Why it’s important to have a vision board and how to start one.
I am constantly inspired and surprised by the success stories I hear that all stem from vision boards. People from all walks of life, going after all sorts of dreams. It blows my mind, that I spent years without one and that many people still mock them as some crazy cult thing or some sort of bizarre craft lady thing. Humans are visual creatures. Visuals spark chemical changes in us, that’s science, so why not make our goals visual too.
Finding Deeper Meaning in your vision board
I have a vision board in my office/dressing room. A place a spend a lot of time. It’s currently hung on a wall surrounded by sharpie covered A1 pieces of paper I’m using to plan out my 2019. It’s the centre of everything I do. When the days are particularly tough it's my go-to to keep moving forward. When the days are epic it puts a smile on my face because I am one step closer to achieving all other things. It includes things like a good relationship with my daughter, investing in my faith in God, eating clean, having a beautiful and calm home, building up to Super Mum Society to a mega world-changing brand, the dogs I want and if you live the middle flap the engagement ring of my dreams.
Looking at some of the images I’ve pinned to my board might not mean anything to you, but I know why each and every one of them is there and what they spark inside me. The ring for example, as stunning as it is, is more a representation of wanting to commit my life to my partner in front of God, our family and our friends. Yes, having that exact ring would be AMAZING, but what it stands for is way more important to me. The dog pictures, two king charles spaniels, a blenheim (beige and white), Audrey Hepburn and a tri-colour, James Bond. Yes, those are the dogs I want, but they also represent something deeper for me. Firstly, I want my daughter to grow up with a pet, an animal she can love and care for. Secondly, beng in a place in my life where I can have a dog, represents stability and putting down roots. I will have shaped a life that allows for walking dogs. I will have a home that is fair on dogs to live in. Seeing those dogs on my vision boards sparks so many warm feelings inside me it becomes impossible to ignore.
If you just cover your board with things you want, an expensive bag or a fancy car, without digging deeper, you will find your board much less effective.
Put It Where You Can See It
As I said my board is in a room I use a lot, every day without fail. I cannot miss it. Some days I go to it on purpose, but even when I don’t I can’t help but spot it. There’s no point in creating a board and hiding it away. This is why just creating an online board is much less effective, however, it is a good place to start.
How To Start Your Board
It used to be a case of cutting out images from magazines, but they are so expensive now and there are so many, covering so many areas, that where on earth would you start.
Start by picturing in your head your ideal life, where you are being your ideal self. This could be 5, 10, 20 years down the line. It’s up to you. Examine every area of your ideal life, not just focusing on the things, but also the feelings, the successes, your achievements, your values. Next print off your list of values. If you don’t have these yet, I have created a quick PDF to help you decide on yours, which you can download here. Click here
Stick this list in the centre of your board. Then hit Pinterest. No need for many, many magazines. Create a secret board and add sections to that board for the important areas of your life. For example, mine would have sections on mother/daughter, Harry, health, lifestyle, business, faith and home. Pinterest is great at suggesting posts to pin to your board or hit the search box with some keywords or phrases that matter to you. I would recommend downloading the app to your phone, which allows you to add to your board little and often. Sitting down with one hour to produce your board, probably won’t give you a great end result. Give yourself some time. This is your ideal life, think about it properly.
Next, you need to take it from online to offline. Download and print your most important images. Cut and pin them to your board.
You're done, but now the real work begins. Once your board is hung in a suitable place make sure your use it. engage with it. Feel how you will feel when you have achieved this ideal life. Use it to motivate you to keep moving forward and never forget that you are super and you deserve your ideal life.
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