What is a vision board?
Do you want to stay motivated around your goals? Do you want to be intentional with your choices? A vision board is a powerful visual tool to help you create clarity, inspiration, and motivation around your goals, desires, and dreams.
The most effective vision boards represent what you want to CREATE, not what you want to GET in life. What’s the difference? You control what you create, but you don’t control what you get.
You can do all the “right” things and not get what you want in life, or you get what you wanted only to discover it isn’t really what you wanted after all.
When you focus what you are creating, the process is joyful, exciting, and the results are almost always positive, even when they aren’t the results you thought you would get.
“You can decide what you give, but it’s not up to you what you get given.” ~Bjork, It’s Not Up To You
I created my first vision board in a career transition class when I laid off during the recession. Making my vision board gave me the opportunity to reflect on my work history and what I wanted in my career. Before this experience I had bounced from job-to-job, more focused on getting a job than the job I was getting.
My very first vision board, created in 2010
My vision board helped me clarify my career goals. During my job search I asked myself, “does this opportunity fit in my vision board?”, and I didn’t apply for jobs that I knew weren’t going to be a good fit. My vision board guided me to my dream career, or my dream business as it turned out!
Types of vision boards
There are many different types of vision boards you can create. The most common is a scrapbook-style board with photos, words, and phrases cut out of magazines. You can use stickers, washi tape, and other decorations to make it visually appealing. You can even frame a scrapbook-style vision board and hang it on the wall like a piece of art- and so it is!
My 2016 vision board
Your vision board can also be created as a mind map, a screen saver or desktop background, a Pinterest board, or any kind of word/photo collage you prefer.
How to use your vision board
The purpose of your vision board is to represent your goals, desires, and dreams. You can use your board to motivate you every day, reminding you of what’s important to you and what you’re working towards.
Your vision board can also guide your decisions. When new opportunities are presented you can ask yourself if the opportunity aligns with your vision. If it doesn’t, it may be an opportunity or activity you choose to decline.
Guiding your vision board
Here are some questions to guide your vision board. Ask yourself these questions and choose images, words, and phrases that represent your vision for your work and your life.
- What do you want to create in your work and your life?
- When you imagine creating your desired work-life, how do you feel?
- What images, phrases, and words represent the work-life you desire?
- What will it take to create the work-life you desire?
- How will the process of creating your desired work-life change you?
Are you ready to create your vision board? Go have fun!
Have you ever created a vision board? How did you use it? What did you enjoy about the experience?