We LOVE Vision Boards!
We’ve used them a lot to make our bucket list dream holidays become reality!
If you’ve never tried making and using a Vision Board before, you might not know how.
So here’s 50 Vision Board tips and tactics for you to start using today 🙂
- Free association. Let the ideas flow. Whatever comes into your head write it down. No thought is a bad one, there will be time for categorizing later, just let it flow!
- Write down dreams. These can be day dreams (e.g. hopes for your life) or actual dreams where you wake up and think, “Oh wow, I wish life was like that!” Write it down!
- Write down long-term goals. Think about where you want to be in ten years, 15 years, and 25 years. Writing it down makes it a more concrete goal.
- Write down short-term goals. Think about where you want to be in 3 months, 6 months, a year, five years. Be as specific as possible. These will be your guide.
- Listen to your favourite music. This will help you get the creative juices flowing. Music is also a great memory trigger, so it will help you remember the good things in life that you want.
- Watch an inspirational movie. Movies are power and often take us on an emotional journey to where we wish we were. Watch an inspirational movie and use those emotions as energy to actually start moving in that direction.
- Ask yourself what it is you want. We spend our lives asking others what THEY want, but what do YOU want? Deep down, what is it that you desire in life?
- Ask yourself how you think you can achieve what you want. Take time to think through some of the nuts and bolts of arriving at your destination. You do not have to know all the answers at this point, but a general direction would be helpful.
- Go through magazines, tearing out your goals and dreams. Find an old stack of magazines and start going through them page by page. The picture of the gazebo you want? Cut it out. The bass boat? Cut it out too. The Bahamas? Why not, add them to the stack.
- Find your favourite images and put them on the board. Maybe you have a favourite photo or image that has some special meaning to you. Put it on the board as well. It can give you direction and inspiration when you need it.
- Theme your goals. If you have several goals, such as things pertaining to relationships, money or spirituality, make and theme a different board for each. This will help maintain a clear image for each goal.
- Put yourself in the middle of the board. Obtain a favourite picture of yourself and place it in the middle of the board. This picture could be one of just you, or can include others that you care about.
- Put inspirational sayings around the board. Find some inspirational quotes or sayings and put them up around the edges of the board. A quick internet search will find you plenty.
- Hang it up where you will see it daily. Place the vision board in a position where you will see it every day and often. It will help keep you inspired and on track.
- Add to it when needed. If a goal changes or you find another quote or picture that you want to add, feel free to do so. The vision board is not a static entity, much like you it can be ever changing and growing.
- Mark when things are achieved. Circle things that are achieved or put dates by them when they were achieved. And be proud, you’ve done a lot!
- Make a vision journal. Keep a journal of thoughts for a week or two to help guide your thinking for your vision board. It’s not a diary, just a collection of thoughts and dreams.
- Make a Vision Board with focus. Keep in mind what the goal is and do not veer off track. Keep each vision board with one goal in mind. If you have lots of goals, make lots of vision boards.
- Be clear about what you want. Take time to look through magazines, journal, and talk to others to flesh out what it is you really want before you put it on your vision board.
- Make an ‘opening and allowing’ Vision Board. If you are not sure what you want, make a board with a conglomeration of things that you would like. You can use your Vision Board to work through grief or depression. If you are going through a tough time, use images of recent loved ones you lost or feelings you have. Getting it out will help.
- Have a vision. Even if you are uncertain about the vision, make a board and get started. You can always change it later.
- Give yourself plenty of time. Both in the construction and the fulfilment of the Vision Board. Creativity takes time, as does fruition.
- Be creative. Let your wild side take a walk. Follow your impulses and first thoughts. See what develops.
- Look at other people’s Vision Boards. Gain ideas by looking at the work of others. This is a great way to get started if you are really stuck.
- Make it your own. Put a personal touch to the Vision Board. Add your signature or something that represents you, and just you.
- Set apart time to work on it. You have to schedule time to do it or it will not get done. If it is important to you, you will make the time.
- Claim the picture or phrase you see in a magazine. You want the house featured in Home and Garden? Claim it. It can be yours. Think and dream big.
- Allow your mind to wander. Sometimes your mind will wander onto things that it wants the most or that are most important.
- Play with pictures from the magazines. Put them in different positions to see if one jumps out at you.
- Contemplate importance. Once you have some materials, contemplate and rank which ones are most important. This will help narrow down the content for the board.
- Focus on 6-8 goals. Much more than that and you will be overwhelmed. Less than that and you may not feel challenged.
- Mix long term and short-term goals. You can put both on one board. It will keep you interested and focused on both types of goals at the same time.
- Work out definitions. You want wealth? Well, define what that means to you. Happiness? What does that mean? Make it personal.
- Know what you mean. Keep track of your definitions, whether on the board or in a journal. Just to keep you on track.
- Make it personal. Find some personal objects, images or pictures that you can add to the VB. This will connect it to your heart.
- Use active voice phrases on the board in first person. An example is, “I love driving my new Porsche.” Include your dream.
- Keep it simple. Do not make it an eye sore, but something creative and simple that you can hang up at work or at home.
- Choose your favourite colours. It will help it be both appealing and personal.
- Use online photos. The internet is a great tool in finding pictures that speak to our dreams. Google your dream, and print out some pics.
- Use digital photos. They can be edited using lots of different apps. You could even use a photo-editing app like Canva to put yourself into a setting you want, such as on a tropical beach, or in the garden of your dream house!
- Choose one board, or many, depending on your goals. One board may not be big enough or you may just want to use a different board for every goal. That is okay, just make sure you have space for all the boards you make.
- Choose what background. A board can be made on poster, wood, metal and anything in between. Choose your medium.
- Write out a parts wheel. Examine all the roles you have in life and write the strengths you use in each role beside them. Self-discovery is key to owning a Vision Board.
- Set aside time each day to look at the board. Just a few minutes is needed each day to refocus on your goals and dreams.
- Include family and friends if necessary. Allow your friends and family to help out, especially if it is a shared dream or goal.
- Put your dream in the middle of a piece of paper, then write everything that comes to mind when you think about your dream next to it.
- Go electronic. You can design a board using a PC or laptop. Then print it out or make it your desktop photo. Or you can even use something like PowerPoint to make a video vision board, complete with an inspiring soundtrack, to really engage as many senses as possible, stir the emotions, and get you dreaming big!
- Write goals in present tense. This brings the goals home and helps you to begin to live them in the present.
- Stay positive in the construction and the making it happen phase. Do not get discouraged if your board does not look like other’s do. And be patient as time unfolds. Dreams come, but usually not all at once.
- Choose a location to place your vision board. It should be somewhere you look at every day, like in front of your office desk.
We have a complete Vision Board Kit, complete with checklists and action plans, and available for you to download immediately, if you’d like more guidance in creating your vision board!
