The Vision Board Phenomenon

Picture This ...

by Marie Ralston

Vision boards are deceptively simple yet powerful psychological tools. In fact, vision boards are the most reliable way to practice visualization and a scientifically proven technique for self-improvement and goal achievement. Olympic athletes and weekend athletes, cancer patients and neurosurgeons, sales reps and students as well as political and business leaders use personalized goal imagery to improve their performances and lives.

In essence, a vision board displays images of your goals, dreams and desires. You may wish to create a traditional board by clipping pictures from magazines or books and gluing them to poster board in a collage. Another option is the virtual or online vision board.

Online boards take vision boarding to a new level with music, movement and affirmations or power words that heighten emotion and engage the senses. For example, the right piece of music has the potential to enhance a person’s mental state for focused visualization.

Be Specific
By placing your images on a board, you create a bridge between the thoughts in your mind to something tangible—a format you can see and feel. To effectively create the bridge, it’s paramount to be clear and precise in what you want. Without clarity, you are sending a vague concept into your subconscious mind. The more clarity you have, the stronger your belief. The stronger your belief, the stronger your confidence and discipline in working toward your goal.

Clarity also gives you the emotional energy you’ll need to keep working toward your goals in tough times. Composing a clear, vivid vision board is the most important step in making your goals and dreams a reality. It’s the key to consistency.

Daily Dose
If you’ve ever been to a motivational seminar, you know how quickly a burst of motivation can evaporate. If you jog for one weekend or eat well for only a day, you can be off to a great start but it’s not going to help in the long run unless you can build good habits of exercising and eating well. Within a week of a motivational seminar, you may find yourself warming the couch again. But this isn’t the case with a vision board.

You look at a vision board every day, so it motivates you every day. You make plans, find opportunities, feel emotional energy and take action. Because you’re taking action, you see yourself making progress. Your life changes to match the images on your boards. Witnessing concrete success adds more fuel to your self-help motor. And in a year or two or five, you’ve reached your goal. It all starts with an intense, focused, repeated and goal-oriented visualization. Remember, vision boarding is a practice, not an activity you do just once.

Real World Example
Are you dreaming of a new home? Focus on a mental image of yourself in the backyard of a paid-off home. Wriggle your barefoot toes in green, clipped grass. Visualize a back porch with a redwood deck. Beside the deck steams a hot tub. Next to the hot tub is a swimming pool. And the best part is no mortgage. You’re debt free. That’s empowerment.

Now push yourself over the edge ... make this mental picture concrete with a vision board.

If you’re using an online board, serve up the slide show or mini-movie to yourself several times a day. Focus on it. You’ll begin to feel a little bit euphoric. You’ll begin to feel that you really can do it—because you really can do it! Don’t let anyone—especially yourself—tell you otherwise. Use common sense and reason to affirm your goals.

Getting Started
Taking the first step in seeing your future is easy. For a traditional vision board, you’ll need only three things: poster board, a stack of magazines and glue or rubber cement. If online is your preference, simply visit visionboardsite.com.

Find a quiet spot and set the intention. Build a mental picture of exactly how you would like to live your life. Ask yourself this: “If money was no object and I knew I wouldn’t fail, what would I do?”

Words or images will come into your mind. Take a moment to be with them, intently experiencing the feelings they evoke. This process allows you to dig deeply into your heart, giving you a clearer vision. Now, create the bridge!

Creating a Vision Board
Step 1: Go through a pile of magazines or your online vision board and select powerful, influential images. Don’t worry about gluing or finalizing yet. Just have fun looking through pictures, power words and headlines that strike you.

Step 2: Go through the images and begin to lay your favorites on the board. After reviewing, eliminate any images that no longer feel right. This step is where your intuition comes in. As you place the pictures on the board, you’ll get a sense how the board should be laid out. For example, you might assign a theme to each board such as Health, Relationships or Career. You can even create a general life board.

Step 3: Glue everything onto the board. Add headlines or affirmations if you like. You can get creative with scrapbooking supplies. If using an online board, you can choose prewritten affirmations, philosophic quotes or power words. Add music to enhance the experience of your board.

Step 4: Place your vision board where you will see it often. If it’s on your computer, place a quick link on your desktop.

Step 5: Make a firm decision to hold to that vision and routinely watch it.

Marie Ralston is Co-Founder of E-image Agency, which develops and implements strategic marketing and internet campaigns for Valley businesses and international companies.

Infolink:
www.eimageagency.com