This post is all about making a vision board.
The Ultimate Guide To Making A Vision Board
Are you tired of feeling lost, looking for purpose, looking for love, or comparing yourself to others? Ready to reinvent yourself, replan your life and set yourself up for success?
“At any given moment you have the power to say: this is not how my story will end.”– Christine Mason Miller
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.”– Anatole France
“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.”– Denis Watiley
It’s going to be hard to live your dream life if you’re not clear about what you actually want.
Oh, you just want to feel free? What kind of freedom are we talking about? You want money, but how much? You want love, but what does love mean to you and what does it look like?
Making a vision board can help you organize your thoughts and your desires and it’s your permission to dream big. It’s the first step you need to take in order to create the life you want and deserve to live.
Keep on reading to find out how to make a vision board that works, how to make a digital vision board, to download free vision board printables, and more!
Related: 52 Powerful Vision Board Quotes To Help You Reach Your Goals
The past two years haven’t been easy for anyone. The pandemic has definitely turned many people’s lives upside down. We had to adjust in so many ways, cancel plans, shift our focus and take a closer look at ourselves, our lives, and our priorities.
However, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and frustrated that things didn’t go as planned, let’s, first of all, be grateful that we’ve made it through it all but also let’s take this opportunity life handed us to reinvent ourselves and replan our lives.
A wonderful, creative and fun way to do so is making a vision board.
“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”– Benjamin Mays
I feel like even though so many people talk about vision boards and so many successful people swear by them, they still have the reputation of being a silly activity for superstitious hippies or naive teenagers. And if that’s what you think I want to tell you, you’re missing out on a great tool for goal setting, for clearing your head, for self-care, and for setting yourself up for success.
First things first, what even is a vision board?
A vision board is all about visualization. Imagining what you want, dreaming big, and then putting it all on paper (or digitally) in the form of pictures, words, quotes, etc. It’s a goal-setting tool and it’s a self-care practice. It’s daring to dream big, it’s a step towards taking charge of your life.
Visualization is a powerful technique that can be used by anyone in a competitive setting. In fact, the most successful athletes in the world visualize their success before a competition. – esportshealthcare
Vision boards help you set goals, stay motivated, and stay hopeful. You need to know what you want, to get it and not miss it when it’s right in front of your eyes.
“As every architect or designer knows, there is a critical step between vision and reality. Before imagination becomes three-dimensional, it usually needs to become two-dimensional. It’s as though the unseen order needs to come to life one dimension at a time.” ― Glennon Doyle, Untamed
Making a vision board can be a vital part of reaching your goals.
A simple goal-reaching formula could look something like this:
1. You visualise your goals
2. You put them down on paper
3. You take action
4. You reach your goals and beyond as your mind is set up for success, your heart is full of faith, your vision is clear AND you put in the work
How to create a vision board that works?
- Take your time
I highly recommend making a vision board when you actually have the time, when you can relax and focus on your goals and enjoy the process - Be in a good mood
it’s supposed to be fun and feel inspiring and exciting to dream up your desired future, hence it’s recommended to work on a vision board when you’re in a good mood. However, I must say for me, the process of making a vision board can shift my perspective on life towards the positives, make me feel more grateful as well as more excited about what’s possible and so my mood improves too and I believe it can be the case for you as well.
That’s why I see making a vision board as a self-care practice and encourage you to try it out for yourself and see what it does to you - Use visuals that actually match your aesthetic and inspire you
if you don’t have magazines at hand that match your aesthetic and your printer is out of ink, I’d say either make a digital vision board instead or start with a brainstorming session, a pen, and a piece of paper. And then move on to creating a physical board once you can print out or cut out visuals that truly speak to you
To make a vision board work you simply need to do what works for you, what speaks to you.
There is no right or wrong way of doing it.
There are various ways to go about it and in this part of the post, I’ll share with you tips and ideas on vision board categories, what you can use to create one, how to make a digital vision board, how to use a vision board and I’ll be sharing free vision board templates/worksheets to help you get started.
You choose and take what you like and decide for yourself how you want to go about it.
How to use a vision board?
Some people say you should hang up your vision board somewhere you see it daily and then take your time to visualize your dream life while looking at the vision board. Others prefer to create it and then put it away and even forget about it.
Do what feels most inspiring and exciting to you!
Vision Board Ideas And Types
You can have one vision board type or multiple. You can use printed-out photos, words, and quotes or cut them out of magazines. You can then pin them to a corkboard, glue them into a notebook or onto a piece of paper. You can also create a digital vision board and set it as your wallpaper and/or lock screen.
You will love these Daily Affirmation Cards for Women
The Ultimate Step By Step Guide To
Making A Vision Board
What you will need:
- Your base: a corkboard, a whiteboard, cardboard, or a notebook
- Pen and a piece of paper or my worksheet (check free printable below)
- Visuals: printouts (so computer + printer), quotes, words, magazines/ magazine clippings, postcards, photos, dollar bills, stickers, and so on
- Scissors
- Glue/tape/pins (depending on your base)
Steps #1 and #2 are about organizing your thoughts and putting them down on paper in the form of words, not pictures just yet.
Make sure to get your free vision board printables! I’ve created a little something for everyone. A worksheet that will help you define your categories, two templates to write down your goals (one with categories already filled in, one where you can come up with your own). Moreover, a page with inspiring phrases as well as one with Bible quotes that you can print out, cut out and add to your vision board.
Step #1 Define Your Categories
It’s easier to think about what you want and to find visual representations of that if you don’t have one big chaos in your mind but rather focus on different areas of your life one by one.
Examples of categories: mental, physical, spiritual, financial, health, relationships, love, family, career, passion, work, travel, material, home.
Again, there are no rules here, you know best what you want to focus on, how your life is structured, and what speaks to you.
For instance, you can put your dreams as far as an intimate partner, friendships and family go in one category under relationships or if you think you have a lot of specific wishes for each of them, you can separate them and create a category for each individually.
Once you’ve made up your mind, which of course you can always change later on, write down your categories on a piece of paper.
Step #2 Write down your goals and dreams for each category
Now is the time to get clear on your vision. What do you want and need? Start imagining your dream life and then write down specific things under each category from step #1.
Try to be specific.
Your goals can be both ones that you’re likely to achieve very soon if only you take certain steps or ones that you have no idea when and how to achieve.
Let your heart be your guide.
“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”– W. Clement Stone
“Success comes from having dreams that are bigger than your fears.”– Bobby Unser
This is NOT the time to think about what you should want, what you should do, how you should be. This is the time to set all limitations, doubts, outside voices, and circumstances aside and truly focus on your deepest dreams and desires. No matter how unattainable they may seem at this point in your life.
Step #3 Find visual representations of your goals
Now onto the fun part. Seeing your goals in front of you, black on white on a piece of paper will help you find visuals that speak to you and best represent your goals and dreams.
You can go about it in various different ways. Either look through magazines and find pictures and words/quotes that inspire you and cut those out. Or you can search for specific things online and print them out. You should definitely try using Pinterest if you need some inspiration.
Step #4 Divide your board into several areas and lay out your visuals
You can either write down your category names or just in your head divide your board into several areas, each for a different category. Once you’ve done that, you can start laying out your visuals. Keep playing around with the layout until you’re happy with the result, then you can glue/tape/pin it.
Step #5 Find a place for your vision board
It is recommended to place your vision board somewhere where you’ll be seeing it daily. That could be your bedroom wall, your office desk, your nightstand, and so on.
However, I’ve mentioned before that some people prefer to put it away and don’t look at it for weeks, months, or even years. This will also depend on how short or long-term your goals are.
How to create a digital vision board?
If you’d rather have your vision board on your devices than in physical form, that’s also possible.
Simply follow steps #1, #2, #3 above. Then find your visuals online and download them.
Next, you can use any website, app, or program that will allow you to create a collage representing your dreams.
I recommend checking out canva, picmonkey, or adobe spark. All of those are free, super easy, and intuitive to use and come with a bunch of layouts and templates that you can customize to create your vision board. You can add text and choose the font and colors that truly speak to you.
When it comes to using your digital vision board I highly recommend setting it as your background and/or lock screen.
So there you have it, I hope you’re ready and excited to create your very own vision board.
You don’t have to settle for one type of vision board only, you can definitely have a beautiful collage on your bedroom wall, a notebook on your nightstand where you can keep adding notes and create action plans (which we’ll get into in one of the next posts), as well as having a digital vision board on your phone, tablet or laptop that you’ll always have with you.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”– Eleanor Roosevelt
Now It’s Your Turn!
This post was all about making a vision board.
