or objects that resonate with you and your goal that can be placed on your board. Think magazine clippings, photos, quotes, and more. (Additional ideas for that below.)
- Stickers, markers, or any other extras you want to add, if you so wish.
Once you’ve got supplies gathered, here’s how you could go about creating your board:
Get clear on your intention
Start by asking yourself, what do I want to invite/manifest into my life? It can be a physical thing (perhaps your goal is to buy a house), a personality trait (positivity, motivation, for example), etc.
Zero in on your images and objects
Once you’re clear on what you’d like to use your vision board for, you can hone in on some images and objects that represent your goals. This could be magazine clippings (a favorite of Patel’s), photos—really anything that resonates with you.
Start arranging
This is the fun part! Begin arranging and rearranging your board with the images you gathered. Move things around until you feel inspired when you look at it. It’s best not to glue anything down until you have your layout established. The most important thing is simply to have fun with the process and take your time with it.
Find a place for it
Once you’re pleased with the final product, find a place to put your board where it can provide daily inspiration, like on an altar or your nightstand.
Some ideas to get your vision board started
Depending on what you’re trying to manifest, here are some ideas for objects to put on your board.
For positivity
Magazine clippings that make you feel happy or a quote or affirmation that speaks to you would both fit on this board.
For financial abundance
Yes, you can totally put a crisp bill on your board! For a less literal interpretation, you can also use images that represent financial abundance to you.
For connecting with nature
This is a fun opportunity to incorporate objects such as feathers, pressed flowers or leaves, or small seashells.
For travel
If you’re looking to travel more, think postcards, photos of airplanes or trains, or a photo of you in your favorite destination.
For love
To attract love, find some quotes about, or images of, loving relationships that speak to you. A picture of yourself taken during a moment you truly loved yourself would also fit here.
For inner peace
Look for calming images, cool colors, and quotes that soothe your soul. Objects from nature would also totally work here.
These are just some ideas to get the wheels turning—the options are limitless. When your board starts to feel uplifting and powerful every time you look at it, that’s how you’ll know it’s ready.
How to use your vision board
Once your board is ready, here are some easy ways to use it to amplify the law of attraction and call in the future you’ve mapped out for yourself:
Speak it into existence
One powerful way to use your board for manifesting is to look at it as you list the things you want to create in your life out loud.
Leave some spaces open
By leaving a little open space on our board, you’ll leave room for the things you want to attract.
Let your board inspire action
As the law of attraction explains, simply visualizing your goal isn’t enough—you need to take action too! Let the board serve as a reminder to take small steps toward your goals regularly.
How often does it need to be updated?
As time goes on and your goals evolve, your board will absolutely need the occasional refresher. How often you spruce yours up is up to you. Perhaps you’re craving a total revamp, or maybe you just want to swap out a few images and quotes or affirmations.
You may want to update it annually, for a new year or birthday, but it’s really up to the creator. It’s your vision for yourself, so only you know best when it needs to be refilled or rearranged with your present-day desires and intentions.”
Again, as with anything related to the law of attraction, you’ll need to take action in achieving your goals. But with the help of your newly crafted vision board providing daily inspiration, you’ll be one step closer to manifesting anything it is you’re looking for.
