Learning to make a vision board is simple and fun and a wonderfully creative way to set goals and dreams.

But it is also a deeply personal process that requires self-awareness, courage to display the truth about ourselves, and the strength to prioritize what is meaningful to us.

What is a Vision Board?

A vision board is a visual reminder of what we value, a gentle nudge to our subconscious to look for ways to bring our values to fruition.

It can keep us focused on goals, help us stay true to who we are, and inspire us to reach for Big Things by taking tiny steps in the right direction.

Physically, it is a board (cork, foam, cardboard, or wood) covered with a hodgepodge of images, words, and various pieces of detritus that remind us what we value, what we want to experience, and what we want to do, make, acquire, learn, etc.

Vision Boards are reminders of what is most important to us.

How to Make a Vision Board

Choose the right setting for you

Making a vision board is a personal project. The images, words, and items you curate will be meaningful to you and you alone. It’s not about shoulds and musts and have-tos. It’s about quieting your mind and environment and letting your innermost wishes, dreams, hopes, quirks, and fancies bob up to the surface. No judgment, no coercion, no raised eyebrows, tsk-tsks, or doubts.

This is the time to let your inner child do the creating, giving full flight to whatever delights you. This is the time to trust your gut, your intuition, that inner voice that says, “YES!!! I LOVE this!!!”

I like to make my vision board by myself and not show it to anyone until I’m done. This allows me to answer only to myself and not let my vision board be colored by the opinions and ideas of others.

Other people thrive on making them with others, enjoying the collaborative process. If you do make your vision board with others, just make sure that they are supportive cheerleaders who will affirm and delight in whatever hair-brained idea you stick on your board.

Collect, Collect, Collect

To make a vision board, you need images, words, and little things that can easily be affixed to your board.

Throughout the year I pick up beautiful old issues of magazines from thrift stores or library sales. I go through them at my leisure, cutting out pictures that do one of the following:

• conjure up a feeling I want to feel.
• depict a skill I want to acquire.
• display a place I want to go.
• remind me of a topic I want to study.
• convey an experience I want to experience.
• showcase something I want for my home/farm/life.
• contain words that capture something I value or want to develop.
• advertise classes or workshops I’d like to take.

I also collect other little things and keep them in a special drawer, box, or big glass jar:

• found objects from nature: rocks, feathers, seeds, dried flowers, shells, bark, etc.
• mementos from travel that remind me of places I want to go or return to: flags, key rings, postcards, brochures.
• things that remind me of craft projects I want to tackle: bits of fabric, ribbon, buttons, wool, or string.
• colorful paper prints.
• recipes or techniques I want to try.

Collect Your Supplies

To make a vision board, you will need the following:

• a large board (cork, foam, wood, cardboard, etc)
• images/words/things to represent what you love.
• scissors
• tape, thumbtacks, pins, small nails, whatever you need to stick things to your board.

Take Your Time

Making a vision board is not a quick project, at least not for me. As I rifle through the stacks of images, quotes, and bits and pieces I’ve collected, I find that things I valued 12 months ago have altered significantly or disappeared altogether. I like to sort through those collections and get rid of anything that doesn’t resonate with Now Me.

I lay everything out first, shifting and replacing as needed, and then start pinning/taping things into place.

I like to leave some blank spaces, or fill them in with colored bits of paper that can be replaced by new images/words that I find over time. Know that you can change your board at any time to suit any changes in your belief system, worldview, career, or relationships.

Be Gentle

Sometimes the process can be quite emotional as different images trigger memories from the past, or the mere process highlights what you have lost, broken, or missed out on. Sometimes I need to take time to grieve, to forgive myself or someone else, to admit I’ve strayed from what matters to me or put precious energies into things that don’t matter one bit. It’s all OK, and part of a lovely process that can lead from regret to unabashed joy as you refocus on the things you treasure most.

Have Fun and Dream Big

This is dream time, hope time, what-would-I-do-if-I-could-do-anything time. You may not know how you’re going to do it or if you even can, but that’s not the point. If it makes your heart swell, stick that baby up on the board.

If you’re flat broke and barely making ends meet, but the thought of going to Italy or France makes you giddy, put up an image of the Eiffel Tower or the Amalfi Coast.

If you can’t draw to save your life, but the sight of an image of paints and paintbrushes elicits a happy sigh, stick it on.

If you want to learn Russian or wood-carving, take a self-defense course or make cheese, study Viking runes or make croissants from scratch, put those things on your vision board.

Place Your Vision Board

Your vision board is YOUR work of art, a visual representation of your dearest wishes, greatest goals, and quirkiest delights. Put it in a place of honor, a spot where you can see it every day and be reminded of what you’re working towards and planning for. As you ruminate on what you DO love and value, the other things will drift away, making more room for the things that truly matter to you.

I have mine on my bedside table, leaning against the wall next to my reading lamp, polished stones and sparkling crystals, flickering candle, and a little bird figurine. I see it every morning when I wake up, every night when I go to bed, and each time I see it, something else stands out and strengthens my resolve and restores my hope.

The images and bits and bobs mean nothing to anyone else, but they are precious to me. I’m the only one who knows what they represent and what they’re guiding me towards. When I get overwhelmed and stressed, it does me much good to sit awhile with my vision board and remember what I love.

What is one thing you would like to put on your vision board? xo