Have you ever wondered how to make a vision board? What’s your goal-setting process like?
How do you prioritize your time? Have you set goals but struggled to keep them? Have you ever attended a Vision Board Party and thought that you’d change your life forever?
Maybe you’ve created a DIY Vision Board or you may have even taken it a step further and created a few dream boards.
No matter what you’ve done in the past, how many goals you’ve reached, or how many are still in progress, there are always ways to fine-tune your goal-setting and visualization techniques.
One of our favorite goal-setting tools is a vision board but we also cover some other excellent techniques and free vision board templates for you!
How to Make a Vision Board 101: Unlock the Power of Visualization
You may have heard some highly successful people chat about the law of attraction, manifestation, or the power of intention. It’s no surprise that some very successful people use tools like visualization to see their dream life and then set up goals to get to their ideal destination.
Oprah is a huge proponent of Vision Boards along with Beyonce and Katy Perry.
Why do these celebrities love vision boards? By keeping your goals close and visible, you’re more likely to achieve them. Additionally, you can positively change the way your brain thinks by using visualization.
Tony Robbins promotes using visualization as a part of a morning priming process that allows him to become more self-aware, and grateful, and gain confidence to achieve his goals.
But Do They Really Work?
We did some research on vision boards and visualization and found very few studies or information that provided scientific backing for vision boards. When it came to visualization though, we found some compelling evidence that it can be a very empowering tool.
You’ll find a quick step-by-step guide below but we also would like to remind you that without action, your vision board may not work.
Many people believe that if you use the power of manifestation to just believe you’ll achieve goals, they will come true. We love positive thinking but we also believe that action needs to be taken to achieve your goals.
Here is some info we found on visualization:
- Studies on visualization or mental imagery have been done for almost 100 years. In 1934, David Sackett found that while physical action is key for performance, mental imagery can also help to increase effectiveness and performance.
- Using mental imagery and visualization has been proven to increase the speed of rehabilitation and healing.
- Research has shown that performance as well as stress reduction is affected by mental preparation strategies such as visual imagery, activation, self-confidence, attentional control, relaxation, goal setting, and self-talk.
What to Do Before Building a Vision Board and Visualization Practice
While there is no direct evidence to support vision boards, most of the research does show that subjects who have conviction in their goals and think positively can work to achieve their goals faster.
Now… how do you go above using these techniques?
Below are a few steps to help you on the goal-setting and vision board journey!
Step 1: It’s Massively Important to Figure out Your Goals and Dreams
Okay, so you might not have all your goals and dreams figured out but in order to achieve your goals and dreams, it’s important understand them and write them down on paper.
One key factor of goal setting is writing down your goals and trying to break down the steps to achieve them.
Pro Tip: Spend some time alone and reflect on your goals. What makes you happy? Where do you want to be in 5 years? If you need some help to get the ball rolling, start with some broad categories and think about different areas of your life.
Some key goal-setting categories are relationships, career, fitness, health, financial goals, and lifetime goals.
Take it a step further and instead of just creating a vision board, write your goals on the back of your poster or write your goals down on a notes page on your phone.
Step 2: Make Your Goals Crystal Clear and Also Attainable
If you want to get healthier in 2022, that’s amazing (we love this goal) but how do you measure “healthier”? Think about something that you can set a goal around that involves health. If you want to be healthier in 2022, maybe you set a goal of drinking enough water each day or getting some exercise 5 days a week.
If you set goals but there is no way to measure progress, your goals can be difficult to reach. In order to set successful goals, it’s important that they are clear, can be measured, and also attainable!
We say this with an asterisk because sometimes you need to set goals so big that they do not seem attainable but when we say attainable, we mean possible. There are some things in life that just can’t be done – you will never be 5 inches taller and you may not be able to turn back time and stop aging.
Setting attainable goals is something that you are able to do and will not cause complete chaos in your life. If you want to increase your salary, this is a wonderful goal but if you want to triple your salary in 2 days, this is not attainable.
Be honest with yourself and create a weekly and monthly plan to help with your goals!
Step 3: Where Vision Boards and Visualization Come Into the Equation
Now to the fun part! Now that you have your goals written down, vision board sections, and attainable timelines, you’re ready to create a beautiful vision board. You might google – how to make a vision board?
Well, in 2022, vision boards can be made on canva, pinterest, with a glue stick and magazines, or with vision board quotes and images.
Before creating your dream board, think about how you’d like it to look.
Do you want to make a physical creation with vision board stickers? Would you like a vision board on your phone? Do you want to create a Pinterest board where you can keep adding images?
Once you’ve figured out how you’d like your vision board to look and appear, let’s get to it!
Top Free Resources for Vision Boards
Online Vision Boards
Other Vision Board Inspiration (free images)
Vision Board Supplies
For a vision board poster, we recommend glue/tape, scissors, magazines or printed images, inspirational quotes, stickers, and fun colorful pens.
For a digital vision board, the resources above will do the trick!
Step 4: Making Your Vision Board Work For You!
If you look at your vision board regularly, it’s likely that you’ll be more in tune with your goals. One way that we like to increase the effectiveness of our vision boards is to write our goals on the back of it or write them in your notes section on your phone.
If you can keep your progress close to your vision board, it’s easier to gain motivation and stay accountable.
Another way you can allow your vision board to work for you is to help you change the way you think about your goals.
If you are accomplishing goals throughout the year, you’ll likely gain motivation to achieve your other goals.
One last reason we love the vision boards is that at the end of the year, you’ll be able to look back at all your progress. Be proud of yourself and celebrate each win.
Last But Not Least: The Juicy Truth Behind Vision Boards
Now that we’ve hyped up vision boards, it’s important to clear up some of our claims.
Some vision boards won’t work for people.
Yep, we said it! After giving you all this information on how to make a vision board work, we also want to be honest. If you just paste some images on a poster and don’t look back at the images, practice goal setting, or even build a plan, the vision board won’t work.
If you just look through a magazine and cut out random photos, that won’t work either.
Yes, going through a magazine is a great idea but before you do that, go back to step 1. get clear on your goals! If you put irrelevant images on your image board, it won’t work!
Don’t get discouraged if things don’t happen quickly.
Use your vision board as a guide and set timelines for you goals but if they do not pan out, do not get upset. Continue on your journey and celebrate the small wins.
Some people think that a vision board is woo-woo.
Now, some people may believe this but if you have your goals written out, you believe in positive action, you think about your goals realistically, and you set attainable goals…. then how is that woo-woo?
Right Now is the Perfect Time to Crush Your Goals
We wish you well with goal setting and know that you’ll crush your goals! Thank you so much for stopping by! If you want to share a goal you recently accomplished, we’d love to hear! Feel free to share some recent goals below!