How to Create Your Perfect Vision Board to Visualize Your Future and Make it Your Reality

Have you ever liked the sound of creating a vision board but not known where to start? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Vision boards are a super helpful way to keep the goals you’re working towards at the forefront of your mind and in your line of vision.

If you haven’t heard of a vision board before and are wondering what they are, it’s basically a collection of all your favorite images that represent the goals you want to achieve.

But What Is the Purpose of a Vision Board?

To remind you of the goals you’ve set and keep you focused on them; if you’re a visual person it can help you to visualize yourself achieving those goals, whether you picture yourself in your dream house, rolling in piles of money, working at your dream job or going on a vacation with your dream boo.

It helps you connect with the power of visualization which is a technique that helps bridge the gap between your intention and the action — and it’s actually backed by science! When you visualize your goals you’re able to see and feel what success looks like which works some magic in your brain and primes it for success.

Whether you create a physical board, print and stick your images on it or you use something like Canva to create one and use it as a wallpaper, having those images will keep them stuck in your mind and tunnel-visioned into your goals.

How Vision Boards Work and the Science Behind Them

Visualization activates the brain’s reticular activating system (RAS), which is the part of your brain that is responsible for the filtering of incoming information and focusing your attention. So when you regularly visualize your goals and wants, your brain will start to notice opportunities in and around your environment to align you with your vision.

Let’s say you’re focusing on growing financially, you’ll probably begin to become more aware of investment opportunities or budget-friendly choices you might not have spotted before.

Athletes, performers, and entrepreneurs use visualization as a mental rehearsal technique. By picturing yourself achieving your goals, you’ll give your confidence a boost and reduce your fear of failure. It also taps into your emotions, making your goals feel more real and within reach.

Your subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between imagined experiences and real ones, this is why you can make yourself feel happy or sad just by imagining scenarios or listening to music. So visualizing on a regular basis will trick your brain into believing those outcomes are achievable which will help give you the kick you need to start working on those goals.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, then check this out — a study from the Dominican University of California found that people who write down their goals and visualize them are 42% more likely to achieve them compared to those who don’t.

How to Create a Vision Board to Make Your Goals Reality

1. Be Super Specific in Your Goals

Creating clarity around what it is that you want is crucial before you start your vision board. Having vague and generalized goals won’t help you visualize them at all. You need to be precise in every aspect of your dreaming whether it’s to do with money, fitness, careers, or relationships.

To get really detailed, I’d suggest journaling before you start your vision board —brain dump on the page about your wants and needs and then make a list of what you desire out of your scribbles.

If you’re stuck for ideas on how to generate these brain dumps in your journal, try a few of these prompts:

• What does your dream job look like and how do you want to feel at work every day?
• What financial milestones do you want to achieve in the next year, five years, or ten years?
• If money wasn’t an issue, how would you spend your time?
• Are there any fitness goals or milestones you want to achieve?
• What self-care activities bring you joy?
• How do you want to grow as a person in the coming months?
• What would your ideal day look like, and how can you work toward that?
• How can you strengthen your relationships with family and friends?
• What kind of partner, friend, or family member do you want to be?
• Are there experiences you’ve always wanted to try (e.g., skydiving, learning a new language)?
• What childhood dreams have you set aside that you’d like to revisit?
• What do you want to be remembered for?
• If you were writing your life story, what would you want the next chapter to say?

Try these journal prompts to figure out what you really want in life.

2. Creating a Physical vs Digital Vision Board

Physical Vision Board Materials

The board itself can be made out of paper, card, cardboard, or even corkboard. Then you’ll need magazines and/or a printer to get the images for your dream life. Grab yourself some scissors, glue, and maybe some cute glittery pens if you’re feeling fancy and you’re ready to go.

Digital Vision Boards

Of course, for this you won’t actually need any materials, just a website or app to make one on. You can use websites like Pinterest which is an image-based search engine, so you’ll be able to find anything on there. You could also look at Canva which is a design app, so you can add cute graphics and design it the way you like. There are other vision board-specific apps you can use too.

3. Creating the Vision Board

Print, cut out, or download all the images you want on your vision board and arrange them in a way that inspires you. You can pop them into a timeline order, or you could place them anywhere in no specific order. You can write affirmations on your vision board, or stick inspirational words or you could even add quotes if they resonate with you.

Check out these Vision Board Quotes for inspiration!

4. Making the Vision Stick

Be sure to place the vision board somewhere that’s within eyeshot and you’ll see it every day. Whether you stick it up on your bedroom wall or you have it as your laptop or phone wallpaper. Make sure you’re able to see it and access it every day!

Be sure to update it and refresh the pictures on it as your goals change and you smash through them!

Ready to Make Your Dream Life Happen?

Vision boards may seem like an Instagram fad but they hold so much more power than they’re given credit for!

By keeping your aspirations front and center, a vision board reminds you of the goals you’re working towards. It keeps you in the swing of things even when life gets busy and distraction takes over.

But remember that the good stuff happens when you’re consistent in looking at and revising your vision board and being mindful of keeping up the little steps towards your goals.

However, don’t be put off by not having all your goals figured out. You could just start with one or two goals and take it from there, then the inspiration might grow from there. And there’s no preference on whether it’s digital or physical; they both work the same. The most important thing to do is just start!

Go get your creative juices flowing and get it done… Your dreams are waiting!