Creating a Vision Board

"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.