As we wrap up 2021, with 2022 coming for us fast, it’s time to reflect on what you want to achieve next year! Having set goals can help you stay grounded and focused when everything else around you seems to be in a state of flux. Here’s where your vision board comes in handy!

Also known as “dream boards,” or “inspiration boards,” these simple visual tools make it easy for you to clarify your vision for the life you truly want to live.

Similar to a mood board, it is a visual tool but instead of being used to plan a mood or a look, it is used to help you plot out your goals. A vision board displays your core desires and aspirations. It’s a tool to help you keep your goals in your sights.

I can tell you from my own experience that vision boards do actually work! Each time I’ve made one, I look back and think wow this really did happen almost exactly as I pictured. You will find countless others that have had the same positive experience and this is why it is not a trend but a tested tool that you can harness.

To chase your ambitions and stay on top of your game, here are 10 ways to build a powerful vision board:

01. Check Your Cynicism at the Door

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of evidence on your side! Visualization is a powerful tool. Making your goals into something you can see, instead of just an idea in the back of your mind can do wonder for your motivation.

02. Set Your Goals

A vision board is a great tool to set a variety of intentions, and you don’t need to settle on just one. Order them by importance and layout your imagery in a way that emphasizes your greatest dreams. The old adage of “Go Big, or Go Home” rings true when it comes to our goals!

03. Be Thoughtful with Your Content

Though it shares some similarities with mood boards, a vision board is not just a collection of pictures and quotes that you enjoy. Everything serves a purpose! Make sure whatever you choose is a clear reflection of your goal. For instance, if having more money is a goal, then picture yourself with what having money looks like to you? Is it grand vacations, special moments? You can include not only photos but “power words,” inspiring quotes, illustrations, personal affirmations, purpose statements, or anything else that speaks to you. Choose images that you can fully envision that feeling of you having it!

04. Choose Tangible Goals

Not all goals are created equal. Use this as a tool for realistic goals like reaching a certain number of clients, making the switch to freelancing within a certain time, or even a revenue goal. As you gather your images and other vision-board “ingredients,” be sure to consider ALL areas of your life – not just your income and professional goals but also your relationships, your health and fitness, your free time, your spiritual life, and how you want to live in community with others. 

05. Don’t Rush It

Like the goals you’re trying to achieve, this won’t be completed overnight! Take some time and be mindful of what you choose to include and how you include it. 

06. Only include images of the highest importance

The fact is, you are constantly creating your own reality at every moment. Your vision board should only include content that is your utmost importance number one goal in all areas.

Your thoughts determine your feelings, your feelings determine your actions, and your actions determine your reality – so if you want to create a better reality, you have to start by thinking better thoughts, and in turn, you need to instil these thoughts through intentional imagery.

Simply put, the Law of Attraction says that you attract into your life whatever you focus on and feel strongly about. So, if you focus on the good and positive things in your life, you will automatically attract more of those things into your life. If you focus on lack and negativity, then that is what you will attract more of into your life. It’s that simple – and that powerful.

07. Avoid Clutter

It’s hard to focus while sitting in a messy workspace and since this is an extension of that, you should use the same mentality. You don’t need to be a minimalist about it but avoid adding so much that you start to lose sight of the vision.

08. Choose a Medium

If you’re crafty, the choice is most likely to be the more traditional method of cutting and pasting your materials to a poster board! If you find yourself to be no Martha Stewart crafter, you aren’t out of luck! Your vision board could be a carefully curated Pinterest board, or build it digitally through your favourite design program.

09. Keep It Front and Centre

After you’ve put in all this work, you want to be able to see it so you stay inspired. Place your vision board where you’ll see it every day, like on your closet door or your desk. If you’ve built a digital board like I have, take a screenshot or save it as a PNG and set it as your desktop or phone background! It works like a dream!

10. Keep it Fresh!

Priorities change and goals adapt, that’s an undeniable fact of life! Take some time to check in with yourself on whether or not your goals are still the same and take the time to update your vision board as needed. 

Remind yourself daily that your thoughts are powerful. They have a very real impact on the world around you.

Your thoughts determine your actions, and your actions declare your intentions to the universe. And the universe will respond to those intentions.

So if you want the better results, you have to think and behave in a way that is in alignment with what you ultimately want to be, do, and have in life.

Remember, your vision board is a tool to help you keep your goals in your sights. Be mindful and honest, and have fun with it. May 2022 be a year of possibilities and accomplishments!