What Is A Vision Board And What Can You Use It For?

A vision board is a very personal collage, the creative expression and visualization of all the ideas, wishes, dreams and aspirations you may have for your life and your future in one specific moment in time. It is the result of a creative process that can be very powerful as a tool for goal setting and self-motivation.

You can either create a digital version, using inspiration from Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and the like, or you opt for the real DIY version where you select and collect pictures, images and quotes from magazines, newspapers, books, posters etc.
In this article, I will talk about the latter one, the analogue vision board.

Whichever you choose – analogue or digital: there are no limits to your dreams! It’s not important if you think that your visions are realistic or feasible right now. Forget all about rational thinking and please don’t pre-censor yourself. Be super open and listen attentively to the reactions of your gut and heart. Choose any picture you like and that resonates with you. Go for whatever appeals to you, any image that symbolizes the life of your dreams. It can be very precise or super abstract. Nobody else but you is supposed to understand your vision board. It really is a very personal thing.

It also does not need to be complete. Just focus on what is important to you right now, for example, your personal development, your love life or your career. You don’t have to take into account every aspect of your life. Place the focus where you want and be as broad or specific as you wish.

And since it will always be “just” a snapshot of your current situation in life, you can rearrange and update it any time you like.
I call this “revisiting”. Use the old vision board to check on how your life has changed since you made it. Check, which of your visions already became reality and which ones still need a push or with which you don’t connect anymore, because your priorities have changed.

Some possible fields for focus

• Relationships and love
• Family
• Career, Business
• Finances, Money
• Personal issues / development
• Spiritual path

For the digital one, you just choose your images and compile them in a program that allows you to work on images. That’s basically it. The process of making an analogue vision board, however, can be quite meditative. Which is why I always prefer to do it this way.

What you need:

• Magazines, newspapers, books, posters, flyers … anything printed, preferably from a field you’re passionate about. I, for example, couldn’t go far with car magazines, but I can find a lot of inspiration in traveling and lifestyle magazines. Choose what suits you best. You can buy new ones or use your own used ones or ask friends and family members if they can give you theirs.
• Scissors
• Glue or sellotape
• Pens and pencils
• Paper or cardboard

Browse through all the material and select what resonates with you. Arrange and rearrange the images and quotes as you see fit, then glue them onto a big or small sheet of paper or cardboard. I usually go for rather big ones but I have also already seen tiny ones that people carry around in their wallets.

Since I only rarely do crafts with my hands, I always find great pleasure in it. I feel that it connects me with a creative side of myself I don’t connect with so often. It also has a sweet taste of childhood, and the contemplative quietude and concentration on something so aesthetic and personal is really deeply peaceful.

Vision board workshops – be inspired

You can create your vision board alone at home or participate in a vision board workshop. I already participated in two vision board workshops and always found them very inspiring and fun. At the BaliSpirit Festival, they also offer them. In 2019, the workshop was facilitated by Carmela Fleury, a life and health coach, based in Tokyo. Watch this video to get a feel for the atmosphere and hear what the participants thought about it:

If there are no such workshops where you live, just make it happen by yourself: Meet with friends or invite them over and turn the whole experience into a vision board party!

What I really like about the group experience are the conversations that arise while everybody sits in concentration. We inspired and encouraged each other to verbalize and visualize our wishes, needs and dreams and to manifest and make them happen. Certain things that had until then remained rather vague, became much clearer and uncertainties could be resolved. Questions were answered, plans were made, possibilities and alternative perspectives were proposed. Soon, the whole atmosphere was buzzing with inspiration, courage and creativity and I had the feeling like I was bathing in a powerful well of sister energy (we were women only).

So, here’s my message to you: Even if you have no idea yet, what you want or what your vision looks like, just start. The inspiration will automatically come while you browse through the magazines. Just be attentive and notice your reactions. Gather everything that appeals to you. Later, when you arrange everything into an order, you will see what belongs together and if you still need something specific to complete your board. All of a sudden you will get a feeling for it …
This way, things will magically take a shape and make sense. Through the board, your subconscious will start speaking to you and to tell you in its very own way, where you are right now in your process and where you might want to go.
Just try it out, you’ll see: it’s not only useful, it’s also a lot of fun!

What it looks like

As you might imagine, all the boards in the two workshops I went to, were very different. As different and unique as we all are. Still, there were also some recurring topics, such as autonomy, mindfulness, love …

My vision board:

Photos taken by and text written by Noémie Causse. Noémie is a Berlin-based enthusiastic yogini, meditation adept and spiritual seeker. When she’s not sweating on the mat or exploring her inner universe in silence, she likes to ride her black bike, meet with friends, cook and eat healthy vegan dishes, dance, sing and travel. She writes about her experiences with yoga and meditation on her blog www.spiritandthecity.online .