No one knows for sure, but some speculate vision boards came about during the 1800s or at the start of the pre-victorian era. People then were superstitious, and so creating a vision board was their way of ensuring certain aspects of their future.
Today, we look at vision boards as a goal-setting tool, a wish list, or a manifestation of our future. Either way, putting what you want down on paper does 2 things:
- Helps you visualize what you want and need
- Creates a reminder to stay motivated and inspired
A vision board is personal. It is a gift to yourself that is sacred, to provide you hope as you visualize your future.
Creating a Meaningful Board
When I talk to my clients about their vision boards I hear the same thing repeatedly. They had “fun” finding random pictures in magazines and gluing them to a poster board. Like a craft project. I shake my head because creating a vision board is not a craft project. It is a self-care and self-fulfilling project that absolutely needs to have more meaning than just what pictures you were attracted to in a magazine.
You are important, so we need to be sure there is meaning in this project that is personal as you are.
The Vision:
Your vision starts with your beautiful brain. Think about the next 12 months and where you want to be…
What images pop up in your head?
Where are you?
What are you doing?
What are you wearing?
Who are you with?
How do you feel? Are you happy? I hope so!
What else?
Close your eyes and take a nice deep cleansing breath… think about the next 12 months and allow your consciousness to answer these questions.
Now take a moment and write down what you saw…
Next, fill in the gaps with other wishes, wants, and desires you are hoping for in the coming 12 months.
Alright! We have a vision, so now we can move on to planning out our board. Let’s go!
Download the template at the top or bottom of this page and we’ll get started.
Step 1-Your Themes:
Using the template, you’ll see the top part is broken up into 3 sections. These sections will define your theme for the the coming months and include the following…
- Need: What do you need? Pick 1-3 things that you need. An example of 3 items considering this year may be self-care, exercise, and gratitude. Think carefully about what was missing this year for you and affected you by not having it.
- Mantra: This will become your motto. Some ideas for this may be, “Chin up!” “You are loved!” “You got this!” I encourage you to only have 1 mantra so it’s easy to remember daily.
- Support: Who is going to support you with this vision board? Choose 1-3 people with whom you can depend on, feel comfortable sharing your vision, and who can hold you accountable to take the steps toward making things happen.
How do you feel about what you wrote? If it feels right, you are ready to move on to Step 2.
Step 2-The image:
You’ll notice the bottom of the template split into 5 parts. These 5 parts are various aspects of our lives that will encompass our goals and visions at home, at work, and within ourselves. You’ll simply write down some words that describe what your vision is for these areas.
- Health: How do you envision your health in the new year? Maybe it’s yoga, running, eating better, beating cancer, etc.
- Wealth: Do you want to save, buy something in particular? Start a 401k or savings account? This is what would go in this section.
- Personal: Think about your personal goals, self-care, or spirituality. Write those here such as meditation, long walks, starting a journal, etc.
- Family: How do you envision family life? Maybe it’s dinner at the table, road trips, playing with kids more, etc.
- Career: What career goals do you have? If you’re not working, this section may be goals for managing your household or finding a job. If you are working, maybe it’s to be promoted, work less, ask for a raise, or start a side hustle.
Not sure what to put here? You can check out this post to complete the Wheel of Balance and see what areas may need a little extra TLC in your life.
Now we have our “outline” you will use to create our vision board, woohoo!
Step 3-Putting it all together:
For this part, you will need to grab a sheet of poster board, foam board, or a large sheet of paper. I like to cut it in half so it’s more manageable, however, feel free to use the whole board if you wish. At the top center, you are going to write “The Year” and your mantra from Step 1. Feel free to get creative here with that mantra and choose colors and fonts/handwriting that speak to you. I want you to be able to look at it and feel happy about it!
Next, break out those old magazines, Google images, colored pencils, markers, or whatever works to start cutting out or drawing visual images from Steps 1 and 2. If you can’t find something relevant to what you wrote on the template, feel free to draw it or write text. There are no rules to what you can use on your board. I’ve seen people get extra creative by gluing sand to their board for a beach or spraying with glitter because they want a little sparkle in their life, so go for it!
Once you have your visuals ready we can put it all together. YAY!
Use your template as a guide for where you put the images on your board. Some people like to write out the headers like on the template and others just use the images in the same areas, whatever works for you. It only matters if you know what it means.
Step 4-Putting Your Vision to Work:
Once your board is complete, work through it starting with your mantra and then the different areas of the board. Get excited about what you’re manifesting and place this board somewhere where you can look at it daily as a reminder to yourself and the universe to bring it to life.
The idea is that the more you see it, the more you’ll reach out for support, take accountability for reaching your goals, and continue to remind yourself of what you want for your life in the coming months. Go ahead universe, start manifesting for me, I’m ready!
Pop some bubbly and bask in this self-care activity for yourself. You are on your way to designing the life you want. ❤️✨
