As we dive into 2022, it’s important to set goals and look towards a bright future. The best way to manifest these goals into reality is through creating your very own vision board! You can make a vision board at any time, such as when you are experiencing a big change, entering a new phase of your life or trying to make a decision. Starting the year with a vision board can help you focus on what’s important to you, really honing in on what you want to work towards, so making it a New Year’s tradition is a great idea. So, let’s start with the basics and go from there.

What is a Vision Board?

To put it simply, a vision board is a tool for visualizing your dreams, goals, aspirations, and desires. By visualizing these things, it provides something more concrete to work towards. After all, when things are abstract, they tend to feel unattainable or unachievable. By creating your vision board, you collage together images, quotes, and perhaps other things, to paint the picture of what you’re working towards, which can then serve as a constant reminder for you. This will not only help you focus on those abstract goals but can really keep you motivated as you go through the year. Poster board is a common medium, but consider cork if you want something a little fancier, or even a digital medium if that’s within your comfort zone.

Supplies

The whole idea of making a vision board is to let your creativity run wild, but there are a few materials you will need to gather first for an ideal experience:

• Poster board in any size/ Cork board/ Any other cute decorative surface that calls to you
• Scissors
• Glue
• Several magazines
• Pens or markers in different colors
• Stickers and embellishments
• Glitter
• Washi tape
• Any other objects that inspire you and make you happy!

Find pictures that represent your goals and inspire you

Go through some magazines and cut out pictures that represent your goals and speak to your heart in some meaningful way.  Look for those that immediately make you say, “Yes! That is what I want in my life!” They don’t have to be physical objects or literal interpretations. Instead, focus on how the images make you FEEL. For example, if you’d like to move to a home surrounded by a beautiful forest, don’t worry if you can’t find a picture of your exactly perfect dream home. Perhaps a picture of a serene clearing in the woods will be enough to inspire you. Once you have collected enough photos, it’s time to make your vision board! Arrange your photos on your poster paper or other medium, into an aesthetic display that appeals to you. Then glue or tape your pictures to hold them in place.

Everyone has an ideal vision for their own life, and if they’re being honest, no one really has that ideal. That’s where vision boards come in. They’re an opportunity for us to give form to the mental picture we have of what we would love our reality to be. Where we live, places to which we might travel, experiences we have, jobs we’re in or businesses we run; these are but a small sample of what we can envision. Using a vision board, you’ll have a constant visual reminder of what you really want, which will allow you to make choices based on the goals you’ve set for yourself. When your to-do list becomes overwhelming, you can stop to look at your board and be reminded of your bigger picture, and maybe some of those to-do items don’t really need doing. Just remember, though, that vision boards are for reminding yourself what you do want, not what you don’t want. You already know what you don’t want, and having a vision board constantly reminding you of it won’t help anything.

What areas of my life do I want to cover?

Grab a piece of paper or a notebook and write out all of the areas of your life where you want to see something new or beautiful come to fruition. Here are some subjects I typically write down before adding pictures to my board:

• Business goals
• People I want to meet
• Home décor ideas
• Places to travel to
• Financial goals
• Classes to take
• Garden plans
• Books I want to read
• Health goals
• Diet goals and ideas
• Relationship Goals

Dream big! Don’t be practical! Putting together a vision board is not meant to be an exercise in limiting yourself. The “how” should not really be part of the equation when setting your goals on your vision board; it’s not a bulleted list to keep you on track for your 18-point plan to get a promotion or save up for a new house or car. It’s a chance to envision yourself in your dream life, comfortably existing there. Having an actual crystalized vision for you to refer to is a powerful thing and will immediately put you leaps and bounds ahead of anyone who doesn’t. By creating a vision board, you’re already taking the first step towards manifesting your dreams. Whether you think of this as something spiritual, or if you just chalk it up to tricking yourself psychologically, it doesn’t really matter. Being able to see the thing makes it real, and real things are obtainable things.

About Words and Affirmations

Words, phrases, or affirmations are common components to vision boards. It is often said that the most powerful words in the world are those that follow “I am.” This is the most direct way we can influence our perception of ourselves, which will in turn effect how we interact with the world. Other powerful choices include “I will,” “I have,” or “I feel.” Just remember to keep all of your language positive!

Another practice is to choose “words to live by” this year. Some choose a specific theme or a word for their year. Others choose two or three. Take a few moments to contemplate your vision board every day to get the full benefit. It’s important for you to place it somewhere you can see it often and organically for optimal reinforcement. If you have a home office or a cozy area where you like to spend time getting work done, this makes a great spot! I like to review my vision board every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep. This prompts the subconscious mind to come up with new ideas on how to achieve your goals so you can wake up in the morning bursting with motivation to succeed! Stay positive, stay motivated, and you will rock this new year!