It’s a new year and for many of us this means it’s another opportunity to work on our goals and set new ones. While jotting our plans down and writing new year’s resolutions are some ways to do this, creating a vision board is a much more impactful (and fun!) way of mapping out your plans and dreams.
According to Psychology Today, mental practices such as visualisation can increase motivation as well as confidence – making it easier for one to focus on their goals.
Someone's who has given us a glimpse of the power that a vision board can hold is Insecure actress and creator, Issa Rae. She recently shared an IGTV video in which she shows us her vision board from 2013 and explains what each image and text on the board meant and how all those things came to life.
She divided her board into three categories: personal, professional, and miscellaneous.
“Seven years ago, December 13, around this time, I made a vision board with some of my company members at the time. And looking at it, I framed it and put it in my office. So much sh*t has happened. On the work side, I knew I wanted to do something with HBO. Did that sh**, baby,” she said in the video.
Some of the goals she had set out for herself were losing weight, global travel and doing something with Netflix – and she incredibly achieved all those goals.
Here are the steps you can follow to create your own vision board.
1. Consider what matters most to you
Take a moment to reflect and figure out what’s most important to you. Like Issa, you can think of two or more segments of your life that you want to work on and focus on that. Decide whether you want your vision board to focus on your short-term or long term goals and start jotting your ideas down.
2. Gather all your magazines
Collect all your magazines and go through them. Start cutting out all the images and text that relate to your goals. Have fun with this and make a big pile of images, phrases and words that excite you. This is a fun and interactive old school way of doing things, but if you prefer something much quicker and easier - you can also download and print out images and words online.
Arrange the cutouts on your board and paste them accordingly.
3. Put it where you can see it
To make your vision board work, put it where you will always see it – just as a reminder of your goals. You can put it in your bedroom, office and even just above your TV. The trick here is also to make it as colourful and catchy to the eye so that it doesn’t blend in.
4. Don’t be afraid to update it
Think of your vision board as a living document, don’t just put it up and only ever look at it again in the middle of the year. Interact with it by ripping off and updating your goals as they change and evolve.
While we may be living in one of the most uncertain times in history, we're still capable of creating the life we want for ourselves and that all starts with a vision.
