While most people think of vision boards as a way to manifest the life and lifestyle they want, I think there’s deeper potential here.  As you read more, I want you to really consider not only the life you want — the vaca’s, the spouse, the house, the dream job — but also the health you want and how you want to feel.  By adding intention and getting crystal clear on your vision for your whole self  {mind-body-spirit}, you can begin to use a vision board as a holistic tool that supports hope, healing, and happiness rooted and aligned with your life.

Make your intentions clear

Before you go gathering supplies like a Robin in Springtime, it is important to identify your goals and intentions. That means getting real with what you want to achieve and then thinking about how you see yourself getting there.

Your vision board goal can be one thing, like running a marathon or publishing a book or it can be more of a life vision, like living on the beach, working from home, having a successful business, travel…

You get to define your vision, but whatever it is, I want you to really want it, and I want you to round it out.  That means doing a deep dive with details.  

Write it out.

Sleep on it and get to the point that when you see your goal in writing it makes you feel alive.

Once you’re clear with what you want, write down the kind of feelings do you want to encounter along the way.

How do you want to feel when you have accomplished the goal?

Take THAT feeling, as if you have already achieved it and ask yourself what your days look like as a marathon runner/an author/a CEO/ a rockstar?

• How do you live? — what time do you get up and go to sleep, what do you do for transportation? Do you travel or are you a homebody?
• Where do you live? — is there a particular climate, culture, specific place?
• What does your home look like, smell like, feel like?
• Who is by your side? — describe the person, people, animals, etc even if you don’t have a specific someone in mind; how do these companions make you feel and how does your relationship and commitment to and with them look and feel?
• What food nourishes your body? — do you cook, do you care about local, organic, paleo, plantbased, etc?
• What do you do for fun?
• What do you do for self-care? — how do you take care of your body, your mental health, your emotional well-being?
• What do you do to challenge yourself? — in relationships, business, learning, spiritual growth?
• How does your life feel? — relaxed, care-free, focused, adventurous, spontaneous, planned?
• How does your body look and feel? — and what do you do to foster that?

Work it out. See your life as if you are where you want to be.

Once you’re clear, write it down. Write it ALL down.

Collect supplies

Many of the supplies you need for your vision board you may have just lying around the house, but you may also need to procure the pictures that really capture your vision. The internet is great for image searches. Your local library or bookstores may help with finding books or periodicals that depict your vision in a way that really resonates with you. If you find an image you like, snap a picture of it or make a color copy for your personal use.

The key is to find pictures that evoke the feeling or the scene you envision.

These are the basic supplies needed:

• Blank art book or Posterboard
• Glue or pins
• Markers, pens, and paints
• Colorful or plain paper
• Magazines, newspapers, books that can be cut up, and journals
• Scissors

Create

Follow these steps to create a kickin’ board.

Step 1: Make space

When you are clear with your vision and intention and you’ve gathered your materials, it’s time to carve out a comfortable space to make your board.

You want to be able to spread out and see everything that you have. A big table or even the floor can be great!

Continue to create your space by playing your favorite music, pouring yourself a cup of tea or glass of water, diffusing an uplifting oil blend or lighting a candle to help you relax and tap into your positive energies.

Step 2: Choose your images and words wisely

On your vision board, you can use words and images that you can easily relate to and that will help motivate you toward your goal. Cut out the images from magazines and newspapers or use some of your own photos. Everything you put on your board should be appealing and attractive to you in one way or the other.

Refer to the words you wrote down as you were getting clear on your vision.

Let those words guide you into alignment with the visual piece of this project.

Step 3: Placement

 Once you’ve chosen materials that match your vision, spread them out.

With a quick glance, go ahead and select a few favorites.

These are the pieces that you should place prominently on your board.

Before pasting anything down try to arrange them in a way that makes sense to you; there may be images that go together or things that may come first as you step closer to these goals.

Leave out images or words that have a negative impact on your feelings or make you feel unmotivated about your goals. Vision boards are not the place for tough love or any kind of blame or shame game. They are about creating a depiction of what we want rather than what we don’t want.

Working with your board

Your vision board is designed to be a visual reminder of the life you want. It’s also one piece of a dynamic relationship.  Without action on your part, the board itself is meaningless.  Wanting change while doing nothing to achieve it won’t get you anywhere.  The idea behind the board is that you are taking the steps to define and clarify your wants and needs, depict them and get yourself in gear.  Here’s how: 

Step 1: Hang it

Hang it somewhere you can easily connect to it every day.

Popular places to hang vision boards include a bedroom wall, closet door, near the bathroom mirror or even in your kitchen.

Techy tip: snap a pic of your vision board and connect with it on your smartphone or tablet when you have a moment in between meetings or while you have downtime.

Step 2: Notice and heal

When you look at your board, NOTICE how you feel.

Let’s sit with that a minute.

Look at your board, breathe in as you take in the images. 

Take your time. 

Where do your eyes linger?

Note any resistance or constrictive feelings that arise when you look at the board.

These are areas that will need more work.  Even though you desire whatever it is, you also harbor some sense of not deserving it or not believing that it is yours.

Resolving those feelings removes the obstacles keeping you from living your dream.

For example, if your goal is to publish a book but you are feeling like no one will read your work then you have a barrier in place and are less likely to take the steps you need to succeed. You might try blogging and asking a few friends for feedback or joining a writers group and working through some pieces to gain insight on how your writing is received — this way you are taking action to figure out if the feeling is just a fear or if it’s a sign that you need to shift a little to get the success you want. Make sense?

Step 3: Connect

 Vision boards do not have to be big or time-intensive.

The beautiful thing that a good Vision board does is make connections.

• You connect with the goals you deeply want to achieve.
• You connect with how you want to feel and how your life will be.
• You connect with the steps you need to take to get there and begin to see the gaps or places where you may need support.
• Most of all, you connect with yourself and make yourself an agent in the practice of actively creating the life you want.

There is nothing too small to Vision Board.

There is nothing too big either.

Take that one thing you’ve been dreaming of or take everything and make your Vision Board today.

I challenge you to try it and invite you to email me in 3 months to share your reflections on your experience.

Seriously – here are 2 accountability action steps:

1. Once your board is finished, snap a pic on your smartphone and email it to me with a little snippet about your main goal, if you are cool sharing with me.
2. Open up your calendar right now and set a reminder for 3 months out. Copy and paste my email sarah@yourholistichealthcoach.com right into the reminder and when it comes up, take a few minutes and share what you laid out, how you’ve been using the board and what progress you’ve seen. 

For more simple strategies to support you in creating your best life, click here and join our newsletter! Your Holistic Health Coach delivers nuggets of awesomeness straight to your inbox. Support for every step of the way!

Yours in health and wellness,
Coach Sarah