Create a Vision Board That Actually Works

Have you always loved the idea of making a vision board, but never got around to actually making one? Or you just never know what to put on it? Or maybe you make a vision board every year, only to be disappointed when nothing on your board comes true.

I feel you, sister! As a former avid scrapbooker and homemade card-maker, I’ve always loved the idea of sitting down to make a giant collage of all my hopes and dreams. But then I would sit down to do it and feel absolutely paralyzed because I didn’t even know what my hopes and dreams actually were, so how was I supposed to make a collage out of them? And even if I knew what they were, it seemed so far-fetched to believe that just because I put something pretty on a poster board, it was to become reality.

Honestly, it can be a little far-fetched if you think the work ends when you put your glue away. If you don’t know what you actually desire, it will be difficult for the Universe to bring it to you. So in that way, visualization is a powerful tool for manifestation. But the real key to manifesting all those beautiful desires is to align with them. I’ll get to this (very important) part at the end of this post, but first let’s make that board!

In my typical Type-A fashion, I have created a system for 1) figuring out my vision, 2) creating a board to reflect that vision, and 3) making a plan to bring the vision to life. Take a gander and if this resonates with you, try it out and tell me how it works for you!

Step 1: visualization

Find a quiet place to sit comfortably. Take some deep belly breaths and settle in. Bonus points if you do a little 5-10 minute meditation beforehand. The goal here is to quiet your mind/ego so that your Soul self can come through, without any blocks, negative thoughts, or limiting beliefs getting in the way. Then you’ll start to visualize your IDEAL day. Get very specific here. Where are you waking up? Who are you waking up next to? What time is it? What are you wearing? What is your morning routine? What do you do next? If you work, what do you do for work? What kind of car do you drive? Are you taking a trip somewhere? How do you spend your free time? What is your demeanor/attitude like? How do you interact with the people you meet throughout your day? How do you treat your partner and children? Try to imagine this ideal day in as much detail as possible, so that you can feel it in your body.

Tip: Your mind might interject with thoughts like “that’s too far fetched,” “that would never happen,” etc. That is completely normal because your ego is trained to see things “as is,” based on your accumulative beliefs, patterns, and past experiences (i.e. conditioning). It’s important to take note of these thoughts without judgement so that you can work on re-training your mind, and then release them gently and remind yourself to visualize your ideal day without limits.

Step 2: write it down

Take out that pretty journal that’s been collecting dust and write down what you visualized in as much detail as you can. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, just let it flow out of you.

Step 3: give yourself some guidance

Write down the areas of your life that are important to you. Mine for example are: spiritual growth, physical health, relationship, parenting, home, purpose, friendships/family, charity. Whatever yours are, just write them each down, leaving a few blank lines underneath. In those blank lines, write a short sentence that sums up how you’d like to improve that area of your life. For example you might write “connect with my partner on a deeper level” or “maintain a healthy weight.”

Important: whatever you write should make you feel excited, not dread. If you write “lose 40 pounds” and that thought immediately gives you anxiety, cross it out and find something else that makes you feel hopeful, excited, and inspired, like “feel confident in my body.”

Step 4: time for the fun part!

Break out all your old magazines (if you don’t have any, go to your local library! A lot of times they give old magazines away for free) and start snipping away! Flip through them and cut anything that jumps out at you. You’ve already primed your mind to think about your vision, so trust your intuition here. If you have a sudden urge to cut out a pretty picture of a turtle even though there was no turtle in your vision, cut it out anyway! Again, the important thing is that everything you choose makes you feel excited. Then paste everything onto your board in a way that looks pretty to you. I personally like to group things together to correspond with my life themes (told you I’m Type A), but yours can be completely random if that lights you up.

Step 5: put it to action

Now you have this beautiful board that you’re hopefully going to gaze at for at least two full minutes daily, it’s time to start making moves! For each area of your life that you wrote down earlier, now start thinking about small, tangible things you can do to start moving closer to your vision.

For example, if you wrote “feel confident in my body,” you might write “read a book about body positivity,” “get a self-love coach,” and/or “learn how to eat optimally for my body.” If you wrote “connect more deeply with my partner, you might write “set aside one hour per week to have an open, honest conversation without distraction,” “hire a love and relationships coach,” or “find a hobby to explore together.”

Then look at your week ahead and schedule it in! Read 10 pages of that book every night, or actually schedule a couples cooking class for next Wednesday. Commit to it right now.

Step 6: face the music

Here comes the uncomfortable part, where the real transformation happens.

As you start to commit to your growth and vision, your past conditioning, limiting beliefs, negative thoughts, and unsupportive people will come out of the woodwork. At this point, you have 2 choices: give up and go back to the discomfort you’ve been living with, OR forge on, do the inner work, and step into the kind of discomfort that will catapult you into real, lasting transformation.

Basically, you’re gonna be uncomfortable either way. It’s your choice which kind of discomfort you live with. Just remember this: the voice that says “it’s not worth it,” is not your voice. It’s the collective voice that we all hear when we’re about to grow exponentially. Many of us listen to that voice and spend our lives stuck in the same crappy place. But a few brave souls choose not to believe that voice and those are the souls who change the world, starting with their own.

Need support?

I got you. Download my free 2018 Reflections & 2019 Intentions worksheet to help you get clear on your vision and check out this recording of last month’s live virtual vision board party. If you’re really ready to dive into this work, apply here to book one hour with me (free) to help you gain clarity and direction.