What is a vision board?
Vision boards, also known as a dream board or a mood board, is a visual representation of all your dreams and desires. It enables you to visualize your goals in real life mentally.
A vision board is traditionally created on a poster board with a collection of images, words, and things representing your life dreams, desires, and the person you want to become.
The content in this blog article will give you everything you need along with the process and pro vision board tips to create your perfect vision board in less than an hour and with attending a vision board workshop.
What is the purpose of making a vision board?
A vision board serves 2 purposes – it helps your subconscious focus on your life desires and gives you the motivation to pursue them by fueling them.
Visualization is the number one exercise recommended by the new thought experts such as Napolean Hill, Wallace D. Wattles, and Joseph Murphy for achieving your desires. Vision Boarding is a great tool that helps with visualization.
“Without the ability to visualize a goal and believe it will be reached, nothing of substance will be achieved. Not by anybody. Not at any time. Not in any place.”
Robert Herjavec
When we focus on something, we activate something called Reticular Activating System. This bundle of nerves at our brainstem filters out the unimportant information around us. From a scientific perspective, this is how Law of attraction works.
When you focus on something long enough, it comes to you because the RAS helps you filter out the noise around you so you can see those opportunities around you.
Digital Vision Boards vs. Physical Vision Boards?
| Digital Vision Board | Paper Vision Board |
|---|---|
| Can create and start using one in a short amount of time | Gathering supplies or printing one out takes longer |
| Can use it any place, any time | Not travel friendly |
| A relaxed state (alpha brainwave state) is optimum for visualization. Screen light has a negative effect of these brainwaves | Physical vision boards are ideal for using with an alpha brian wave state |
| Easy to see in the night light | Hard to see in the dark |
Creating a Vision Board in 5 easy steps
This post is about creating a vision board and creating one fast. The first few steps for creating a digital or a paper version are pretty much the same. Just follow the steps below.
Step 1: Create Your Future Vision
Goal Setting:
Start by writing a few goals within the health, wealth, and relationship-related areas in your life. There must be something in your life that you want above everything else. Be sure to focus on that and do not exclude the other areas of your life because these areas will help you get there.
For example, if you intend to find love, your health will help you create overall positive energy and make you magnetic. Having an abundance of wealth will ensure that you are not stressed out due to the lack of money in your life, which may cause you to not show up as your best self or, worse, attract a partner for the wrong reasons.
Focus on the result, not the “how”:
If you want a new car or a specific experience, put down that as your goal. Do not write down a higher paying job because you think that is the only way you can buy a car. Be open to unlimited possibilities.
Think Big
Whatever goal you have – 10x wherever possible. We often think small due to our limiting beliefs. When we think big, a tool like a vision board daily can help eliminate that resistance and motivate us towards achieving those goals.
“Those who believe they can move mountains, do. Those who believe they can’t, cannot.”
― David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big
For example, if you want to take a trip to Florida because you “think” that if what you would be able to afford based on your manifestation, you want to break free of that. The question should be, if I won a lottery tomorrow, where would I go? Your goals for your vision board should be free of limitations and an accurate representation of what your soul desires and what your life will look like if you had unlimited resources at your disposal.
Do not go overboard with the number of goals/desires.
Ideally, we want to turn each goal into a photo or quote on the vision board. A vision board enables your subconscious to focus on each image within the vision forward every single day. Too many pictures will dilute that focus and take a big chunk of time out of your every day routine.
Step 2: Create Your Template in Canva
Create a Canva Account
I highly recommend creating a template on a site like Canva for both physical and digital vision boards. Using a web-based service enables you to fully express your creativity and dreams because you can access all the photos and fonts available on the web. If you create your vision board traditionally by clipping photos out of a magazine, it will take longer and may not end up being exactly what you are looking for. The idea is that your vision board should have the ability to evoke all the positive emotions within you.
Pick Your Template
- In the Search Bar within Canva, look for the Mood Boards Photo Collage Template. You can either select one of the pre-populated collages or create a blank one.
- Alternatively, you can choose to start with a blank one and be creative – You can do this by inserting a “grid” element in a blank template.
- For this goal board, I am using a pre-populated mood board template called White Grid and Salmon Pink Brush Stroke Summer Mood Board Photo Collage.
Step 3: Gather Your “supplies.”
Words
Intentions are potent, and choosing the right words has the power to raise your vibration in an instant. Review your first goal. Close your eyes and think about how it would FEEL if you achieved it tomorrow. Think about the first word, phrase, or affirmation to come to your mind and note it. Do this for all your goals.
Images
Review your first goal and think about a scenario that could happen if you achieved it. For example, if your dream is to move to a bigger house, think about the first imagery that comes to mind? Are you imagining a woman in a beautiful backyard or perhaps cooking in a new spacious kitchen? Write down those scenarios that you associate with those goals. This will help you filter out suitable media.
Pro tip: If one of your goals is making more money, having a check can do wonders for your visualization. You can download free checks at The Secret TV.
Step 4: Populate Your Vision Board Template in Canva
Drop and Drag in Template:
Now look for these images in Canva (no magazines needed!) and drop them in your template. You can use text and drop those words and phrases in your template too. If you find that no image is resonating with you, you can find these photos on the web and upload them to Canva as well.
Review what is missing
The most effective kind of visualization should be a 360-degree experience and so immersive that it allows you to engage all your senses during the exercise. Review your vision board and think if the combination of vision board images and words serves as an inspiration and allows you to engage your senses when you visualize your goal using them. If not, consider what is missing.
Elements or past images for the missing pieces
- If you want to buy a new house, adding a coffee element can help you engage your sense of touch, smell, and taste.
- If you struggle with imagining your family in these scenarios, add an existing photo of your family to the vision board so that you can actively visualize them in these new scenarios.
- If you want to get married, add a picture of fabric as inspiration will help you “feel” the gown.
- Pro tip: The elements option in Canva will help where there is not enough space for more images
Step 5: Send Your Digital Vision Board to the Canva Print Shop
Your Vision Board is now ready! You can either download it directly and set it as your wallpaper. If you prefer a physical vision board, Canva allows you to print a poster for $6. Once delivered, you can staple the poster to a foam board to create the perfect physical vision board.
Now sure which one to go with? Use both! The more times you visualize, the better – having both the formats will make sure you do not skip this powerful exercise.
How do you manifest with a vision board?
- Having a vision board is not enough because it is just a tool. The whole intention behind creating a vision board is to help you visualize your desires vividly and in great detail. It tricks your subconscious into thinking that you have already accomplished your desires. When it does, you will find yourself in synchronistic scenarios, getting inspirations and nudges, and eventually taking bigger and bolder action.
- Aim to spend at least 5-10 minutes with your vision board everyday and immerse yourself into each image with all your senses until you feel happy and full of joy as if you have already accomplished everything.
- Pay attention to any resistance that comes up. Resistance is anything that tells you that you cannot achieve your dream. It is that critical voice in your head that tells you that you are not enough. If it comes up for you, you can use EFT on it or while you are using your vision board. There are plenty of EFT videos on youtube, and it is fairly easy to learn.
- Pro tip: When working with a physical vision board, try to have it slightly above your eye level. This position causes your eyes to look up and gives your brain a burst of alpha waves, great for intuition and creativity.
Vision Board Alternatives
There are other alternatives to vision board such as creative visualization, scripting, flow dreaming, and mindmovies.
Key is use the approach that does not feel like a chore.
Take Inspired Action
Lastly, pay attention to any epiphanies or nudges that come to you during or after your vision board work and take those action steps. Focusing on these action steps or “inspired actions” will help you accomplish your wildest dreams!
