Creating a Vision Board: Why & How

Whether it’s Deepak Chopra or Oprah Winfrey, some of the world’s most successful people agree: a vision board is a powerful way to turn your goals into a reality. In fact, it was Oprah herself who said that you should “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.” 

After all, if you don’t articulate exactly what it is that you want from life – how are you going to take practical steps to get there? Here’s how a vision board can help you do just that, plus how to make one.

Firstly, what is a vision board?

A vision board is a collage of images and words that represent your individual wishes and life goals, intended to provide you with inspiration or motivation. It can be digital or physical, but the latter is generally more effective because you can put it in some place that you spend a lot of time in, helping reinforce your vision every time you see it.

A vision board is really just a rough sketch of what you want your life to look like, so don’t obsess about making it perfect. The idea is to have some fun, grab things that appeal to you instinctively, and start pulling all your inspiration into one visual representation – a mood board of what your ideal life.

An effective vision board covers 4 areas of your life: Relationships, career, health and financial goals. In visualising these different areas of your life, you are able to reflect on what needs work and what you’ve been doing well and this can aid in creating a balanced and healthy lifestyle for yourself.

How do I make one?

There are no hard and fast rules for making a vision board – which is what makes it fun! Here are some tips:

• Be grateful! The first step in creating a vision board is sitting with yourself and reflecting on what you’ve already achieved. It is said gratitude creates leeway for more. You can reflect by writing down your top five achievements and your top five small achievements. In doing so, you’re acknowledging that you are ABLE to achieve the things you want.
• Spend some time self-reflecting on what’s really important to you. This could be buying your dream home, finding time to pursue hobbies, or saving up money so you can travel. It doesn’t only have to be images of objects, it could also be specific words or phrases such as ‘peace’, ‘confidence’, or ‘relax’. Whatever you need more of in your life, or dream of having or achieving one day, deserves a place on your vision board.
• Pick a focus for your board: is it short-term (i.e things you want to achieve this year?), or is it more of a lifelong vision board, that encompasses a wider range of your ideas and dreams?
• Get cracking with your crafts. This could involve tearing out images that inspire you, from magazines and other printed materials. For example, if you want to go on an island holiday this year, you could select a picture of a palm tree and add that to your vision board. In this way, the images don’t have to be literal – they can be more figurative and represent certain dreams. You can also get creative and use different coloured pens, stickers, glitter and any number of crafting supplies that help make your vision board more inspiring.
• Don’t think too hard about it! Just start collecting images and words that resonate with you at that specific time and arrange them in a collage, using scissors and glue to pull them all together.
• Once you’ve finished, be sure to display it somewhere you can see it often. That way it will keep reminding you of your goals, so you can make daily adjustments to try and get there.
• Bear in mind that your vision can change, so don’t be shy to add other images to it that you come across or remove things that no longer resonate with you.

Vision boards work because they help you refine what it is exactly that you want out of life – which means you’re one vital step closer to getting there. So grab those crafts and get dreaming and planning – your future self will thank you for it!

Ready to turn your dreams into reality?

Start creating your own personalised vision board today and discover the power of proper financial planning.