How to create a vision board for a fresh start.
By Jenny Remington
Jenny Remington is an ICF-certified career growth and life coach who empowers professionals and entrepreneurs to reignite their careers, discover their paths or realign their lives. Remington’s mission is to boost positivity, empower vision, nurture inner strength and live mindfully. She bridges personal and professional realms, helping clients improve their lives through self-awareness and holistic self-care. Follow her blog at jennyremington.com, or connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Have you spent time and energy on visualizing your dreams lately? A powerful way to do that is to create a vision board, a collective name for various inspirational collages created from pictures and phrases.
A vision board can make your dreams feel more tangible and attainable. The act of creating it tells your mind what’s important. You are teaching your mind what you want to focus on while creating your vision board.
This process can inspire and positively motivate you by bringing clarity to your mind and connection to your heart. You can create a general vision board for your life, or you can focus your vision board on a specific project you are creating. Your vision board will be unique and special because you have gifts and dreams that only you can bring to the world.
As a firm believer in giving purpose and intention to your vision, I enjoy teaching others how to create a vision board that works for their goals.
Gather your materials
First, you’ll want to gather the items and inspiration to make the process fun and manageable. Here is my essential list and a few ideas to zhuzh it up!
- Board (ex: 16″ x 20″ foam board) or a Manilla Folder
- Glue stick
- Many magazines with positive messages and images
- Scissors
- Other items that will make your board feel special (i.e., scrapbook paper, markers, washi tape, stickers, feathers, beads, special items, etc.)
Collect your images
Spend one hour to 90 minutes collecting images that speak to how you want to feel: experiences you wish to have and messages you want to live by. Whether you are a “cut each image out nicely” or a “rip the whole page out,” this step is all about action.
The most important thing to focus on when choosing images is to think about: How does this make me feel? For example, don’t choose a physical item you want to buy or acquire (e.g., shoes, a car, or a home). But if that image represents how you want to feel (e.g., powerful, polished, or grounded), then go for it! The images that produce your best results will be the ones that evoke the strongest positive emotional response.
Metaphors are powerful on vision boards. Collect pictures that symbolize your values and evoke a story that speaks to your heart. Most of all, try not to overthink. Let your heart lead. Don’t worry about collecting “too much” as you’ll have a chance to winnow down later.
If you want to make the process of creating your vision board more fun, listen to upbeat music, light a candle, stand up – do whatever keeps your mind and heart in a good, light-hearted space.
Curate your images
By now, you have a lot of images. Spend time curating and choosing your favorite images from everything you collected. Only some things you gathered will make it to your board, and that’s okay! Being thoughtful about what does not make the cut is really important.
As you decide what to keep and what to let go, ask yourself again, “How does this make me feel?” and “Is this what I want more of?”
If you notice any negative images or phrases (ex: “stop procrastinating”), see if you can get to what you do want. (ex: peaceful heart). If you need to, replace that negative message with an inspired positive one.
Commit your inspirational images to your board
Start with the image that speaks to your heart and find a great spot for it. Begin arranging the rest of your images from there. Think of your vision board as a puzzle, and keep moving the images around until they fit you just right!
If you have big images, think in layers. First, arrange all your big images and layer other images or phrases on top of them. You don’t need to see the whole picture for the meaning to be visible. If you want to add more color, grab some colorful paper or markers! Add your favorite colors with scrapbook paper or markers to make it something you love.
When all your materials are on your board, take a photo of it. This photo can be helpful as you take the board apart to glue everything down.
Claim your vision
Congratulate yourself on creating a personal, powerful and perfectly (im)perfect vision board! Put it in a place where you will see it every day to let it inspire you. You might even want to share what you’ve created with a trusted friend or partner. This reflection is a chance for you to fall in love with your vision and maybe even find new patterns and synergies in your life.