4 Easy Steps to Create a Vision Board

You’ve likely heard the phrase: new year, new you. While you might not want that kind of dramatic transformation, a new year does present a good time to re-evaluate your goals or intentions and make some changes.

A vision board is a visual representation of what inspires you and your goals. It can also present a chance for you to reflect on how you want to feel throughout the year.

Visualizing your goals or intentions can make it more likely that these things happen. According to Psychology Today, “Brain studies now reveal that thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions. Mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success and increase states of flow.”

Here are 4 easy steps to help you create a vision board.

Select areas of focus

When you create a vision board, you’re trying to bring these things into your life. Examine a few areas of your life like career, relationships, creative projects, finances, home, health and spiritual growth. Pick a few areas of focus, and think about the changes you would like to see there.

Write down your goals

After you’ve determined your focus points, write down your goals or intentions. This can include how you want to feel or words that inspire you. Writing your intentions by hand helps you organize your thoughts and provides another way to visualize these desires.

Assemble your supplies

Most boards include both pictures and text. Many people create their vision boards using poster board, but you can also use a bulletin board, a photo frame, a shadowbox, a canvas or a journal. Then gather scissors, tape, pins, a glue stick, markers, colored pencils, stickers or any other embellishments you want to use. Your vision board canvas will dictate some of your supplies.

You’ll also want to gather a stack of magazines or newspapers, or if you don’t have any lying around, you can pull images from Pinterest and Instagram and print these off. You can also use photos or other mementos that remind you of your intentions.

Before you start gluing or pinning things down, lay everything out to see if you like how it looks and makes you feel.

Find a good spot for your vision board

After creating your vision board, find a place that ensures you will look at it often. If your board centers around career goals, try placing it by your desk. You could also hang it in your bedroom, so you see it every morning when you wake up. Or, if your intentions are about fitness, put it by your door, so you encourage yourself to get outside.

You may also feel more private about your goals, so you may not want it somewhere other people can see. That’s okay. Take a photo, and use your vision board as a screensaver or the lock screen on your phone.

No matter what your vision board looks like or where you place it, the important thing is you look at it often. Seeing these words and images will help you visualize yourself achieving these goals or intentions, and you’ll be more likely to make these changes in your life.