Sarah and I have created vision boards for most of our relationship, and earlier this week we were working on our newest famliy vision board.
We both love the process of getting clear on what we want to create in our lives (from our family to our business to our home to our health), and putting it all together in a vision board.
We’ve seen the coolest things come together and happen as. a result of us getting clear on what we want. Most vision boards we’ve created have had a 100% “come to frution rate” — it’s baiscially us putting an order out into the Universe, and that order coming true.
The idea of “having it all” and living an abundnat loving life, is directly paired with being intentional. You don’t stumble into your abundnat loving life. No. You envision it, you plan for it, and you execute towards it.
Vision boads are simply one tool that will help you have it all, and to me they are greatly underutilized.
When you think of a Vision, Mission, Values and Goals, you probably think of a business context. We’re not too surprised when we hear of a businesses mission to do XYZ, or walk into an office building and see that organization’s values plastered on their walls.
Why aren’t we doing these things in our PERSONAL LIVES too?! If a business uses these things to get clear on who they are and what they want to create, AND IT WORKS, then why don’t we all do the same in our lives?
Part of my goal is to get more people thinking in this way — taking the time to get clear on what they want in life, putting in the energy to figure out who they are and what they’re all about, and use goal setting and planning to bring dreams to life.
So your vision board is going to be one of those important tools to help you be intentional, be proactive, and ultimately HAVE IT ALL.
So here’s what I’m going to do next, I’m going to break down the. process of creating a powerful vision board, then I’m going to share with you the most important step in bringing it to life, and finally I’m going to share a video I created that’s going to put you in the proper mindset to turn your vision board into a reality.
Steps to creating a vision board that actually works
1. Connect with your intention for your vision board. Take a minute or two to start getting excited about what you’re about to create. It’s a grand vision for your IDEAL LIFE at the end of the day, it’s worth getting hyped about!! So start thinking about what you want your life to look and feel like, and let the excitement fill you up.
2. Gather your materials. You’re going to want to purchase some magazines that you’ll be cutting up. You can also get free magazines from grocery stores, restaurants, anytime you see those stands with free local magazines GRAB ONE! You also want to get some glue sticks, scissors, a pencil with eraser and of course a piece of poster board.
3. Carve out a couple of hours on your schedule. Don’t rush this project, give it the time it needs to come together. I suggest a minimum of 2 hours. Put it on your calendar and treat it. with the importance that a project like this deserves.
4. Set up your board before you start putting anything on it. I like to get clear on a few life categories for our vision board: Health, Love, Family, Money, Home, Community, Travel. You may feel inspired to also include categories like Hobbies or Personal Life. Whatever works for you. Grab your pencil and write the category names on your board, spacing them out evenly across the entire board. Doesn’t matter where you put the names, place them whever you feel inspired to. I use pencil in case my spacing is off, I can always erase and try again.
5. Once your board is set up, start filling it out! This is where you get your magazines out and start cutting. As you flip through the magazines you want to look for pictures you like, big bold words and phrases you are inspired by, and anything else you want to use for your life vision. Cut them out and put them aside. Once you’re complete going through all your magazines, begin placing the cut outs on your board. Don’t glue them yet, just arrange them where you think you’d like them. Move the pieces around until you get an arrangement you’re happy with. Then start gluing.
6. The final step in the process is to hang your new vision board in a place that you’ll see it often. Bedrooms, bathrooms and offices are great locations. But you can put it wherever you want, just make sure it’s somewhere you’ll easily be able to see your vision board every day.
Here’s the crucial step to making your vision board a reality
It’s one thing to have clarity around the house you want, the health you want, etc. It’s another to connect with those things on a FEELING and BEING level, and then to take action accordingly.
The ingredient that most people miss when it comes to vision boards, is regularly taking time to connect with the words, phrases and images on there. Not just glance at them, truly CONNECT with them.
What I like to do is once a week (to start out), pick one thing in your board to connect with. Just shoot your board a quick glance and the first thing your eyes fall on will be the thing you connect with that day. Look at whatever it is. Let it sink in. Then close your eyes and take a deep breath. For the next 60 seconds really practice FEELING what that thing is. FEEL what it’s like to walk through that house, sit in that car, tend to that garden, care for that family, whatever it is you’re connecting with at the time. Put yourself in the place of already experiencing that thing. Let the questions of How and When disappear, just visualize whatever it is until you FEEL it in your cells.
The reason this step is so crucial is because visualization is a powerful tool. Visualization, when you use your imagination to literally SEE and FEEL what you want in your life, has been proven time and time again to be very effective in helping you make those things happen. Visualizing your vision board will have a ripple effect on your thoughts and behavior. And it’s when your behavior changes that the things you want in your life start to happen (it’s not simply going to happen by you wishing it, you must ACT!)
It’s your life. YOU get to be the designer, the builder, and the person who gets to bask in your creation.
Using a vision board in combination with visualization (and putting in the P/PC balanced work to make it happen), is a pathway to living the life of your dream.
Links and Resources