With 2022 around the corner, people around the world are beginning to brainstorm ambitious New Year’s resolutions. One popular way to meaningfully commit to positive change in the next period of life is to create a vision board. Visual reminders of ambitions are popular for a reason – when you begin to visualize your ideal life, naturally things will start to fall into place. If you’re looking to manifest your ideal self, vision boards are a great place to start.
Creating a vision board requires you to explore what you want in life. You have to determine what goals you want to achieve, why you want them and how it will look when you’ve reached success. Only after you’ve really thought about your ideal life and how you plan on getting there can you create an effective vision board to guide your future.
Some major benefits of having a vision board include:
Now that we’ve determined why you should create a vision board, let’s talk about how to go about it. When you’re finished with the steps below, you’ll have created a personalized vision board to help you thrive.
Before you break out the magazines and start collaging, you’ll want to set an intention. Think about what you want out of life in the long run. Do you want financial security, to establish a consistent journaling habit, to find peace in everyday life or all of the above? Once you establish what you want for your future self, you can move on to the next step.
So you’ve determined what your goals are. Next, you’ll want to prioritize them by importance. For example, if it’s most important for you to establish a consistent yoga practice this upcoming year, maybe that will be the focal point of your vision board. Goals that are less important to you might take up less space on the finished visual.
Before you start sourcing photos for your collage, you need to decide how you want to format your vision. First, decide on whether you want your vision board to be digital or physical. Each format has its pros and cons.
When you have a physical board, it’s easy to put it somewhere easily visible, but it might take more time and energy to create. In contrast, a digital board might be more convenient for the computer savvy reader, but you risk keeping your vision out of sight and out of mind. If you ultimately decide on a digital board, consider investing in some nice paper and printing it out to hang up on your wall.
Now that you’ve decided on an intention and a format for your project, it’s time to gather images. For a physical board, gather magazines along with a pair of scissors and some glue. Cut out the photos that resonate most with you and your vision and paste them onto your canvas.
If you’re trying to manifest financial stability, you might cut out a picture of a hundred-dollar bill, whereas if you’re trying to be more mindful, you might look for a picture of someone sitting in meditation. Remember, the more important your goal, the more space it should take up on your collage. For less important goals, choose smaller images.
If you chose a digital canvas or prefer to print out visuals online, check out stock image websites like Pexels and Unsplash. Pinterest is also a helpful resource for both finding and organizing images for your vision board.
For your board to be an effective manifestation tool, you’ll want it to be displayed loud and proud somewhere where you will see it often. This could mean hanging your board on your bedroom wall, in your home office or by your nightstand. Just make sure it’s not sitting in the back of your closet gathering dust.
If you’re creating a digital canvas, consider making your vision board your desktop background. That way, every time you log on to your computer, you’re reminded of your dreams and aspirations. Alternatively, you could make your board a phone background or print out your finished product and physically hang it somewhere.
For a finishing touch, add inspirational quotes and keywords that resonate with your vision. To help you out, we’ve provided some fun printable quotes below.
Once you’ve finished, it’s time to pat yourself on the back for completing such a meaningful project. Of course, the work isn’t quite over yet—you’ll want to spend a little time each day contemplating your vision board. If you’d like to make more money, imagine how financial stability would make you feel. But don’t stop there.
For your vision to really be effective, you also want to imagine the steps necessary to attain the end result you want. If your goal is to maintain a healthy weight, for example, don’t just imagine your dream body, but also visualize yourself practicing healthy habits like going on hikes or doing yoga.
When it comes to visualization, a little effort goes a long way. By engaging in manifestation for as little as a couple minutes a day, you’re setting yourself up for success down the road.
When you’re trying to manifest positive changes in your life, vision boards are a must. When you create art that embodies your goals, you’re also creating a reminder about what’s really important to you. Whether you want to become a more mindful person or manifest a better job, creating a visual representation of those goals can go a long way.
Luke Strauss is a content creator at Siege Media. He primarily covers topics related to wellness and personal development. When he’s not writing he enjoys exploring, making music and spending time with his friends and family.