I have always thought that vision boards were cool but outwardly acted like I was superior to them. Why? I dunno, fragile ego, maybe? The truth is, that I saw all these finished boards that had so much spirit in them and there was nothing but a blank canvas when I tried to picture mine. And what’s supposed to go on a vision board anyway? Some were dreams that seemed unlikely in the next 3-5 years, some were focused on a lifestyle, some on career, some on an event. If I was going to ever do a vision board, I’d want to have a clear picture. So I waited…and waited… and years later, no vision appeared. I had aspirations but no vision board worthy picture in my head.
I took a two hour… or was it three?… webinar on how to design a vision board and I came away just as confused as ever. The information was so generic that it didn’t help me define anything. I was a little frustrated because I thought we’d create a vision board during the session and by the end of it, there wasn’t an inkling to be had but it wasn’t the host’s fault, it was my mindset.
Well, now it feels like a ‘duh’ moment because no one can tell you what your dreams are. Especially the private ones that you refuse to share in case someone crushes them. You can dream big or small, long into the future or what you envision your week to hold. You can focus on one aspect of your life that you want to improve or how one aspect will influence your life as a whole! What if you land that dream job? How will your life change? What will happen if you lose 20 pounds? There is no right or wrong way to do a vision board. You can have a framed cork board, a poster board, a digital screen, pictures and text, just keywords or just pictures. Again, there is no wrong way. Just do it!
But if you want a really good one, here are a few tips that I learned from Koya Webb and various YouTube videos (I would credit them all but I really watched bits and pieces from so many videos using different key words that I can’t tell you which ones deserve the credit or where they originally got their information from). But Koya Webb did a webinar on designing your life and my answers from that turned out to be the key to the questions all the YouTubers said about designing a good vision board.
To design a good vision board you need to know:
- What aspects of your life need to be improved? This is anything you’ve been wishing to change. Examples include sleeping more, eating less, socializing more, saving more money, finding balance between work and social commitments.
- What aspects of your life are working? What areas of your life are good? Maybe you’re an awesome organizer or DIYer, or maybe you know when you’re plate is full and know how to say “No” to extra obligations. Knowing these areas will help you identify skills you have that help you achieve your successes (at home, work or whatever aspect you easily dominate). Everyone has skills and things they’re good at.
- What things do you want to add to and subtract from your life? You already know what aspects need to be improved, now you need to know how you’ll improve them. What things (be them objects, knowledge, skills or behavior) will help you improve those areas of your life? Be realistic. Kickboxing is a fantastic way to get fit. You burn so many more calories a minute than doing a lot of traditional exercises. But if you hate kickboxing, why try to add that to your life? It may be an efficient way to get fit but if you’ll slowly find reasons not to do it, it’s better to find something that fascinates you. Doing something you love to do for an hour is better than doing something you hate for any amount of time.
- What do you envision your life to look like once you add and subtract the things you want to change? You’ve thought about what you want to change and you’ve come up with how you’re going to change them. Picture each outcome and you’ll have more images for your vision board.
The answers to these questions will help you picture your future. It helped me cut some things out of my vision board. Like I always liked the look of white mosquito netting, pillows, and lit candles. But never will I buy candles because that’s a fire hazard waiting to happen to a forgetful person like me. So nope, I’ll just enjoy these pics on Pinterest. I always wanted to enjoy a nice cup of tea at night but I also rarely feel like boiling water. Nope, didn’t make the cut.
The above image was made using a Canva template before I watched the YouTube videos and tied Koya Webb’s webinar to them. And you know what, it’s not perfect but it still rings true! There is no need for perfection in a vision board because our goals, thoughts, and wants are always changing. The only thing to keep in mind is, is this something you’re willing to work toward? Is this something that I would freely admit into my life if it came?