Create a vision board of at least three changes/actions you want to make happen this year. Your board must also feature anything that will inspire and motivate you to accomplish these action items. Please read the except below to get you jump started, but for the purposes of this journal and class your Vision Board must be visually interesting–think about our unit on icons-meaning behind symbols. Be selective of your images and spend time making your Vision Board aesthetically dynamic–think Barbara Kruger poster 2.0, but this time you are making another poster that has hidden symbols related to goals you want to work on this year.
Creating a sacred space that displays what you want actually does bring it to life. What we focus on expands. When you create a vision board and place it in a space where you see it often, you essentially end up doing short visualization exercises throughout the day.
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Visualization is one of the most powerful mind exercises you can do.
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Whether you believe that or not, we know that visualization works. Olympic athletes have been using it for decades to improve performance, and Psychology Today reported that the brain patterns activated when a weightlifter lifts heavy weights are also similarly activated when the lifter just imagined (visualized) lifting weights.
So, what’s the big secret to creating a vision board that works? It’s simple: Your vision board should focus on how you want to feel, not just on things that you want. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to include the material stuff, too. However, the more your board focuses on how you want to feel, the more it will come to life.…
Q: What should I put on my vision board?
“The Reason Vision Boards Work” By Elizabeth Rider
A: Anything that inspires and motivates you. The purpose of your vision board is to bring everything on it to life. First, think about what your goals are in the following areas: relationships, career and finances, home, travel, personal growth (including spirituality, social life, education) and health.
You don’t have to cover each area exactly the same, just take a mental inventory of what you want each of those areas to look like and write them down. Always handwrite your goals instead of typing them, there’s something energetic about actually handwriting your goals. From your goals and aspirations, think about what you want on your vision board. Like I said before, what you focus on expands. You’ll be amazed at how things just start popping up all over the place once you set the intention for what you want and how you want to feel.
Q: Should I have one main vision board, or a bunch of small ones for different areas of my life?
A: It’s totally up to you. What makes the most sense in your life? I personally like to have one central vision board that I look at every day in my home office, and I have a few small ones that I’ve made at retreats that I keep around too. Each area of our lives affect each other, so starting with one central vision board usually makes sense. Theme boards that center on specific events or areas of your life are great too, for instance a wedding-day-specific will help you focus on how you want to feel on your big day, or a career specific board at your desk space can help you work towards that promotion.
Q: How often should I re-do my vision board?
A: Whenever it feels right. I often leave blank space on my vision board so I can accept new things as they appear in my life, and add and rearrange during the year when I feel it. You’ll just know. Then, every December, I give the board a total refresh to get clear about what I want in the new year. Some things stay and some have served their purpose and don’t make the cut.
What you’ll need:
Any kind of board, if you’re new maybe start with a cork board or poster board from the hardware store, they run about a dollar. If you can, I recommend a pin board or something pretty you like to look at — I got my 24×24″ white wood framed pin board on Etsy.
Scissors, tape, pins, and/or a glue-stick to put your board together.
If you want, fun markers, stickers, or anything else you can think of to deck out your board. I don’t use that stuff, but if embellishments make you feel great, then go for it.
Magazines that you can cut images and quotes from.
Most importantly, the stuff you want to look at every day. Photos, quotes, sayings, images of places you want to go, reminders of events, places, or people, postcards from friends and just about anything that will inspire you.
Time. Give yourself a stress-free hour or two to put your board together. If you’re a social butterfly, invite you friends over and make a party out of it. I host a vision board party every year on the first night of my partner mastermind weekend and I can’t even tell you how much it sets the tone for the event — everyone is more focused and less stressed after we do it.
How to do it:
Set the mood. Turn off the TV and turn on some relaxing music. Light a candle and clear your space.
When it comes to actually putting your stuff on the board, I like to leave space in between each item because clutter clouds my mind. I like space. However, if you love the feeling of closeness and want everything to touch and overlap, then huddle it all together and overlap your objects. As for choosing what makes the final cut, lay everything out before you start gluing and pinning so you can get an idea of where you want everything.