Seeing is Believing! Why a vision board is important in achieving goals. -

SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITIES USE VISION BOARDS

In the video below, Steve Harvey and Oprah discuss the use of vision boards. Harvey discusses how it includes all of the things that he wants do and accomplish. While Harvey says that he can’t share everything on his vision board because some of it is personal, he does share that his goal to provide 10,000 with scholarships to college is on his vision board. (Interestingly, since the video below was taped, Harvey has teamed up with Coca-Cola’ Pay It Forward Scholarship Program, which provides programs to help minority students explore academic and career options where they are traditionally underrepresented. Additionally, Harvey has also partnered with Disney Dreamers Academy, which also seeks to inspire teens to succeed. You have to wonder if the relationship is coincidence, or a result of Harvey’s strong conviction to meet his goals of providing teens with mentoring opportunities.)

WHY VISION BOARDS CAN WORK

Personally, I agree with Harvey and Oprah; I believe that VISION BOARDS CAN HELP YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.

However, vision boards are not a panacea for all of your problems; VISION BOARDS ARE MERELY A TOOL which, If used appropriately, will ASSIST you in meeting your goals.

Vision boards are effective tools because they can be a reminder to help you STAY FOCUSED AND MOTIVATED! They will serve as a daily reminder of what you want and hopefully inspire you to TAKE ACTION towards meeting your goals. Visualizing your goals will remind you of your truest DESIRES and help MOTIVATE you to make it happen!

MAKING A VISION BOARD

You can make a vision board in several different ways. Undoubtedly, most people make a physical vision board with a cork board or poster board, and paste photos, magazine cutouts, etc. in a collage type format. (If you haven’t seen vision boards in this format, you can view these Google Images.)

If creating a physical vision board is your style, then you can purchase a cork board at almost any retail store. And, if you lack magazines, you could ask a local medical office or hair salon if they could give you some of their old magazines.

Me, I am more of a digital person. I find CREATING A DIGIAL VISION BOARD CAN SAVE YOU TIME. Plus a digital vision board can be more visible; you can save it as your desktop, you can set it as your homepage, etc. Or, if you prefer, you can print the digital vision boards and place them in strategic locations that will serve as a constant reminder of your goals.

You can use several different tools to create a digital vision board. Some people use Pinterest. Others simply use a free collage program like Picture2Life. You could also use Padlet, which I wrote a blog post on in the past.

Personally, one of my favorite tools for digital vision board creation is RealTimeBoard, a white board that allows you to post pictures, texts, etc. just like you were attaching them to a real white board. (RealTimeBoard lets you make three boards with their free version. You can also add three collaborators for free if you want to make a collaborative vision board. (See below for more details on collaborative vision board.)

Once you create your vision board, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE VISION BOARD TO BE SOMEWHERE YOU CAN SEE IT. But you can’t just look at the vision board, believing that your fairy godmother will magically help you achieve your goals because YOU HAVE TO CHART YOUR COURSE; you have to choose ACTIONS THAT MOVE YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF ATTAINING YOUR GOALS. (As a side note, one of my all time FAVORITE BOOKS is The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. It discusses the ability to reach your goals through little, everyday actions or the ability to create a life opposite of what you really want through little, everyday actions. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING IT, or listening to it thought Audible like I did.)

MORE ON CREATING VISION BOARDS: TIMETABLE

Before creating your vision board, you have to decide on a time table for it. In other words, what is a realistic timetable to complete your goals?

I like to create vision boards for the next year or so. Of course, you can choose a shorter or longer time frame, depending on your goals. Or, you can make multiple vision boards, one for short-term goals and another for long-term goals.

MORE ON CREATING VISION BOARDS: CONTENT

Content on a vision board is significant. Since this is a visual representation of your goals, your vision board should be reflective of your goals.

So take a look at your goals. (If you haven’t written your goals, check my previous blog posts on Setting Goals, What Goals are Most Important to You?, Writing SMART Goals, and Achieving Goals) to help you get started.

Then, select, the media that will best “visually speak” your goal to you, and place them on your board. This could be:

Pictures
Inspirational quotes
Words
Etc.

Arrange the media in an aesthetically appealing way. Remember, you want to MAKE A VISION BOARD THAT HELPS YOU TO TAKE INSPIRED ACTION TOWARDS MEETING YOUR GOALS!

SET JOINT GOALS WITH COLLABORATIVE VISION BOARDS

Vision boards don’t have to be individual. You can also collaborate to make a vision board with your significant other and put mutual goals on it. It could be a mutual attempt to improve your relationship by stating your desires and expectations.

Or, you can make a collaborative board with your child/children to give you both/all something to work towards. Or, if you own a business or manage a team, you could make a vision board with your employees/colleagues to serve as a constant reminder of the collaborative goals.

IN CONCLUSION

When contemplating creating your vision board, keep these words from Oprah in mind.