The Real Reason Why Vision Boards Work (& How to Make Your Own)

Most people advocate vision boards because of something called the “Law of attraction”. I personally am not a big fan of this law for two reasons: The first being that God’s will is inevitable even in spite of my own (1 Thessalonians 5:18 & Jeremiah 29:11). The second reason is that all good things come from God (James 1:17). I personally cannot accredit the universe for all the great things Jesus does and is doing not just in my life but in the lives of others!

WITH THAT BEING SAID…

Having a vision board allows you to dream with your eyes open and keeps your mind focused on living your life in such a way as to make room for those dreams to become your reality. I am definitely a visual person, so this system really recharges my drive and motivation on days I just don’t feel like trying.

My Vision Board

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of being able to record your dreams so you can replay them whenever you feel like it. When I decided to make a vision board, I knew that I wanted to use images that gave me something to be excited about via the internet, but I also wanted those images to have a little more tolerance than ones on printer paper. After all, you do want to keep your vision board in good condition.

When Printiki offered me a few prints of my own, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to print the images I was so fascinated by in a way that would ensure their longevity. I knew that I would hang up the prints, so I went ahead and ordered my prints with a matte finish (that way I wouldn’t have to worry about the way the lighting glares on the pictures) rather than the glare finish they offer.

When I received my pictures I was IN LOVE with the way they turned out. I was so worried that I wasted the opportunity by choosing photo’s I could just print at home however, when I saw the quality of the pictures, I was happy I ordered them instead. They’re not only perfect for room decor but in a way, they symbolize Polaroids that I hope to be able to take myself in the future.

Having a vision board allows you to revisit those dreams when you want to. The only catch is that it isn’t simply a bunch of wishes or prayers… but visual representations of where you want to end up in x amount of years. Which is where vision journaling comes in the picture.

Its Vision Journal

 

I like to liken vision boards to having someone dangle hot molten lava chocolate cake in front of you as you run on a treadmill. It’s there to push you through the irony of the monotonous work days! Vision journaling is like deciding the amount of time you’re going to run on that treadmill and how fast. It is basically the master plan book.

I was actually gifted this journal along with several others from my sister. I was at a loss for how to use them, so I decided to do some research on what in the world I could do with so many journals! That’s when I stumbled upon the idea of having a vision journal. Similar to bullet journaling, the layout of this journal is completely up to you- but it does have its distinct theme.

I decided to list all the goals I want to accomplish on the second page and divide those according to how important each pursuit is to me. At the top I have things that I without a doubt NEED to have done in my lifetime as far as it is up to me. In the middle, things that I strongly desire to have done in my lifetime. On the bottom, things I don’t mind not accomplishing in my lifetime.

Next to each goal is a page number and on the pages listed are the plans for accomplishing the assigned goal. I revisit these pages often because…well.. life happens (sometimes unfortunately and sometimes fortunately!) so I try to write on those pages in pencil since I may have to revisit them to make changes.

Throughout the journal, kind of scattered randomly, I also have quotes that I find inspiring or motivational. Now, I do have an entire page of motivating and inspiring quotes in my bullet journal but, because I am such a big advocate of surrounding yourself with positivity, I keep a few in my vision journal as well!

Make One Yourself!

Where do you want to end up in the next 5,10, or 20 years? What do you see yourself doing? What car do you see yourself driving? What events do you see yourself attending? Who do you see yourself surrounded by? What sights have you seen at this particular point in your future? What sights do you have yet to see at this point in your future?

These are the kind of questions you want to answer in the pictures you choose. When it comes to printing your photos, I recommend printing with Printiki because you don’t want the pictures to tarnish or get damaged in that time frame. You should be able to frame these pictures, tape them on your wall, take them back down, move them to another place entirely, pack them up, hang them up again, rearrange them, etc. without having to worry about their condition.

Place your first order with my voucher code ( FDSGUWZX ) for free shipping! Once your prints arrive (which should be within 2 weeks), hang them in a place that you see frequently. This can be the back of your bedroom door, your ceiling right above your bed (so you wake up looking at your vision board), or you can place them where I did; right by your desk. Where you place your vision board is parallel to how in-your-face you want your motivation to be. It’s completely up to you!

The Vision Journal

As I mentioned when talking about the vision journal associated with my vision board, there is no “standard” vision journal layout. If I could lend one universal piece of advice though, I would say to make sure that you write in your vision journal in pencil. You want to be able to keep it flexible so you can make changes and updates as you go!

A vision journal should be geared towards accomplishing the short term goals that lend themselves to the bigger goals you have displayed on your vision board. If it helps for you to have an index, use the first page as an index. As for the other pages or layout in general feel free to organize it in the fashion that works best for you! A simple template to use would be to just title each page with a goal & on each page write down the steps you need to take to accomplish the goal of that page in checklist format. You have total freedom to be as creative as you’d like, so run with your ideas and see what you can come up with!

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”

– Melody Beattie

What’s one thing you want to accomplish in this upcoming year?