Vision boards are the. best.
Honestly, what’s more fun than sitting down with a stack of old magazines (and for me, a cup of tea), sifting through and clipping anything to resonates with you, inspires you, or makes you smile, and then pasting them all together to create something beautiful? Creating a vision board is my idea of a great night (or rainy afternoon, or Sunday morning).
Vision boards can be created at any time and can be specific to a facet of your life (you could create a vision board that is career focused only, based around how you hope to grow professionally) or it can be general and overarching like the one I created below. As one year ends and another is about to begin, we’re presented with a great opportunity to both reflect and then look ahead and visually outline our hopes, goals, and dreams for the next trip around the sun.
Below, I’ve outlined some items you need, or could use, to craft your vision board and I’ll also walk you through my creative & thought processes while making mine for 2018 below.
My 2018 vision board.
Here’s a (non-extensive) list of things you need/can use to create your vision board:
A surface (I like to use cardboard, old boxes work great. But you could use a corkboard or a regular piece of paper if you want.)
Old Magazines (Note that the types of magazines you have will guide the images and phrases you will be able to find in them. So you should search out magazines with the types of things in them that you think you will want on your board.)
Scissors
Glue sticks
An open heart for reflection and imagination :)
Optional:
Printed personal photos of family & friends
Stickers, glitter, markers, washi tape
Liquid inspiration: Coffee, tea, wine
To start, create a comfy, soothing place to create your board. Find a space that you feel comfortable in and that is large enough to spread out all of your supplies. A large table or the floor are great choices. Remember, the process of creating your board should be reflective and therapeutic. Add some music in the background, burn some candles or incense, or anything else that supports you in feeling comfortable and tapped into your desires.
As you begin, here are some questions you should think on to guide your creating. Write down some of your thoughts and refer back to them as you go:
As you move into the next year…
What do you want? What are you saving up for? What are your dreams and goals?
What do you need? What can you absolutely not live without?
What do you value? What do you aspire to? What guides your actions?
And as you’re flipping through, you might feel a little overwhelmed (magazines can do that) and unsure what to cut out. So here are some ideas of things to clip and how they related to my vision board above for reference.
Pictures of things you love or things that make you smile. For me that was golden retrievers, kitties, flowers, and champagne. Because these are things you love, they are obviously things you’ll want to carry into the new year. Besides, looking at your board should be uplifting and lots of these pictures help!
Pictures of activities that you want to do more of in the new year. For me that was pictures of yoga, travelling, and a group of friends at dinner together. Maybe you want to cook at home more, so you could include pictures of tasty foods. Or maybe you want to take up photography. You get the drill.
Cut out words or phrases that you want to manifest in the new year. For me those words were love, joy, cozy, minimalist, happier, and healthier. And the phrases were, “Create your own sunshine,” “Stop & Smell the flowers,” “Speak your truth,” “Make peace with yourself,” and “Your mental health is important.”
Here are some other things to keep in mind while crafting your vision board:
There are no rules for what you can or cannot put on your vision board.
However, your board should focus on the positive. Add things to your board that you DO want to accomplish or manifest. Try not to add anything to your board that you don’t want to do, even if the end result is positive. For example, if you want to quit smoking, I wouldn’t put a pack of cigarettes crossed out on your board, I would put the words “Create healthier habits” or something of the like that is focused on the positive action. This is something you want to be able to look at every day and be continually reminded of your goals. It should be positive reinforcement. However, I will say, in this example, if seeing a box of cigarettes crossed out is what motivates YOU, then do it. There’s no right or wrong here.
If you don’t find exactly what you are looking for in magazines, get creative. You can print things from the web, draw, or even just write things on colorful paper.
UPDATE: My new 2019 vision board!
I’ve finished my vision board. Now what?
When you’re finished, place your vision board somewhere prominent so that you will see it every day of the new year. Creating your vision board is part one of the vision board process, but equally as is important is part two which involves reflecting on your board over the coming year and especially at the end when you can see how far you’ve come.
The next thing you can do is take your vision board and create your “Take Action” list. After all, “Vision is merely a dream without action.” If there are things on your vision board that you want to bring into existence, create actionable items that you can work on to make it happen. Exercise 3 times a week. Mark in your calendar when to call a friend. Buy some succulents. Whatever it is, you are in control of how far you will go this coming year.
