Whatever your personal scenario might be, this is the perfect time of year to renew your commitment to yourself with dynamic and beautiful new vision boards.
It’s March and those goals and intentions you created in early January may already seem like a faded memory for some. For others you are knocking those goals out one day at a time.
Whether you want to amplify your dreams and goals and make them even bigger or reconnect to the feeling of success you hope to create, a vision board is a perfect next step.
Visualizing what you really want in life can be one of the most powerful ways to manifest your dreams. A vision board can be a simple and yet truly powerful tool in visualizing what you want to create, do or have.
CREATE YOUR VISION BOARDS: THE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
1. THE FOUNDATION: Vision boards begin with a foundation. This may be a poster board, foam board, tri-fold board, or my favorite, a large cardboard cake round. Use what works best for you. Choose a foundation that speaks to you, one that you feel you can easily and effectively build upon.
2. IMAGERY: A vision board includes imagery. You can clip pictures out of books, magazines, or print off the internet, just use caution in reproducing or sharing images that are copyrighted. If you prefer, you can draw the images yourself or use your own photos. What matters here is that images are present, because your vision board needs to be visual in nature. Seeing pictures of your priorities, dreams, and goals will help you focus on them.
FUN TOOLS FOR YOUR VISION BOARDS!
3. HIDE YOUR WRITING: A vision board includes writing, but it should not include words! Huh? Writing isn’t mandatory, but it can play a role in identifying the key pieces of information. The way I like to begin is by spending some time journaling first about what I want for the coming year. Here are a few prompts to guide your writing:
- What do I want to do?
- What do I want to have or create?
- And who do I need to be in order to make it all happen?
Then I write the most important aspects of my journaling onto the foundation of my vision board. Ultimately the words become hidden by the images. This is very intentional. You want your vision to be expansive and unlimited. Words can create limits and beliefs about what’s possible.
Your vision is limited only by the extent of your personal creativity. It may be simple and strategic or it may be a highly detailed work of art. I recommend approaching this creative process from the perspectives of curiosity and play.
How do you know you got it “right”?
Actually, you can’t get it wrong!
THREE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF AN EMPOWERING VISION BOARD
1. Visual: Your subconscious tends to work in terms of images and pictures, and so your vision boards should be as visual as you can possibly make it. Avoid using phrases and words as much as possible or choose one word that captures your theme for the year.
2. Emotional: Every image on your vision boards should evoke some type of positive emotional response out of you. Seeing it should fuel your motivation to achieve your dreams.
3. Strategic: Vision boards are practical! This tool should be placed strategically in a location where you receive maximum exposure to it. Seeing your vision board as often as possible will help you stay focused on your goals and dreams.
4. Personal: Your vision boards need to emit positive energy. If you think that you’ll be criticized or forced to justify yourself for your vision board, then keep it in a private location so nobody else can bother it or you.
NOW YOU’RE READY!
Beyond these basic guidelines, let this process be whatever you want to make of it. Ultimately, it’s yours to design, develop and utilize as you see fit. You can add to it and change it over time as your goals and focuses change.
Once you’ve created your vision board, be sure to come and share a photo of it in the comments and let us hold the vision and intention with you. Magic happens when we grow together and share our dreams with others!
Dr. Minette Riordan is a risk-taker and curiosity seeker who loves jumping feet first into business building and art making. Her mantra is, “how hard can it be?”
A modern day Renaissance woman, Minette is an artist, writer, award-winning entrepreneur and advocate for creativity as essential to the well-being of all people and our planet.
She has built several successful businesses and published 3 books including her best seller The Artful Marketer.
She believes that we are all creative and when we become disconnected from our inner creative fire, we lose sight of our passion and purpose.
She is not alone in these beliefs. Recent studies by IBM and LinkedIn cite creativity as the single most important trait for today’s leaders yet only 1 in 4 people believe they are creative.
Minette helps leaders and their teams reconnect to their innate creativity. When we are all working in our highest and best creative genius, we can solve all the world’s problems.
When she’s not traveling to speak or lead workshops, you will find Minette in her studio making art that’s beautiful and inspiring. Learn more about her creative adventures at www.minetteriordan.com
