"When you want something all the universe conspires in
helping you achieve it." - The Alchemist (Paulo Cuehlo)
I created my first vision board well over 15 years ago
when I was in the process of self-discovery
and struggling with feelings of insecurity and feeling lost most days. At the time, vision boards were
unfamiliar concepts. To many, they still are. Back then, I was
intrigued with the idea of finding photos and words that depicted my
future dreams and desires. But honestly, I was mostly just following
along with the program. I have a strong creative streak, so, I just went
with it.
Upon finding this old vision board a few months ago, and
accessing its “half-hazard” nature, (photos found in magazines) I realized that
the goals that I threw on the cardboard made more sense to me now than they did
15 years ago. I had accomplished most of what I outlined, and what I
didn’t fulfill, I noticed that I had been redirected to something more fitting
for my values. I realized also that there is significant power in getting
clear on what we need, want, and value. A vision board allows you to
physically hold in your hands a “vision” for our needs, wants, and values, but
then it goes a step further and it helps us take aligned action towards those
intentions. One of the most powerful decisions I ever made was to take
responsibility for my life, instead of just letting life happen to me. A vision
board is one way of taking that responsibility.
I’m in
the process of creating a new vision board that I hope to have completed by the
end of April 2017. I’m publishing this blog post now, rather than after
its completion to give you the opportunity to come along with me in creating
one. Don’t worry, I will post the final product (and if you choose to
engage, I’d love to see yours as well). So, let’s explore how to do this.
First, you must determine if you want to create your board
the “old-fashioned” way with a glue stick and photos that you locate online
(you could do magazines, but with the internet our fingertips, you’ll have far
more selection for images). Or if you spend a great deal of
time in front of a computer, having a digital board to look at on your phone,
computer, or tablet makes it easy to keep goals and general wants close at
hand. Still, others that I’ve worked with have located images online and
created photo books, inserting their own text and details on each of the
pages. Want to make it more fun? Have a vision board
party. Who can refuse a night of crafting with a side of soul
searching? Or everyone can bring their laptops (you supply the Wifi) and
design their digital board in a group setting. You pick what
method works best for you.
Step 1: Self-exploration-Discern your intentions. What do you want? What do you need? What do
you value? And how do you want to feel when those things are made
manifest? Apply these questions to various compartments of your life such
as: career, wellness, spirituality, relationships, and personal.
This should get you started on a soul-searching journey to assist you in
knowing what images to include on your vision board.
Step 2: Find images. Use
your own photos or photos that you have found online that match your goals, values,
and aspirations. Save them to a folder so that you’ll have them all
together.
Step 3: Decide how you want to
design your vision board. Do you want a vision book? If so, upload
your images to Shutterfly, Walmart photo, Meijer photo, etc. and begin
inserting your images, along with your narratives onto the pages. Do you
want to create an old-school board? Print out your images and begin
organizing them on a poster or cork board. Or lastly, do you want to
design a digital board? PicMonkey is a great website/app to try if you
want to go this route. There are many design features available and size
and orientation are up to you, along with textures and borders. You’ll
need to upload your images to PicMonkey and explore with their options and add-ons.
Step 4: Add your personal
touches. Write inspirational quotes or power words, or find quotes
to download or print to include on your board.
Step 5: Save and display. The beauty of
creating a digital board is that you can save it as your screensaver, and print
several copies to display in on your fridge, in your office, and even your
bathroom mirror. It’s also useful to have a copy in your planner and your
purse to refer to it at will.
Step 6: Reassess at least yearly. Continue to
check in and ask yourself how things are going. Make adjustments and keep
fine-tuning. Trust the process and remember, you wouldn’t be able to dream it
if it wasn’t a possibility.
These steps should give you enough information to get your
vision board project underway. When
taken seriously, this can be a fun, revealing, and purposeful endeavor. Most importantly…Remember this:
The power is not in the vision board, the power is in what you do to make your
vision reality.
