Before I even knew there was a name for Vision Boards, I had been using them to create my future.
All of my life, I posted inspirational quotes and pictures on bulletin boards to keep my goals in mind, or just because I enjoyed looking at certain views or thinking about the quotes.
A few years ago, I realized how powerfully those pictures and words had been influencing my choices and decisions. This is an amazing tool to create the life you want!
So, what is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a collection of pictures, words, and quotations to help you focus on what you want in your life.
Vision Boards are about DREAMING and about making DREAMS COME TRUE. Positive thoughts lead to positive actions, and positive actions lead to good lives.
Think of the heroes in your life. They are people who knew what they faced, were practical, but let their VISIONS ABOUT HOW IT COULD BE lead them forward to make tremendous changes. (Think Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, and many more.)
Your vision board can be a tremendous tool for you to use in defining your goals, and keeping your momentum going.
Right now, we are in trouble. Our world is in trouble, our country is in trouble, and we as humans need to make changes.
If we truly want to make changes, we need to start with our own thoughts.
We must concentrate on what we want to see in our world.
We must concentrate on what we long for and what we imagine can happen.
We need to keep our thoughts focused on what we truly want in our lives. Every action starts with a thought. Every change started with thinking of possibilities. You can make changes in your own life, and in the world, but first, you need to honestly look at yourself. Have you grown accustomed to thinking about “the worst” or how awful life is? If you know this is your pattern, I want to reassure you that you can change that mindset.
I KNOW changing thoughts can release stress, increase happiness, and help you move forward. I know because it has worked for me and countless others.
I have been updating my current vision board to expand my thinking into a more global view. I want to change what is happening in our world and I know my thoughts have to be focused and positive. I invite you to try this and experience the amazing results.
I would like to share with you:
HOW to make a vision board,
EXPLAIN how your own Vision Board can work for you
AND HOW TO CHANGE THOUGHTS of anger and resentments.
1) Supplies you will need:
Poster Board, any color, any size, or a bulletin board
Tape, glue, scissors, thumb tacks/push pins (if you are using a bulletin board), index cards
Crayons, markers, pens
Magazines (Note: If you don’t have your own magazines, many libraries offer their back issues free to library patrons. You can ask friends to give you some of theirs. You can start collecting in preparation for your activity.)
Photos
Quotes
Chances are, you already have items you can display on your vision board.
Have you ever torn out a picture from a newspaper or magazine of something that you really liked?
Have you ever copied down a quote that really struck you as interesting, wise, or funny?
Do you have favorite photos of people who you always want to keep in your life?
All of these can be included on your vision board
2) Set up a work area for yourself.
Allow an hour to get started, but as long as you can leave your materials set up,
you can continue your work ten minutes at a time.
3) Before you begin any of your creating, you need to take a few minutes to think.
Close your eyes. Let your imagination take off.
You want to take your mind to another place where you can do and have everything you want.
This is a time to imagine that you are not bound by any limitations!
What would you like to be doing in the next five years?
What would you like to see in the world?
What changes would you make if you had no restrictions ?
Where would you like to travel?
What might you like to own?
Who would you like to spend time with?
What activities would you like to be involved in?
Are there changes you want to see?
This is not the time to be sensible.
Dream.
What if you had unlimited money? What if the world looked the way you want it to?
What does your ideal home look like?
What changes would you like to see around you?
What does your heart tell you that it needs?
4) Start looking through magazines
Notice pictures, words and images.
You are looking at images and thinking about individual words in a new way—what feelings do they invoke?
What ideas do they bring to mind?
You can cut out words, phrases and letters to create new sentences and ideas.
Is there a word to describe a feeling, a thought, a desire?
You are putting together a board that shows you what you want in your life in the future.
This is a Dream Board, a board that points you toward your future and all that you can be, and have.
As you find phrases, words, and images, start placing them on your board wherever it feels as if they should go. Do not glue, tape, or pin yet.
5) After you go through four or five magazines, stop.
Look through your photos and any quotes you have, and start to arrange those in between the other items.
If you know you want certain elements in your future, but there are no pictures to describe these, pick up your crayons or markers, and write the words on an index card.
Perhaps there is a city or country you dream of seeing.
If you can’t find a picture of it, write the place name in large letters and include it.
You can also go online, type in the picture you want and voila!
You will have your choice of photos/pictures you can print out.
Dream!
Perhaps you have always wanted to go back to school to earn a degree, or to take some fun classes.
Perhaps you want to help people and join groups to help change the world. (Or your neighborhood.)
Perhaps you realize that you need to learn more about politics, peaceful protests or inclusivity. (Me)
Don’t stop yourself with practical limitations or reasons why you can’t do something.
This isn’t the place for limited thinking.
6) Arrange your vision pieces on your board.
Move pictures around and arrange your words, quotes, etc.
It is time to tape or glue, or use your push pins for your bulletin board.
Step back admire the results of your effort.
7) Hang your Vision Board in a place where you will notice it often.
This is going to be a reminder everyday that you are in charge of your destiny and your life.
This is a reminder that you have permission to dream.
This is a freedom ticket—you are allowed to go wherever you want in your imagination.
It allows you to think beyond the limitations of money and responsibilities and “real life.”
8) This is your vision and each day, you need to spend a few minutes looking at it.
Really looking at it and thinking about it.
And this is what you may find happens…
Every day, you see the places you want to go, and suddenly one day, you think of an idea that will help you to save the money to make that trip a reality
You look at it everyday, and suddenly you realize that going back to school is not such a silly idea, and it is possible.
You look at the words and later, “coincidentally” you notice a meeting or activity that is exactly what you want in your life.
This is why you must NOT put anything negative on the board.
You are going to look at it every single day, and you want your thoughts, your day and your life to be about positive changes, happy events, powerful actions…not what you DON’T WANT in your life!
No pictures of people you don’t like, even if they have a red line through them.
No photos of sad scenes or war. (Example: If you want to think about the protesters against the DAPL, you would put a picture showing the heroes. (This can be a reminder to help them in any way you can.)
No quotes that are ignorant and thoughtless.
NOTHING that can make you think in a negative fashion.
Is it Magic?
Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but I know with certainty that we can make magical things happen.
So many people have used Vision Boards and had remarkable results.
If this is a sad or hard time for you, it could lift your spirits and truly, change your life for the better.
It’s worth a try! (Listen to the Queen, not Alice!)
“There is no use trying,” said Alice, “One can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen.
“When I was your age, I always did it for a half an hour a day.
Why sometimes I have believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Please share your thoughts and ideas about this post. If you have made vision boards in the past, or currently use one, please share your experiences.