Vision Board: Projecting the Future
I’ve been doing vision boards now for about fifteen years. A friend invited me to what I considered a “frou-frou” workshop, where I would use rhinestones and magazine pictures to determine what I wanted to do for the upcoming year.
What did child’s play have to do with my future? What a waste of my time! But I wanted to support her hair-brained scheme. I made my first vision board and have only looked forward since then.
The thing that moved me from being a skeptic to being a vision board maverick was the approach to creating a future. It was a strategic plan to move forward with my life. It wasn’t just to manifest what I wanted but to make an actual, valid, tactical plan to make my dreams come alive.
For my 2021 board, which I created in a pandemic December 2020, I had plans to travel both abroad and locally. None of that happened. We were in the middle of a pandemic. I did quite a bit though: I worked out more, launched my advisory board course, purchased real estate, got my COVID shot as soon as possible, and studied the Bible since I had more time.
To create a vision board:
- Your board. Purchase a foam board at Dollar Tree or somewhere inexpensive. They have them in the children’s or craft section – don’t use construction paper as it’s not firm enough. I only pay $1 for them, but they can cost as much as $9.99 in high-end stores. During the pandemic, I started using Canva, which is my choice now since they have templates. Then, I download it and get it printed.
- Identify what areas of your life you want to address. You can slice it any way you want. Personal, business, religion and health are my typical categories because those are the big ones in my life. Then, I can drill down to specific areas. Others pick one area to work and then explore that area in granularity.
- Divide your board. If you have 4 categories, divide our board into five categories. I use the largest side for my goals. Some people like to use the back of their board for their goals if they don’t want to share it with the world.
- Write down your goals. On the largest part of the board, write down your goals by the categories you identified. Use the SMART method. Specific. Measurable. Achievable Relevant and Timely.
- Create your vision. Write down words or find pictures that will help you get to your goals.
- Decorate your board. Find pictures from magazines, Google pictures, or there are pictures already in Canva. Make them personal and something to which you can relate. You don’t want to vision someone else’s life.
- Execute a step. On New Year’s day, after creating your board, pick the simplest task and execute it. It will excite you and you will feel unstoppable for the coming year!
A vision board is for that person who needs encouragement to accomplish tasks. In my case, it serves as a constant, never-changing, accountability partner. I put it up in my living room or on my work desk so I can see it daily to remind myself where I’m going and what I need to get there.
Happy vision boarding! Share your board here if you don’t mind.