How To Make A Vision Board Work For You – Monica Style…

One of the assignments during my Yoga Apprenticeship was to put together a vision board. I’ll be the first to admit, when I found out we had to do this, I thought it seemed silly. But I showed up, and I’m glad I did.

I purchased a bunch of magazines and crafty things like markers and pastels. I had no idea what I was going to create, but I arrived at the Shala with an open mind and blank canvas.

I flipped through magazines and made a jumbled college of craziness. I realize now I should have had a game plan.

I would look at it everyday like I was told, but it just felt overwhelming.

I decided I needed a do over, so this time I focused on simplicity and realistic goals. It’s keeping me motivated and finally working nicely.

Here’s my step by step method:

How to make a vision board that works:

1. Brainstorm:

This is the most important step because you get to clear your mind.

Write down all of your goals and dreams no matter how big or unrealistic. Carry a journal around with you, and every time you have a new thought, jot it down. Do this for at least a week.  

You’ll notice that just getting this down on paper, and out of your mind will make an immense difference in your clarity and well being.

2. Narrow It Down:

At the end of your brainstorming pick 6-8 main categories and find a home for all of the goals and dreams you’ve been tracking under those categories. There is nothing wrong with an endless amount goals and dreams, but you want to be able to streamline them as much as possible so you can focus on your top priorities. Anything else is too overwhelming. 

Here’s an example:

a. Career: Pictures describing where you want to work, or the type of career you want.

b. Travel: India, Paris, New Mexico, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, etc

c. Relationships: marriage, long lasting friendships, moving in with your partner, kids

d. Big Purchases: New Car, House, Canoe

e. Money: Get out of debt, increase income by a certain amount a year, or a goal of saving an amount by a certain date. You can even write a check to yourself

f. Lifestyle Changes/Goals: Knitting, Gardening, Yoga, Meditation, go skydiving, eat more greens, ride an elephant, quit smoking

3. Keep it realistic and goals within the next year:

You’re going to want some quick wins, so keeping your vision board focused on one-year goals is key. My first vision board had a lot of unrealistic goals and superficial possessions.

• I wrote myself a huge (like crazy big) check and dated it a year later.
• I had some travel goals that were unrealistic because of where my money was at the time.
• I had a picture of a house out of a realistic price range

I look back now and see that I had a misunderstanding about vision boards. I thought that you could just put anything on there, and things were supposed to start manifesting.

It really only works if it’s something you can actually measure or envision as truth. 

Example 1: if you are interested in manifesting a huge increase in pay at your job, what goals can get you to that place? Do you need to increase your skill set, search for a new job?

In this case, you might add pictures of people in interview, a picture of someone being hired for a new job, some completed certification courses in design or accounting, or some inspirational words about a career.

Example 2: We live in a world where we need basic things to survive. Perhaps your car is on its last leg and you need a new one soon. It’s okay to put a picture of a new car, but again, keep it realistic. Do you want to own a home in the next year? 

Once I changed my vision board to things I actually believed in, I was able to work towards them. 

Something that seems so far away to attain might be more discouraging than motivating. You have to BELIEVE and WORK WITH the vision board. The whole, “if you build it, they will come” concept only works in baseball movies. 

4. Right Click, Save & Print

This is pretty self explanatory. Magazines are cool, but once you have your goals laid out, I suggest grabbing it off the internet. Google has everything you need. Just search Google Images.

1. Find a few you like off of your list
2. Right click
3. Save it to a folder
4. Print
5. Done!

5. Putting it all together / What You’ll Need

1. Foam or poster board
2. Scissors
3. Glue

The first thing you want to do is cut all of your pictures out with a scissors.

Then, I find it best to separate my board in sections. The top right corner is career, the bottom right is relationships, etc. 

Place everything on the board where you want it go, and then once you have it in place and everything fits, Glue it down!

Vision Board Example:

6. Put your board in a place that you will see it several times a day.

Watch how your goals manifest in the most unbelievable and unexpected ways!

 

Enjoy & Namaste!

 Have you ever made a vision board? What works best for you when creating it?