Vision Boards - The What, Why & How

What is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a fun, fresh and funky alternative to traditional forms of written goal setting. If you are a visual person you will just love it! If you aren’t visual, then try this as a great way to get a different perspective. Simply put, a vision board is a collage of images; pictures; textures; words; phrases; colours and affirmations that represent your goals and desires. They are sometimes called ‘dream boards’, ‘treasure maps’ or ‘vision maps’.

Why you should make a Vision Board?
Vision boards are very flexible goal setting tools and can be used to great effect to represent your personal goals. Every dream you have for your life is a valid contender for a place on your vision board. The size of your goals is not an issue. Goals can be short, medium or long term. You could even time zone your board to show what you want at different points in time. You can represent one or multiple goals on the board.
One of the major benefits of making a vision board is to work on your goals at a subconscious level. In terms of achieving your goals, the subconscious mind is a powerful driving force that you can harness! By making a vision board and focusing on what you want every day, you are strengthening and reiterating your thoughts; concentrating them until they grow stronger. A visual representation of your goal, placed in a prominent position helps you to intensify your thoughts and draw in bigger rewards. It lets your subconscious mind get to work. As a consequence, you will start to move towards your goal with greater ease, every day.

Where do you start?
If you fancy giving this a go, you will need:-

• A bundle of various types of magazines, Sunday supplements, travel brochures, hobby related publications etc.
• Some thoughts about your goals / dreams / desires (nothing is too big or too small)
• Personal pictures, fabric, glitter, stickers, coloured pens / pencils / crayons etc.
• Scissors
• Glue
• Coloured card (A1, A2 or A3 work well)

Now, spend some time thinking about what you really want. What do you want the future to hold? What do you desire most? Be as precise as possible. If you want a new place to live, think about where it's situated; what is around it; what does it look like; how do the outside walls feel against the palms of your hands; how does the garden smell; what can you hear when you are standing in the kitchen with the window open? Take time to build up a really strong image.
N.B. There are no limits to the number or variety of goals you can put on your vision board; however I would recommend that you aim for 1-4 goals if you want to try this for yourself.
Next...

• Grab a pile of magazines and find the pictures, words, colours, textures, etc. which embody the goal for you.
• Cut them out and make a pile of the stuff you want to use.
• Review this stack and discard any which at second glance don’t feel right to you.
• Start to position these roughly on a piece of coloured card (A3 – A1 sizes are ideal).
• Check again! Is there anything which looks out of place, doesn’t quite fit or feels wrong? Is there a specific image you want but haven’t found? (You can always print something from the Internet if you need to).
• When you are happy, stick your cuttings to the board and add any embellishments (ribbon, glitter, stickers, hand drawings, handwritten words or phrases) to emphasise your goal.

What if you don’t have time?
If you are busy with a full time job or your own business, spending an hour or two now, getting very specific and focused on what you want, could save you hours and days of drifting. Imagine if you could set up your goals so clearly that everything you did could be quantified to see how if contributes to your goals.
If you are a Mum you probably think that you don’t have time to create a vision board. I’d say, get the children involved too! What better way to spend a cold winter’s afternoon than with your children making a collage? Last year I did this with a friend and her 5 year old daughter. We had a great time!

Give vision boards a go! Enjoy the childish joy of cutting and sticking and the freedom to explore and express your dreams.