Vision board: 6 steps to building a motivating visualization board

Creating a vision board involves representing a goal to be achieved using images and inspirational quotes. According to the Miracle Morning method of personal development, an effective vision board will help you to think positively, to change your personal or professional life. Visualizing your dreams every day will give you all the motivation and confidence you need to take action over time, and make your project a reality.

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The vision board: a motivational tool

Building your vision board means building a new life, or almost a new life. More precisely, it means choosing to change. Here's how.

What is a vision board ?

Definition of vision board: this is the French translation of vision board.

A vision board is a personal development tool that helps to transform negative thoughts into positive ones through daily positive visualization.

The board can be made of cork, wood or be virtual, on the internet or in your smartphone.

A vision board is a creative picture that anyone can create with :

• photos taken from magazines,
• visuals or personal photos,
• graphic images taken from the Internet,
• text from a book, figures,
• extracts or titles from press articles,
• quotations, proverbs, maxims,
• famous phrases,
• images of famous people,
• small objects to add depth to your painting.

According to the Miracle Morning personal development method, failures, fears, difficulties and sometimes false excuses are all negative points that prevent us from moving forward and keeping our good resolutions.

If we change nothing, nothing will change.

Soaking up positive images every day boosts our confidence in achieving our goal.

Positive visualization is one of the 6 Miracle Morning exercises to be practiced daily, as is repeating positive affirmations aloud.

A visualization chart can give previously unsuspected wings to those who wish to move mountains...

Why create a visualization board?

There are many benefits to be gained from your visualization board:

• find motivation on a daily basis,
• visualize a positive environment,
• be clear with yourself,
• define an achievable goal,
• give yourself the means to achieve it,
• stay focused on your goal,
• be aware of the obstacles to be overcome,
• stay focused on the effort required,
• give yourself confidence,
• make obstacles surmountable,
• make time for yourself,
• feel proud of ourselves by visualizing how far we've come.

All studies demonstrate the importance of visual representation in our Western society:

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual

The average person retains :

• 80% of what they see,
• 20% of what they read.

Image : © lkconseil

Personal interests

Examples of goals to achieve in order to change your personal life:

• lose weight,
• exercise,
• find love,
• stop smoking,
• become vegetarian,
• save money,
• travel around the world,
• get married,
• overcome shyness,
• etc.

Interests for your professional life

Examples of goals to achieve to improve your professional life:

• pass a competition or training course,
• get a promotion,
• earn a higher salary,
• master software,
• work abroad,
• write a book about your expertise,
• keep a professional blog,
• improve your English,
• change career paths,
• etc.

6 steps to an effective vision board

It's all about creating a positive environment, establishing a habit and staying the course towards your goal.

Here are the 6 steps to creating your own vision board.

Step 1: Choose your goal

There can only be one, as Christophe Lambert would say in the film Highlander.

Prioritize! You can only have one goal per vision board.

Otherwise, you'll get lost. You need to focus on what you really want.

Think about it and ask yourself these questions to define the objective of your vision board:

• what's most important to you?
• what are your values?
• what needs to change?
• why are you making this choice?
• What are the difficulties in getting there?
• what assets do you have to succeed?
• who can help you?
• what should you look like once you've achieved your goal?

Put all your good resolutions down on paper to sort them out and see them more clearly.

Step 2: find your personal theme

The theme you choose to illustrate your visualization board should inspire you to take action.

You can also mix and match if you feel so inclined. You're entitled to enjoy eating sauerkraut while listening to Zen music. Nothing is incompatible if you feel it stimulates you.

Here are a few examples of visual themes you can associate with your goal:

• sports: soccer, tennis, swimming, chess, etc.
• love: couples, candlelit dinners, nature walks, etc.
• health/well-being: massage, treatments, fresh air, etc.
• cocoon/interior: under the comforter, fireplace, deckchair in the garden, etc.
• friends: aperitifs at home, dinner, concerts, outings, etc.
• family: births, weddings, birthdays, etc.
• work: handshake, team, summit, etc.

You could, for example, define a theme around work by illustrating it with sports visuals.

Step 3: Use a practical medium for consultation

The idea is also to have fun creating your vision board. Choose the solution that seems easiest for you to implement.

Also consider how you prefer to view your board.

Some people like to see their board at any time of day, and consult it on their smartphone or digital tablet.

Conversely, others prefer a large-format picture to display in their living room.

Here are some examples of how to create a vision board:

• a cork board,
• a large sheet of paper,
• a folded poster in your bag,
• a wallpaper on your computer,
• an online board on the social network Pinterest,
• a digital file,
• etc.

Image: © artfulparent

Step 4: Write down your obstacles

To make sure your plan goes off without a hitch, you need to be prepared for the obstacles that stand in your way.

Everyone imposes limits on themselves for no real good reason, or is held back by certain psychological barriers.

You're going to have to learn to break through these barriers. This is called getting out of your comfort zone.

The best way to achieve your goal is to divide your project into stages, mentioning all the difficulties to be overcome and the means to be used to get there.

By visualizing each step and each obstacle, you lower the bar for yourself from the outset.

You also put less pressure on yourself, just enough to cope with each difficulty.

Rome wasn't built in a day: this way, you can overcome your obstacles one by one, step by step.

You can, for example, divide your vision board into stages, like a game of goose... you'll visualize each phase.

And you'll associate each stage with a success, which will motivate you even more!

Step 5: Search for images and quotes

What content should you use to build your visualization chart? The choice is yours!

Anything that inspires you to succeed will help you evolve on a daily basis.

Listen to your desires: building your vision board is a purely creative moment during which you should enjoy yourself. That's an order! 😉

Here are a few examples of inspiring content to build your vision board:

• a photo of your favorite music band,
• inspirational quotes,
• positive symbols,
• images from magazines,
• a visual of your favorite food,
• a handwritten phrase,
• the title of a newspaper article,
• inspirational images on the Internet,
• something silly from Facebook or a blog,
• etc.

Step 6: Look at your vision board and modify it

Your vision board exists, congratulations! Now you need to look at it every day to motivate yourself.

Your vision board is a source of daily motivation, like a little voice whispering in your ear.

It's like a little voice whispering in your ear, telling you every day that you're capable of surpassing your limits, overcoming obstacles and giving you confidence.

Here are a few tips on how to bring your vision edge to life:

• display it proudly in your living room, office or bedroom,
• set up a daily ritual to contemplate it for a few minutes,
• take a photo of your board with your smartphone,
• look at your painting on your mobile at any time,
• project yourself into each element with pleasure,
• remove the images representing the obstacles you've overcome,
• add images instead,
• enrich your picture with even more positive elements.

Examples of inspirational pictures

To determine what your magical life partner is going to look like, there's nothing like drawing inspiration!

Here are a few examples of vision boards to help you create your own trend.

Example of a vision board with inspiring images

Image: © diys

Sample table with inspirational quotes

Example of a theme combining the two

Image: © creativityforlife

Example of a motivating vision board at work

Image: © coolasouhait

Example of a Zen visualization board

Image: © positivebienêtre

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Tools and applications to create your vision board

Looking for an application to create your vision board? Find what you're looking for in our selection of tools!

Photoshop or Laoviland Salient Design for the most creative

When it comes to Photoshop, there's a serious professional alternative for creative and artistic professions.

Laoviland Salient Design is a digital creation and image pre-processing program that is particularly easy to use.

Its trump card: intuitively create aesthetic shapes while playing with an intelligent color palette.

It's a veritable artistic assistant that lets you merge layers and swap colors, with thousands of customizable compositions. You can even start from a template.

You can try Laoviland Salient Design free for 30 days.

Build your vision board on Pinterest

You've already seen above a vision board created on the social network Pinterest with inspirational quotes.

Pinterest is free, very intuitive and full of visual ideas thanks to its worldwide community of users!

Here's another example of a visual board to motivate yourself to eat more fruit and vegetables:

Applications for smartphones and tablets