Are there aspects of your life you want to change? Perhaps you want to change your career and land your dream job? Or maybe you have goals on where you see your life in five or ten years, whether that is married with children or traveling the world on a solo adventure! We all want different things in our lives, and sometimes, it can be difficult to remember to prioritize these things. One way to ensure you are constantly reminded of your goals and inspired to achieve them is with a vision board. This beautiful visualization tool is created from a collage of words and images and designed to help you focus. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about creating your own.
What is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a visualization tool consisting of a collage of images, words, and quotes. They are created to inspire you and motivate you to manifest (and hopefully achieve) your goals. They can be used for multiple purposes, including a wedding dream board, weight loss, or personal development, so each piece is created to be unique to the creator. Not only are they a useful tool, but they are also fun to make.
How Does a Vision Board Work?
The point of a vision board is to help inspire you and motivate you to achieve your goals. Looking at it every day will serve as a reminder of what you want, which can range from personal goals to inspiration for an important event. The combination of images and words is more than pretty pictures, and they can make it feel like you are one step closer to making your dreams a reality.
Goals of a Vision Board
Motivation: There are several reasons vision boards are used, including motivation. Motivation to act or behave in a certain way can change your actions and make you work harder to achieve them.
Intent: A vision board intends to get you acting upon dreams and goals to turn them into realities. You should feel determined.
Inspiration: Inspiration is for the goals or dreams that you want to achieve. You can include images of happy or working individuals if you want to strive to accomplish something with your career, or it could be filled with people who are working hard at the gym to remind yourself that you, too, are capable of this.
Clarity: A vision board can help you achieve better clarity, and you may find that putting together the images and words that motivate and inspire you to make your goals clearer and more attainable.
How to Make a Vision Board
A vision board can be digital or can be created on a physical board. What you choose will depend on your preference, but many people find that having the board up on their ceiling or wall motivates and inspires them more because they can look at it daily.
- The board: You will decide on the size of your board, which can be created from a thin piece of wood, thick cardboard, or a poster board. This will be the base for your college.
- Embellishments: The board aims to motivate and inspire you, clarifying your intent. To do this, you want the board to be as beautiful as possible, which can be achieved by adding embellishments. Not only will it be aesthetically pleasing, but the creation of your vision board will be fun.
- Magazines, Photographs, Quote Cards, or Printouts: You can use a mix of media to achieve your vision board, depending on your preference and what is available to you. This could be a combination of magazines, printouts, quote cards, and even photographs you have taken. Photos can be especially useful if you want to see images of yourself or your loved ones on the board as added motivation and to make the board feel even more personal.
- Your Board’s Focus Items: You want to have a clear vision before creating your board. What is the purpose of the board, and what are your focuses? For example, if it is a board to get you in better physical shape, you are unlikely to have images of work themes or relationships. You want to look at these images every day, so choose wisely.
- Other supplies: You will need a good pair of scissors and glue to create your collages. You can also include other handwritten messages and words of inspiration, so colored pens or a large marker are also useful.
- Time: How long you spend on your vision board depends on you. It can be as detailed and full of embellishments as you wish. You might make it within an hour or take days or weeks to collect the images you want, including cutouts, postcards, and photographs.
Online Vision Board
Vision boards can be physical or digital, depending on your preference. You could also create them online and then print them out. If you are looking for a valuable resource to help you turn your dreams and goals into realities, then Canva could be a good place to start. It is a website to help you design and create, including visual documents and marketing-related items. There are three choices, the Canva Free, which, although limited, will allow you to get your creative juices flowing with no previous design experience necessary. The second option is Canva Pro which is for individuals who want access to premium content and will give you access to unique tools to really up your projects. You can also use Canva for Teams to collaborate on projects with others and benefit from workplace tools.
Vision Board Ideas
When creating a vision board, you want to have a clear goal in mind. There are many options, depending on what you want to achieve. These could include focusing on love and relationships or your health and wellness. Below are some top vision board ideas to motivate and inspire you and make your goals attainable in no time.
Love and Relationships
When creating a vision board about love and relationships, you can combine images, words, and quotes of things you want from your life or want to improve. Are you in a long-term and committed relationship and have goals for the future, like marriage and children? Then this is something to focus on and may help you have an honest discussion with your partner about your needs to see how they align. If you have a busy career, this board may make you realize the importance of creating a work-life balance to focus more on those you love.
Health & Wellness
We only get one body, so we need to care for the skin that we are in. This is more than just physical but also mental, and if you feel you have been neglecting your health and wellness. A vision board will help counteract that by encouraging you to do what you want to do and reach your goals. The importance of sleep, exercise, and eating well can form part of your board. Maybe you want to read more and take time away from technology. Or perhaps you want to start a new activity? All of these things can be included.
Career & Dream Job
Do you have goals for the future or feel that your job is not fulfilling? The great thing about a vision board is that it can help you clarify your intent to get a promotion at work or completely change your career. Combining images that inspire you and words and quotes to motivate you will get you one step closer to achieving your goals. Remember, there is no time like the present, so take the plunge.
Travel Ideas and Goals
When deciding on your vision board, you want to have a clear intent so that the focus is well-defined. For those who want to get out more and experience adventure, travel, and goals is a great place to start. Travel can teach us so much about ourselves and is a wonderful way to experience new things and meet interesting people. Maybe there is a destination you have been dreaming of visiting. Your vision board can help you prioritize this and start your savings fund. Or perhaps you want to do more for your community by giving back and volunteering? All these things and more can be included.
Home & Family
Family is essential, and when we have busy lives and hectic schedules, we sometimes neglect those we love the most. Making time for your family and focusing on your home life is incredibly important. Take time to nurture your old friendships and a peaceful home life, and create your dream home filled (whether with a small renovation or a brilliant new coat of paint for your bedroom).
All Relationships
Love makes the world go round, and it is important to create relationships with your family and friends that make you feel happy and fulfilled. If a toxic person in your life is making you feel unhappy, then perhaps it is time to cut them out. Is there a relationship you think is not progressing, or are you not treated the way you should be? Then let your vision board remind you of your inner worth and give you the strength to change what needs change. Or, if everything is going well, make quality time for those you love the most.
Personal Development
Only you can make the changes you want to see in your life. This will look different for each person because while some want to take more time for themselves and focus on their hobbies, others may have goals of starting a family. Combine all the images and motivational quotes on your vision board to help you see what change you need or manifest what you want. Inspiring mantras can also help you. For example, “follow your dreams” or “life is good” can make your mindset more positive.
New Year Resolutions
How many times have you sworn to yourself that you will make a change or ditch a bad habit starting in the new year? Most of us have made a New Year’s Resolution at some point in our lives, only to forget about it a few weeks later. One way to ensure you cannot forget is if you are faced with a vision board daily, and this visualization tool can have a powerful impact. Do you want to spend more time with your friends or set goals for yourself and your partner? Or maybe you want to focus on health and work out more? There is no time like the present to create a new and happier you!
Where I See Myself in 5 Years
The future can seem scary, and really, none of us know what it will hold for us. That said, it can be good to set plans and goals to see where you want to be and what you want to achieve. The ‘Where I See Myself in 5 Years’ vision board is a great place to start planning. You can write words of what you want and include images of things you want to manifest. This is a brilliant way to focus yourself on what is important.
Keep, Stop, Start
We likely all have a bad habit or two that we would like to stop to improve ourselves. Vision boards are not only about making dreams a reality. They can also be used for practical things and to make essential changes. If you are a smoker or have some other habit you would prefer you did not, include it on your Keep, Stop, Start board. But also include things that you are proud of. For example, you want to keep traveling and getting healthier. Or you want to read more exciting novels or learn a new language. You’ve got this!
Living Life to the Fullest
What does living life to the fullest mean to you? For some people, it is to stop working a dead-end job they are not passionate about and start a new, exciting project. For others, it is to seek adventure and satisfy their wanderlust. Whatever this means to you, you can create a vision board to remind yourself of everything you love and want to achieve.
Dream Wedding
For many couples, their wedding day remains one of the most extraordinary and memorable events in their life. It was more than just a day. It was a celebration of love, whether they eloped or celebrated in front of a big group of family and friends. Planning your dream day can be a big and often daunting task, which is why it helps to have a clear goal. A vision board will help you visualize precisely what you want it to look like, including the perfect dress, color scheme, and gorgeous floral bouquet.
Self-Love and Inner Journey
Learning to love yourself is often easier said than done, but the importance of it cannot be stressed enough. To really embrace who you are, you must be kind to yourself and understand what makes you happy. The journey of self-discovery is powerful, and putting yourself first can revolutionize your life in ways you never thought possible. Remember this and create the perfect vision board around it.
Weight Loss
Do you need to shed a few pounds because it will make you feel better about your body or give you more energy? Whatever your reason for weight loss, and as long as your goal weight is healthy, you can be inspired by a vision board. Losing weight is not an easy process. Changing your lifestyle can be challenging, so when you feel like you are losing steam, it may be good to refer back to this brilliant visualization tool.
You’ve Got This! Empowering Vision Board
What better way to remind yourself that you can do anything you set your mind to than with a ‘You’ve Got This!’ vision board? This is one of the most empowering themes to focus on and will help you manifest what you really want. Do you want to focus on kind and loving people and eliminate those who drain your energy? Do you have a big dream that you would like to turn into a reality? Or maybe the lifestyle you want you are yet to achieve. Keep going and stay focused.
Month-by-Month Vision Board
You do not have to create a vision board with only long-term goals in mind, and it can also be useful to focus on a month-by-month design. This is a great way to tackle small goals and make them a reality sooner rather than later. In March, you may want to take an adventure; in April, you may want to ask for a raise. These are small steps to achieving a happier and healthier you. Do not be afraid to make changes or put yourself in situations that may be slightly outside your comfort zone because you never know what you might achieve.
Dream Big, Work Hard, Make it Happen
Having big dreams is important because it will make you constantly want to better yourself and your circumstances. They do not need to be financially driven and can instead be something like focusing on being unapologetically yourself or striving to find a better balance. Think about the intent behind the board before you get started, so the message is clear. You will be one step closer to transforming your life and embracing a new you. You have the ability to make this happen, so do not forget that.
Party Vision Board
Do you have a big celebration coming up? Maybe you are turning 30 and cannot wait to celebrate with your family and friends. Or maybe you want to share your love with everyone by throwing the perfect engagement party? Vision boards can be used for various reasons, including party planning. Take images of what you want your special event to look like and combine them to help you replicate the ideal celebration that you will never forget (and neither will your guests).
House Renovations Vision Board
It is incredible how loving the space you are in can make you feel so much better about yourself. Coming home to a house that feels safe and calming can change your outlook completely, and you can create your dream rooms with simple renovations. It can be as basic as a fresh coat of paint and a few accessories. Or you can completely transform your space. This will depend on your time and budget, but no alteration is too small to make an impact.
Affirmations Board
Positive affirmations are an excellent way to start your day, reminding yourself of your worth, strength, and resilience. Find the words and images that move and combine them to create a beautiful vision board that will help keep you happy or make a change. The life of your dreams starts with you. The inspiration to achieve it could start with something as simple as a visualization tool.
Vision Board FAQs
What should a vision board include?
A vision board should have a clear intent and is used to motivate and inspire you. They can have different themes depending on the goals you want to set for yourself. This could include love and relationships or landing your dream job and bettering your career. They combine images, words, and quotes to create a collage.
What are the three types of vision boards?
The three types of vision boards include poster boards created on cardboard or thin wood, digital boards online, or bullet boards. There are multiple themes you can choose depending on your desired outcome.
Is it OK to show your vision board?
Most people feel their vision board is very personal and may want to keep it private because it offers a glimpse into their thoughts and feelings. However, there is absolutely no reason you should not be able to show it to those you trust.
What are the pros and cons of a vision board?
The pros of a vision board are that you can look at it every day and remind yourself of what you want to achieve. It could be goals and dreams you want or bad habits you must give up to improve your health. The boards are a visualization tool to help make your goals attainable. The cons could be if you live with others, you may not want them to see this very personal board. You may also find that you are so focused on one theme that you neglect other aspects of your life.
How often should I redo my vision board?
Most people choose to redo their vision board once a year, but you can do it as often as your goals change. If the board is to achieve a 5-year plan, then you can leave it for longer, or perhaps it is focused on short-term achievements, and you can change it every month.
Can I make a digital vision board?
You can absolutely make a digital vision board, which could be created much quicker and easier than gathering photos to create a physical collage.
Cailyn Cox holds a degree in journalism and has been working with The Trend Spotter as a writer for over ten years. She has worked with some of the most prestigious women’s and men's lifestyle publications. For her, writing is not just a job; it’s a passion, which is why each article she writes is approached with such enthusiasm and dedication. She has extensive knowledge of hairstyles, tattoos, and beauty and has made a career out of creating informative articles that appeal to women and men of all ages.
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