Most people overlook the advantages of using a vision board. Once you understand their power, you’ll use them forever. See why you should make one or more.
We all have dreams and goals. They are the fuel that propels us forward, giving us something to look forward to, something to strive for. But how often do our dreams remain just dreams?
The power of manifestation lies within us, waiting to be unleashed. And that’s where vision boards come into play. They are not mere collages of our aspirations; they are powerful tools that help bridge the gap between our dreams and reality. Let’s learn how to create a vision board to manifest your dreams.
Claiming The Power of Vision Boards
They say seeing is believing, and what better way to induce belief in your dreams than through visualization? Visualization is more than just a picture. It is a complete sensory immersion involving all five senses and our emotions.
The power of the mind to create and achieve is unleashed when we are able to focus on the task or goal. Neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart (1) explains that looking at images primes the brain. It helps it to grasp opportunities that may otherwise go unnoticed. The brain has a process called value-tagging. This process imprints important things onto your subconscious and filters out unnecessary information.
The brain assigns a higher value to images than written words. This is one of the advantages of using a vision board as a tool for focusing intent and memory. The more you see motivational images, the more those images move up in importance and the more ingrained they become in memory.
And there are ways you can boost this imprinting process. If you look at your board right before you fall asleep every night, the images will be imprinted even further. We know the brain is very impressionable as it drifts into sleep. So, seeing something just before you drift off works with the memory aspect of recency. You are more likely to remember things at the beginning and the last or most recent item. This leverages the tactic of recency.
The Advantages of Using a Vision Board
1. Vision Boards help us Visualize goals. Vision boards provide a tangible representation of your goals, allowing you to see, touch, and interact with them daily. By materializing your dreams, you engage your subconscious mind in finding ways to achieve them. As you consistently visualize your desires, you become more aware of the resources that align with your goals.
“Success isn’t something you have; it’s something you do. Don’t be fooled into taking shortcuts; they always lead to a dead-end. Instead, establish a goal, make a plan, and take purposeful action. Those who experience success are those who live it; those who earn it.” — Steve Maraboli
2. Create a focal point for your energy and efforts. The power of vision boards serves as your inner compass. So, learn how to create a vision board and choose which goals to focus your attention on. By directing your energy towards these specific goals, you tap into the law of attraction. This attracts opportunities, people, and resources that align with your desires. Remember, energy flows where attention goes, so vision boards help you stay in alignment with your true purpose and path.
3. The key to the law of attraction. Create an image in your mind, picture the life you want, document it, speak positive words, and then allow the universe to do its thing. It’s a simple formula, but if you get it right, you achieve your goal. (1) The mind responds equally to either positive or negative thoughts. So, when we give the mind something positive to reach, we engage both the conscious and subconscious mind. Picturing life beautiful,” whatever that means to you, is the main ingredient behind the power of vision boards.
“Creative visualization may be described as an extended meditation session reaching beyond passive contemplation and achieves transformative action.” — Aberjhani
4. Enhancing self-confidence. Often, self-doubt creeps in when we are pursuing our dreams. Learning how to create a vision board boosts your self-confidence every step of the way. The constant reminder of your dreams and the progress you have made builds faith in your capabilities. Each time you achieve a milestone or check off a goal on your board, you reinforce your belief in your ability to achieve even more.
Unfortunately, we often do just the opposite. We picture life at its worst. Then we wonder why we have all the troubles we were expecting. In times of crisis, this is a natural reaction. We know we find the best solutions when we hold a positive attitude, which underscores the need to maintain a positive image of the desired result.
“Doubt is most often the source of our powerlessness. To doubt is to be faithless, to be without hope or belief. When we doubt, our self-talk sounds like this: I don’t think I can. I don’t think I will. To doubt is to have faith in the worst possible outcome. It is to believe in the perverseness of the universe. That even if I do well, something I don’t know about will get in the way, sabotage me, or get me in the end.” — Elaine Lee Pardoe
Summation. The power of vision boards helps us focus our intent on reaching goals. It helps us attract what we desire by building self-confidence to overcome obstacles. Let’s talk about how to create them.
How to Create a Vision Board
1) Establish the Goal
We first need to establish the goal—the more tangible the objective, the better. Picture your ideal life and divide your vision board into different categories. These could be things like career, relationships, health, and personal growth. Plan how you want to represent each category visually.
Make each goal as concise and clear as possible. You don’t need a lot of images. For example, if you desire to own a black 1963 Corvette, then find a picture or a few pictures of that car in the exact color you want.
Learning how to create a vision board is a deep dive into your psyche. It is a way of uncovering your hidden desires and aspirations. Spend time and find the goals that represent what you want your life to become. Make sure the image of your future is positive. Your dreams should not be harmful to you or others.
Keep that positive mental picture alive, refer to the goal often, and see it in your mind’s eye. Hear the sounds and smells. Fill the image with positive feelings.
2. Curiate Your Materials
Collect images, quotes, and words that align with your goals. Whether it’s personal pictures, affirmations, or inspiring quotes, ensure each element resonates with your vision. Remember, this is a living document. You can add and subject them as your goals change.
Visual images have a profound impact on our emotions. When you curate images that evoke positive emotions, your brain starts making connections between those emotions and your goals. This emotional resonance acts as a magnet, drawing you closer to your objectives. Each time you look at your vision board, you reinforce the positive emotions associated with your dreams, fueling your motivation and determination. This is one of the main advantages of using a vision board.
3) Select the Right Type(s) of Vision Boards
Many people find that having multiple vision boards is beneficial. It keeps your goals at the forefront of your efforts and helps you push through obstacles.
The classic board is a sticky note board or notebook. Here, you can place pictures from magazines and photographs that inspire your goals. This still has some advantages since it does not require an electronic interface. That being said, we spend a lot of time on electronic devices and in virtual spaces. So, it only makes sense to unleash the power of vision boards in multiple spaces. We’ll look at the pros and cons of each.
Create a Vision Board Notebook or Sticky Noteboard
One of the pros of a notebook or sticky noticeboard is that it can be placed in any room. You can move them around easily, and you can change the content spontaneously. You can physically touch the photos or quotes with your hand, which helps create a mental link.
Find a prominent spot in your room where you’ll see your vision board every day. One of the main advantages of using a vision board, which is physical, is that they don’t depend on electronics. It keeps your goals front and center. Its constant presence will remind you of your goals, fostering a sense of motivation and dedication.
The disadvantage is that they can make things look cluttered. If we become used to it, then it doesn’t grab our attention. They also display our dreams for others to see. This may be an issue, especially if you want to display the board in your workspace.
Create a Vision Board on Pinterest
Need to find pictures that align with your vision? You can find some great images on Pinterest. Start with our site and then use the search option to shop around. Look at other vision boards and see what other people have done. Find a format that resonates with you and build upon their ideas.
You can use the Pinterest extension to make it available on your desktop or smart device. When you create a vision board on Pinterest in this way, it will be front and center every time you access your device. Then, you can add images that resonate with you when you visit other sites.
If you already have several photos of your dream, it’s still a great idea to update or refresh the pictures in your vision. Keeping things fresh makes sure we keep the images of our plan in mind. If you still want that 1963 Corvette, find pictures from different angles or backgrounds.
Make a Vision Board Journal
This is similar to the vision board notebook, but instead of just pictures, you talk about what is happening. It’s a way of documenting your thoughts and emotions on your journey toward your goals. This helps you identify any roadblocks, such as negative self-talk.
When you add the narrative of your thoughts along with images of your goals, you begin to reveal the reasons you have them. The motivation behind your goals is often something we don’t recognize. For example, why do I want that 1963 Corvette? Do I just like the body style and the classic split rear window? Or is there something more that it represents?
Learning how to make a vision board journal is a must. It will help you to formulate the right kind of self-talk that supports your dreams. If you see reoccurring themes in dreams or self-talk, then you’ll be able to address the underlying issues.
4. Tools to Enhance the Power of Vision Boards
Okay, so you’ve created your goals and vision boards. Now what? Now, you need to learn how to leverage their power.
1. Meditate
When we become grounded in pure consciousness, our positive desires make their way to our subconscious. You don’t have to meditate on the goal. You’ve already established it in your self-talk. Learn and practice basic Mindfulness Meditation. Being mindful will help you ground and center. You will be more present, and “Presence” will make you more aware of your thought life.
2. Repair and Monitor Self-Talk
When you create a vision board notebook or journal, you gather important data about your self-talk. As you go through your daily tasks, monitor your self-talk for any negative thoughts. Even if they don’t relate directly to your goal, they will still have a negative effect. So, it’s essential to root them out.
Enhance your observational skills. Ensure you aren’t missing harmful thought scripts or critical indicators. Use the Enneagram to identify your personality and instinctual stack. The Enneagram will identify the most common thought scripts for your personality and instinctual type.
3. Use Positive Affirmations
After identifying the harmful thought scripts, you can replace them with positive ones. Use positive affirmations that align with the goal. The vision board reminds us of the objective. But affirmations to solidify it in our minds.
4. Let The Universe Work Out the Details
It takes courage to let the universe work out the details. We like to control our destiny, but we undermine the goal when we doubt and second-guess our work.
Let the universe work out the details and bring you opportunities to reach your goal. Don’t miss the cues the universe is sending you. The opportunities that arise may be exactly what you planned, so don’t overlook them. Create a vision board notebook to keep your goals in your mind. If you think about them, you communicate with the universe and will do what you need to do to align with those goals.
But don’t forget to do your part as well. The universe may bring opportunities for you to act upon. So, don’t overlook any options.
Conclusion and Other Points of View
Some believe this process originated with the book “The Secret,” by Rhonda Byrne (2). However, these six steps existed long before they were appropriated by those who aligned them with the law of attraction. People have been collecting photographs for over a generation.
Before photographs were invented, people used paintings or their memories. The ability to have access to so many photographs makes creating a vision board much easier than it has ever been.
References
(1) The Science Behind Vision Boards, The Motivation Clinic
(2) The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Wikipedia