What if you could turn the things you hope to accomplish into a visual reminder you see every day?
A vision board brings your goals, dreams, ideas, images, and words together in one place. It can serve as a creative way to reflect on what matters to you and keep your attention on the future you want to work toward.
Creating a vision board can also encourage you to think more intentionally about your priorities. Instead of keeping your goals as vague ideas, you can choose images and words that represent what you want to experience, achieve, or change.
The process itself can be just as valuable as the finished board. As you decide what to include, you have an opportunity to reflect on your aspirations, identify what motivates you, and create a clearer picture of the direction you want your life to take.
Once your vision board is complete, keeping it somewhere visible can provide a regular reminder of your goals. It won’t accomplish those goals for you, but it can help keep your intentions and priorities in front of you as you take action.
In this article, you’ll learn what a vision board is and discover 7 benefits of using one. We’ll explore how creating a visual representation of your goals can support reflection, motivation, focus, and personal growth.
And don’t forget to download the free Positive Affirmations Cards at the end of the article. They can be a helpful addition to your vision board, providing encouraging reminders to support your goals and positive mindset.
Let’s take a closer look at vision boards and the ways they can become a useful part of your goal-setting routine.
What Is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a creative collection of images, meaningful quotes, song lyrics, or anything else that you find to be inspiring or representative of your personal goals, wants and desires. Typically, a vision board is the size of a posterboard and it illustrates what you envision your ideal future might look like. Once it is completed, your vision board should be displayed somewhere where it can frequently trigger a sense of urgency and motivation to take action toward completing your plan to reach your goals and turn your vision into your reality.
There aren’t any set rules when it comes to creating a vision board, especially since it’s meant to be personalized to inspire you in your own unique way on a daily basis. You may have a vision board that focuses on one single idea, while another might embrace the bigger picture of your long-term future. The only consistent attribute among all vision boards is that it must clearly show what you want in your life.
So whether your vision board relates to your personal life, your career, your relationships, your emotions, your finances, or anything else, you will experience the benefits laid out in this article by keeping a vision board handy in your life. And, once your board is complete, you can use this creative tool every day by referencing it and noticing any themes that may emerge.
Let’s take a look at 7 benefits you will experience from using a vision board.
7 Benefits of Using a Vision Board
1. A Vision Board Helps You Clarify What You Want
Your vision board acts as a visual representation of your goals and dreams. This makes your dreams vivid and displays them in a tangible way that you can see every day when you look at your board.
If you’re still a little unsure about what your big dreams or long-term goals are, creating a vision board can help you gain some clarity about your future. You can start with a few vague ideas and then refine them as you go. Creating your board is a process that doesn’t have to be done in one sitting—you can take the time that you need to determine what you’re aiming to do.
It can also be a live document and a work in progress. Each day when you reflect on your vision board, you will notice some images on your board may motivate you and excite you, while others start to feel dull. After a while, some of the depicted priorities for your future may start to stand out as being more obvious and therefore more fitting.
Follow in the direction of the things on your vision board that entice you, and filter out or replace your former visions that feel less important with time.
2. It Helps Set Your Intention
Your success begins with your intentions. No matter what you’re setting out to accomplish, it will start with an idea before you manifest it into reality. Most of the things that exist right now in our lives (smartphones, computer programs, cars) started with one single idea.
And once you have an intention, you’re able to make your ideas come to life. This principle applies to both the things you want to have and the person you want to become. If you want to become a doctor, you have to first decide that you have the intention of doing so before you start working toward that goal. Having a vision board will help you in that initial phase of setting your intentions to then follow through with appropriate action.
Research has found that setting intentions and visualizing success can help you get closer to achieving it. This study showed that the brain patterns that are activated when a weightlifter physically lifts heavyweights are similar to the patterns activated when the lifter only visualizes the weight lifting process. This suggests that the mind cannot differentiate reality from imagination, which means if you visualize your skills getting stronger, you can actually improve as if you were undergoing real physical practice.
Use your vision board to set your intentions for both your everyday activities and your long-term objectives.
3. It Fosters Motivation
It’s hard sometimes to persuade yourself to get up and get moving. But on those days where you just want to lay around, seeing your vision board can provide you with the motivation that you need to get yourself going. One benefit of a vision board is that it regularly makes you think about what you want to achieve, which then accelerates your drive to get to work.
Vision boards are especially beneficial when they’re used to keep smaller, more achievable goals in the front of your mind. This can help you stay motivated during the process of working toward your larger goal because you will be able to see the progress that you’re making.
For example, let’s say you’re aiming to lose a significant amount of weight. You may add before and after pictures to your vision board to display your progress so far, because with every small win you surpass, you’re one step closer to crossing the goal off of your list.
It can also be motivating to use images of people running or doing activities that you can’t wait to do once you’ve lost the weight. Or add pictures of some rewards you want to give yourself along the way as you meet your milestones, like pictures of your favorite brand names of clothing or a day trip with friends.
You know the importance of your focus these days–everyone is fighting for it. We face so many distractions and interruptions every day, which is one reason people fail to achieve their goals. Goals can get forgotten in the mix, especially if your life gets busy. But with a vision board, you’re able to keep your focus on your goals every day. This can help direct your daily tasks to guide you toward reaching your goal of achieving everything you’ve put on your vision board.
Learning and mastering the art of staying focused and maintaining a winning mindset are both very powerful tools, and creating a vision board is one of the best things you can do to keep your concentration on your target and maintain your dedication to success.
5. It Allows for Reassessment
When you’re able to take a step back and analyze your vision board, it can reveal a lot about yourself, where your mind is, and what you’re hoping to get out of life. The images and words you see in front of you represent your thoughts-–so reassess how your board makes you feel. Right now, it may feel just right, but in a few months, you may feel the need to tweak it as your goals develop, priorities change, and new things come up in your life.
You can always cut parts out of your vision board, add to it, and even stick new things over outdated ideas. Your vision board never has to be set in stone–it’s a working document that you can refine whenever you want or need to.
6. It Works
One study that surveyed more than 1100 people and 500 entrepreneurs found that 82% of participants who used a vision board had accomplished more than half of the goals depicted on their board at the time of the survey. This research demonstrates the power of imagery and how people who visualize themselves achieving their goals have more confidence in their ability to be successful than those who don’t.
The entrepreneurs in the study noted the importance of having a vision and then following it in order to start their own business. In fact, 76% of the business owners reported that their success is where they originally envisioned it would be at this point, according to their initial vision board.
Vision boards work because they require you to immerse yourself in your goals with all of your senses, which helps you emotionally connect to them. Investing the time and effort into creating a detailed vision board can help you to really relate and ponder over your priorities in life.
7. Be Creative, Destress, and Have Fun
Visualization promotes relaxation, so the action of crafting your vision board gives you a chance to step out of your hectic life and experience some stillness while you’re engaging in some self-reflection. And because your mind is occupied with setting goals and decorating your board during the process, it certainly won’t become boring.
Think of your vision board as being a visual wish list. You can get creative while feeling and exploring what you want out of life. And, because this is something that can be for your eyes only (if you want), you can use your own unique creativity that isn’t meant to be judged by others.
Aside from the more “grown-up” DIY projects that cross our paths, many adults don’t get much of an opportunity to be crafty. Enjoy the experience of putting together your vision board, because doing so can allow you to take a cathartic break from your everyday life.
Free Download: Positive Affirmations Cards
The Positive Affirmations Cards provide encouraging statements you can use as daily reminders of your strengths, goals, and positive qualities. Display them alongside your vision board or use them as part of your morning routine for an extra reminder to stay focused on what matters to you.
Download your free cards and add a little more encouragement to your goal-setting journey.
(The link opens up a Google Drive folder where you can get the PDF download for the Cards in a variety of sizes)
Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Using a Vision Board
If you want to realize a dream, you need to have a clear vision. And the process of creating a vision board and seeing the end product on display can help you define–and then stay focused on–your goals. In order to achieve success through manifestation, you have to set your intention, have faith in yourself, and take action towards making your abstract ideas come to life. And no matter what goals you have in mind, a vision board is a beneficial tool to have along the way.
Today, we talked about 7 benefits of using a vision board when you’re working toward your goals, no matter what challenges you face. Check out this article to find 51 vision board ideas and examples to help inspire your own creation.
Finally, if you don’t know how to get started with this strategy, then check out this FREE printable worksheet and a six-step process that will help you create the PERFECT vision board.
Connie Mathers is a professional editor and freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her daughter and two dogs, running, or working at her full-time job as a social worker in Richmond, VA.
