When you think “vision board”, you usually picture a collection of magazine cut outs of slender bikini clad models lounging by the pool, picturesque beaches, fancy houses, fast cars and array of poignant words like, love, live, success, balance, fortune etc. etc.
If you like this style of vision board, skip this tutorial, get cutting and sticking and have fun.
However, if you would like to create something that truly represents you and where YOU want to be in life, to motivate, inspire and help tick off some of those goals, please, read on.
What Is A Vision Board?
A vision board is a collection of images or text, a visual representation of the life you want to lead, now and in the future.
They can help you set and achieve goals, motivate and inspire your daily actions and through the power of your subconscious, bring your ideal life, to life.
What You Need
Creating your vision board doesn’t have to be a costly activity. My first one, which I still use now, cost me absolutely nothing to make. I tore up a packing box that was sitting in our garage to use as my board, pulled some blank A4 sheets out of the printer and found a stash of stickers I had hidden. Voila, one homemade vision board that didn’t cost a penny. However, if you would prefer something a little more visually pleasing, you can pick up cheap pin up boards from places like Kmart or Red Dot.
- Blank paper or card
- Texters, pencils, crayons, pens etc
- Large piece of card or pin up board
- Glue or pins
- Glitter, stickers…all the fun stuff
How To Create Your Vision Board
To create this vision board you won’t need any magazines, newspapers or clippings. All you need is your blank paper and something to draw or write with.
I believe by drawing your own pictures of your goals, the things you want in life, the places you want to be or writing your own text, you are creating something more powerful. You are helping implant the ideas into your mind as you create them. You are planting seeds of positivity, good health and a happy life in the garden of your subconscious.
For example, if you’re on a health journey and tyring to tone up or lose weight, I don’t believe sticking a picture of a size 6-8 bikini clad model on your vision board is going to do much help. In fact, instead of motivating you to stay on track to reach your health goals as it should, it could have the opposite effect.
Image you’re having a bad day. You’ve either had a few days where you haven’t eaten as well as you would have liked to, missed a few workouts or feeling like you’re not getting anywhere, even with all your hard work. How is that image of a gorgeous (edited and sometimes non-realistic) bikini model going to make you feel? Motivated? Inspired? Reassured? The chances are, probably not. Instead it could it could leave you feeling even more anxious and down about your own body.
Not only that, but the other great thing about using your own hand drawn images over cut outs, is that you are not trying to be someone other than yourself. You’re trying to be a better version of you.
We all have different bodies. Even if you worked your gorgeous bottom off and lost your goal amount of weight, you still may not look the same because of body proportions and the fact that most, nearly all, of those images are edited. Spots, dots, dimples, tiger stripes, all edited out. Boobies plumped, waists cinched and bottoms perked. A photographer in the past has even made my nose smaller when editing photos after a shoot. I’ve felt like Gonzo ever since.
So, bottom line, draw, create and write everything with your own hands. Let your mind take hold of your desires and dreams and create them on the paper before you.
What To Include On Your Vision Board
Hopefully you have completed part 1, Is Your Life In Balance? If you have, grab your pieces of paper (if not, head on over to test your life balance). These can help guide you on what to include on your vision board. You might have been missing family time, self-care or fun time or might have realised there is more you can do for your career. This is the place to create goals, visualise and manifest the balanced life you desire.
If you’re still not sure what to include on your board try asking yourself these questions;
- What does my ideal life look like?
- Who is with me in my ideal life?
- What would I like to make more time for?
- Who do I want to be?
- What do I want to do or become?
- What makes me happy?
Things you could include;
- Career goals
- Life goals
- Health goals
- BIG goals (you know the ones everyone laughs at you for having, but you should definitely have)
- Material items you would like in your life
- Relationship and family goals
- Reminders of goals you’ve already achieved
- Things you are thankful for
- Things you would like to include in your life
Once you have written or drawn your visuals it’s time to get sticking or pinning. Arrange your drawings or text anyway you like on your vision board.
This is my current vision board. As I previously mentioned, it’s not fancy, everything’s stuck onto the side of an old packing box but I love it. I also love that I have a little giggle at my stick figures each time I look at it hehe.
I’ve Created The Visual Representation Of The Life I Would Like, Now What?
Now that you’ve put together your vision board it’s time to place it somewhere in your home where you’re going to see it at least once a week. Perhaps in your wardrobe, bedroom, in the home gym if you have one or near your computer or home office.
It’s not necessary to study your vision board every day (unless you want to of course) but it is important to look at it now and then. Not only can having a glance at your vision board re-motivate you if you’re having a low day, remind you of your goals and what you have to do to reach them and help remind you of where you’ve come or what you’ve achieved if you’ve included those reminders, but also give you that money can’t buy feeling when you realise you’ve reached a goal or something you’ve envisaged has come to fruition.
A vision board is not like rubbing a lamp and acquiring three wishes from a magical genie. Some of the visions you may have of on there will require hard work and dedication. But by putting our thoughts, feelings and hopes out into the universe, we’re opening ourselves up to new possibilities through the law of attraction. By planting those seeds (visions) into our own subconscious mind, we’re using the power of our mind to tell ourselves what’s going to happen.
Your vision board can remind you of where you’ve been, where you’re going and why.
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.”
~ Oprah Winfrey
The next blog on our Inspired Life journey is all about positive affirmations and how you can use them to change how you feel about yourself and to really shape and create your life. Stay in the loop by signing up for updates, simply pop in your email address and click follow on the right hand side of the page and don’t forget to share this with a friend who may need a little inspiration.
Peace, love & coconuts,
Amanda
amandawearn.wordpress.com 