Does a Vision Board Really Work?
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I created a dream life vision board for the first time and this is how it has impacted my goals, business, and personal life.
What is a vision board?
A vision board is a visualization tool that helps you put goals, achievements, and your overall future into view for you to easily see.
I’ve heard the term vision board many times but I really put it into practice after I read The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.
Vision board vs. mood board
They are both a collage or board that you create to visualize something, but a mood board is used for deciding on a theme for something like your interior design style, how you want your fashion to look, or how you would like your vacations to be. Pinterest is a great tool for this!
A vision board is a tool to achieve your future which can look like your dream home, ideal career, or fitness goals.
How I felt about vision boards initially
I’ll be honest, I felt like vision boards and manifesting were a load of mumbo jumbo. But I knew The Success Principles book has helped a lot of people and they tell you to make a vision board. I had tried so many things that failed for my business and personal life, so what did I have to lose?
My vision board and how I made it
I created a vision board for my future and focused on printing off images that sparked joy for me on Pinterest. It is important to have very specific images on your page so your visualization isn’t too general and isn’t motivating. Here are the images and what they represent:
Travel - Pictures of Japan (Specific photos of the Japanese countryside and riding a train, which is a dream of mine), Germany, Austria (Hiking the mountains and visiting Hallstatt), and The Netherlands
Finding friends to craft with - A photo of friends making wreaths together because I want to focus on creating more friendships with people that share the same hobbies as me
Dream home - Pictures of a mid-century modern ranch home on the water with a library and roaring fireplace
Quotes that empower and inspire me from figures in history that I respect and admire
Supporting small businesses through fashion - The jumpsuit and dress are two items that I dream of owning one day, they are pretty expensive and are made with quality fabrics from small businesses that I would love to support someday.
The rainbow bookcase is an image from A Beautiful Mess which is a successful interior design and lifestyle blog that I look up to. I hope to make my business as successful as that, so it had to be included on the dream life board.
Where to make a vision board?
I first collected images on Pinterest and if there wasn’t an image that I was looking for, like the picture of the expensive vintage wool coat that I dream of owning one day, I’d search for it on Google or eBay and then upload the image to Pinterest. The Pinterest board itself sparks a lot of joy and that can be your vision board if you prefer. I wanted to make a physical board that I could hold in my hand so I used Canva to print out the pages above.
Making a vision board in Canva
Canva is a free graphic design platform that is perfect for this project. My friend @miss.rox.the.fox makes her vision board on Canva and then makes it her computer background which is SUCH a good idea (You can see her vision board above). I think I’ll add mine to my laptop screensaver as well.
For my physical vision board, I copied the images from Pinterest and pasted them onto a page the size of printer paper on Canva. I typed out my quotes in the font that I use on my website to remind me of my business. Then I printed off the image in color at my local library.
Crafting the vision board
This is all based on personal preference, make your vision board in a way that sparks joy for you! I had an old binder that I didn’t want anymore so I cut the cover off it. I wrapped the cardboard piece in vintage contact paper so it would have a cute background. I cut out my images and made a collage using double sided scotch tape. It was super simple and only cost me $1 to make.
If you’re not a crafty person, just print out a sheet of paper and laminate it!
Did the vision board really work for me?
It has been one month since I started reading my financial, business, and personal goals every night before bed. I look at my vision board while I do this and it’s incredibly motivating. While you’re looking at the board it’s easy to think to yourself, “These things won’t happen to me” but don’t let yourself think negative thoughts. You’re supposed to dream, believe, and think of how you can make this future a reality for yourself. I started feeling more hopeful for my future instead of having unproductive negative thoughts.
It’s not just about the vision board
Saying affirmations and goals to myself is incredibly important. I don’t think just staring at a vision board of your dreams is enough, you need to come up with goals that you’re saying to yourself and shooting for. Here are the three goals/affirmations I say to myself every day:
“I am contentedly depositing $X amount of money into my checking account by June 1st”
“I am scheduling my weekend posts on Instagram for my business so I have a healthy work-life balance and can spend time with my loved ones.”
“I am creating a storage series with YouTube videos, blog posts, and Instagram posts and will monetize these”
“I am ecstatic to have reached my goal of getting ad revenue on YouTube by April 1st”
To understand why I worded the goals the way I did, read the book I’ve mentioned above. It’s important to say “I am” language.
Visualizing the future you want
The combination of specific and actionable goals made a huge difference for me. Then I would stare at my vision board and, when the goals seemed too daunting or impossible, the vision board of my life dreams motivated me to try. I know that I want that life and I’ll get there if I work on these goals one at a time.
Look at your vision board repeatedly
I look at my board and recite my goals every night before bed and it keeps me motivated every day. I found myself thinking of creative ways that I could make more money in my business and making new goals for myself to achieve what’s on my vision board. My new goal is to make a point of hanging out with a friend every month to hopefully find a friend that is interested in crafting with me.
The point is that your dream life becomes so involved in your every day that it starts to become a reality. When a new opportunity comes up for you, like the new writing job I was offered, I made sure to do the steps to get that job so I could make my dreams come true. I’m making more income than I have in a year because of that new job which is making my vision board and goals a reality.
What I’ve acheived
I’ve never sat down and figured out the average amount I make per month with my new job and my blog business. When I made the vision board and goal to make X dollars a month, I had to do the math and find out what I’m making now. It was something that gave me anxiety because I was scared to add it up and find out how much I make, which I assumed would be low and I would be disappointed with myself. Creating the vision board helped me think positively about my future and my business so it gave me the courage to find out. Once I did the math I was completely shocked at the amount I was making, it was more than I expected. I was able to quit my old one day a week job at a chiropractic office and focus on making more money at my new writing job and business.
I’m hanging out with a friend this weekend that I haven’t seen in a long time. I made a list of my friends (Yup, that’s kinda weird, but also makes it easier for me to look at my list and see who I can text to hang out with once a month).
I’m at 3,350 watch hours on my YouTube channel and I need 4,000 to get ad revenue. I’m on track to get ads before April 1st, as long as I’m approved by YouTube.
I learned how to schedule Instagram posts and scheduled one weekend day a few weeks ago. I’m still struggling with this goal but I hope to achieve it once I’ve finished my two week notice at my part-time job.
I started my storage series blog posts and my storage series YouTube videos, which you can watch below.
Give it a try
I encourage you to create a vision board that’s inspiring to you and make actionable goals for yourself. Whether it’s for living a healthier lifestyle, making more money, or starting your own business, I hope you’ll give it a try and work to achieve your dreams!
For more inspiration check out these posts:
