How to Make a Vision Board

Getting Started

Reflect upon your goals. Most of us have some general or vague idea about what we want out of life, what our goals are, and what makes us happy. Nonetheless, when asked directly about our conception of the good life, we may struggle to come up with specifics. To make sure that we're on track, and that we won't look back on our lives with regret, it's a great idea to regularly set time aside to clearly identify our goals and aspirations in as much detail as possible, and to then come up with plans with concrete steps for achieving our aims. Creating a vision board can be one way to help us with this important task.

Think about the big questions. Before you get started making your vision board, spend some time thinking about the following general questions: What, in your view, is a good life? What makes a life valuable or worth living? When you are on your deathbed, what will you have hoped to have accomplished?

Break down the big questions. To help you answer these big questions (which can be overwhelming!), break them down into smaller questions: What activities do you want to learn how to do? What hobbies and activities do you already do, but want to continue doing or get better at? What are your career goals? What steps will you have to accomplish along the way to be able to eventually land your dream job? (For example, do you need a particular degree, or will you need to secure an internship?) What are your relationship goals? Don't think just in terms of whether or not you want to be married, be in a long-term relationship or have children: think more specifically about what kind of person you want to be with, how you'd like to spend time with your partner, etc. How do you want to be remembered by others? For example, do you want to write the next great American novel? Do you want to head a charitable organization that positively impacts the lives of others?

Choose your theme. Based upon the discoveries you've made after completing the above steps, it's now time for you to decide what you want the focus of your vision board to be. Don't feel as though you must limit yourself to creating just one vision board to reflect all of your dreams. You can make as many separate vision boards as you want, each with a different focus. You can decide to make a vision board which focuses on a very specific goal that you have. For example, if want to be able to afford your dream vacation within the next year, you can design a Jamaica-themed dream board. You can also make dream boards which have a more general theme. Perhaps after reflecting about the type of person you want to be remembered as you determined that you want to work on becoming a kinder, more generous person. Your dream board can be devoted to this theme. Among the things you include can be pictures of inspiring role models.

Creating your Vision Board

Decide upon the format of your vision board. Now that you've chosen a theme for your dream board, you'll want to decide the format that it will take. Most people who make vision boards make physical boards out of poster-board, cork-board, or on any material that can be hung on or propped against a wall. When placed in a prominent position, you'll be able to view your vision board regularly and reflect upon it daily. However, there's no reason to limit yourself to just this style of vision board. You can also make an electronic version of a vision board. You can design your own webpage or blog, use sites like Pinterest, or even just create a private document on your computer where you'll collect your inspirational images and affirmations. Choose the format that you're most comfortable with, and which you'll be the most likely to actually look at and update regularly.

Collect inspirational images for your vision board. Now it's time for you to find positive images that correspond to your chosen theme. Obvious sources are the internet, magazines, and photographs, but don't forget to keep your eyes open while out and about for funky, inspirational postcards, newspaper clippings, labels, etc. When choosing your images, select them with a careful eye, making sure to closely examine the entire image. For example, if your goal is to get into your dream college, be sure to include an image of the campus, but select shots that are taken during your favorite season, or which show students engaged in activities you hope to enjoy while enrolled as a student.

Collect inspirational words for your vision board. You want your vision board to be very visual, and to contain plenty of images which appeal to you and which demand your focus. Don't forget, though, to pepper your board with plenty of inspiring sayings or affirmations. An affirmation is a positive saying or script which you can repeat to yourself as a mantra. You can of course write your own affirmations, or you can search online for examples or visit your local bookstore or library for inspiration. Your aspirations should be positively focused. For example, perhaps your goal is to be selected as first violin in your orchestra, but in the past you've struggled to practice every day, in spite of making resolutions every New Year's Eve. Don't include the following: “I won't quit practicing daily after just one month, like I always do”. This just highlights your previous shortcomings, and has an overall negative tone. Instead, consider something like “I'll fill my home with joyful music daily”. This is so much more positive, and makes practicing an activity to look forward to, as opposed to describing it as something to be endured.

Put your vision board together. Once you've selected your images and inspiring phrases, it's time to get creative with your arrangement. Experiment with different designs—you can find fun examples through online searches, but don't feel as though you have to match anyone else's style. Consider choosing a colored background for your vision-board. Select this color carefully depending upon the nature and content of your theme. For example, if you want to stay pumped-up about being able to accomplish a difficult physical goal (like being able to bench press your own weight), choose a strong color, like red. If, on the other hand, you are working on achieving peace and calm in your life, choose colors that are likewise soothing, like a soft blue. Think about including a photo of you in the center of your vision board and surrounding yourself (literally!) with your inspiring images and words. If you are making a physical vision board, you don't have to glue anything down immediately. Instead, you can play around with the layout. You can even take pictures of different layouts and compare them. Once you've settled upon a design and arrangement that appeals to you, secure the components with glue or staples (if you are making a physical vision board; if you're making an electronic version, be sure to save your file!).

Using Your Vision Board

Place your vision board where you will see it every day. Your goal in creating this vision board is to create a visual reminder of what you are hoping to accomplish and to be able to view it regularly in order to maintain your focus and motivation. Don't hide your vision board in a back closet! You may prefer that your vision board be a private source of inspiration, which is fine. If this is the case, don't feel as though you must hang your vision board in your living room. Similarly, if you are using an electronic vision board, you don't need to make it public. Most webpages and/or blogs can be set to private, or you can limit the people who can view your work. The point is that your vision board should be accessible to you, and shouldn't be placed where you'll fall out of the habit of looking at it.

View your board regularly. Commit to viewing—really viewing, not just glancing at—your vision board at least once a day. Commit to spending at least five minutes studying the contents and focusing on the images. Don't just read the inspirational sayings and affirmations silently to yourself: repeat them out-loud and with conviction. It's one thing to silently say to yourself “I will become a successful designer,” but it's yet another thing to hear yourself say that with confidence. If you don't believe in yourself, who will?

Don't be taken in by false promises of what a vision board can guarantee. Creating a vision board can be a good way for you to find inspiration, identify and shape your dreams, and keep you focused and motivated. If, however, you are thinking about this project because you've heard promises that making a vision board in the “right” way, and changing your thinking in the “right” way will guarantee that the universe will deliver what you want—think twice. There's absolutely no scientific evidence that creating a vision board and visualizing your success at achieving your goals will cause the universe to deliver. While you shouldn't give up your dreams before you start, understand that life throws roadblocks at us, and that sometimes, try as we might, we simply won't be able to achieve everything that we desire. If you go into this project thinking that you'll get results if you do it correctly, and if you then aren't able to get everything you want, you're only setting yourself up for self-blame and disappointment, which can lead to depression or lowered self-worth.

Use your dream board to visualize the process, not just the result. Your dream board can provide you with a tangible point of focus to help you visualize your goals. However, you should know that there's debate within the scientific community as to how large of a role visualizing ought to play in our strategies towards achieving our goals. Some recent studies have suggested that people who spend more time visualizing and imagining themselves having obtained success actually under-perform once the time comes. For example, students who were asked to spend time imagining how great it would feel to perform well on an exam did worse than those students who instead visualized their study process and those who did not visualize at all. The lesson to be learned from this and other similar studies seems to be that, while it's good to specify your goals and spend some time envisioning what your life will be like if and when you reach them, it's both more effective and better for your mental health to focus on the specific steps you'll need to take along the way. For example, there's probably nothing wrong with day-dreaming about how awesome you'll feel once you cross the finish line of your first marathon. However, you may actually be less likely to ever actually complete the grueling run if all you ever do is visualize this moment of success. What time you do spend visualizing would be better spent focused upon your training process. Make sure that your vision board has plenty of images and inspirational sayings related to the minutia of training and not just the moment of success. And of course, don't forget to actually strap on the running shoes and get out there!