How is your 2024 experience going so far?
Are you looking for some tools to help you remain motivated in working towards your goals and becoming the best version of yourself?
Today I am going to walk you through some key steps for creating an effective vision board that helps you envision your ideal life and accomplish the steps you need to get there.
This weekend I attended a workshop on Setting Meaningful Intentions and Goals for a Powerful New Chapter run by Diana McAllister of Trust Life Coaching. So I feel more than ready to share some tips that will help you create a vision board as a tool for aligning with the highest version of yourself.
Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash
What is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a collage of images and words that represents your vision for your future. You want to choose images that make you feel the way you want to feel in your dream life.
That way, whenever you look at your vision board, you remember what you are working towards and you feel motivated to keep going.
For example, I want to prioritize rest and relaxation, so I want to include images that I associate with feeling rested and relaxed.
How to Create a Vision Board
There are many formats you can use to create your vision board. First, decide if you want to create a physical vision board or a digital vision board.
How to Create a Physical Vision Board
You can create a physical vision board by cutting out images (from magazines or from printing out images) and sticking them to a poster board or bulletin board.
You can then put your vision board somewhere in your space where you will see it everyday and feel inspired.
How to Create a Digital Vision Board
There are a few different ways you can create a digital vision board, including…
⟡ collecting images and making a collage in Canva
⟡ saving your vision board images in Pinterest
⟡ adding images to a specific folder in your phone/computer
You can make your vision board your phone/computer background, so you always have that reminder with you.
No one format is better or worse than the other. Choose whichever works best for you. It doesn’t matter what other people’s vision boards look like. All that matters is that your vision board is meaningful to you.
You can also make a physical vision board and a digital vision board, if that feels good to you.
Additional Tips for Creating Effective Vision Boards
These are some additional activities you can use to help you with your mindset when creating your vision board.
Get your space in order
A calm space equals a calm mind (and vice versa).
I don’t know about you, but I was long overdue for a home reset.
Honestly, I just kept putting it off, because I didn’t want to spend my free time cleaning and organizing.
But I recognized that I was feeling overwhelmed, so I made it my priority to deep clean my bedroom and home.
Now I can feel calm and clear headed when setting my intentions and creating my vision board.
I wish I could give you an easy hack to make doing chores more enjoyable, but I don’t have a perfect solution.
I can tell you that I know that I am way more likely to complete important tasks when I make my to-do list using Notion.
Notion is an all-in-one productivity app with customizable templates for any project you can dream of. Turning a chore into a Notion project makes me feel more excited and motivated. Knowing that I get to check off a box once I’m done gives me incentive to complete a task.
Get your mind in order
Your mindset is extremely important when it comes to setting and achieving goals. Success starts with establishing a successful mindset. But how can you do that?
Start by noticing your thoughts
Do you find yourself frequently experiencing similar thought patterns?
Are your thoughts usually positive or negative?
Photo by carolyn christine on Unsplash
Journal
Journaling can help you gain more clarity around your thoughts and how they impact different aspects of your life.
Use your journal to reflect on the questions above.
Once you understand your thoughts, you can start taking action to change any unhelpful patterns.
Use the activities I explain in this blog post to help you move on from negative thought patterns.
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
Set the vibes
Once you are physically and mentally prepared, you can start actually creating your vision board. Before getting started, I want you to intentionally set the vibe.
Create a comforting space that emulates your dream life. Think candles, background music, cozy blankets, comfy clothes, your favorite beverage. Those are just suggestions based on my preferences, but you can do whatever feels good to you!
Give yourself permission to make your vision board any way you want to. Originally, my plan was to dress up nicely and feel put together when making my vision board.
But after attending the workshop I mentioned, I decided I actually just wanted to go back to my house, put on comfy clothes, and work on my vision board in a cozy environment. So, I’m honoring that.
I encourage you to honor whatever environment you want to create your vision board in, even if you don’t think that is what your goal-setting environment should look like.
Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash
What is your ideal vision board environment?
Choose Vision Board Images Carefully
Make sure to choose your images carefully. As I mentioned, the goal is selecting images that make you feel the way you want to feel when you achieve that goal. Here is some advice for choosing effective vision board images.
Choose First-Person Point of View Images
Jasmine Shah, Just Glow With It podcast host shared this tip in this episode called Tips For Effective Goal Setting, Vision Boards & Getting Results in 2024. The tip is to select point of view images that make you feel like you are actually part of the experience, instead of images that make you feel like you are watching someone else have the experience. For example, if one of your goals is traveling,
you can choose an image that looks like you took it from an airplane window
Photo by Patrick Rosenkranz on Unsplash
Instead of an image that looks like a family enjoying a beach vacation.
Photo by Lawrence Crayton on Unsplash
See the difference? This is so that you can better imagine yourself living that scenario.
Focus on the Feeling
I want to reiterate the importance of choosing vision board images based on the way looking at those images makes you feel. Remember that the point of creating a vision board is to have a physical reminder that makes you feel inspired to pursue your goals.
Any image that accomplishes that is great. Putting an image on your vision board doesn’t mean your life has to look exactly like every detail in the image.
Photo by Muhammad Haikal Sjukri on Unsplash
Do a Positive Thoughts Guided Meditation
Doing a guided meditation will help you clear your mind and get centered. Specifically, selecting a positive thoughts guided meditation will put you in a positive headspace, which is the ideal state for creating a vision board.
Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash
Express Gratitude
Another tip to help you with your mindset is to practice gratitude. As you make your vision board, express gratitude for each image, as if you already have the thing you are working towards. Maintaining this grateful mindset helps you feel more positively, overall.
To sum it up, in order to create an effective vision board, you want to
⟡ Determine the type of vision board that works best for you
⟡ Organize your space
⟡ Clear your mind with a guided meditation
⟡ Set yourself up in a comfortable environment
⟡ Select images that evoke positive emotions
⟡ Select first-person point of view images
⟡ Express gratitude
I hope these tips help you!
Have you already made a 2024 vision board?
Do you prefer physical or digital vision boards? Let me know in a comment.
Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to stay updated on new blog posts with tips to help you live your best life. And make sure to follow me on social media (links below) to stay connected and get more positive lifestyle and wellness content. Leave a comment or message me on social media to let me know what your vision board creating process is.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to join a community of like-minded, self-improvement focused individuals. Having a supportive community is amazing for your personal development journey!
Life by Julia 