3 Reasons Why You Need to Create a Vision Board in 2021

Dec 15

JANUARY 8, 2022 | 2PM - 5PM ET

Have you ever created a vision board for the new year? If not, you might be missing out on a terrific way to level up for the year ahead.

It's that time of year again where many of us begin to look ahead and set goals for the coming year. A vision board can be a powerful tool to help connect concrete images to the abstract objectives we have for our lives. Many wellness gurus and influencers (think Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon) swear by the process. But it's not all woo woo.

Research shows that manifesting practices like visualization can be beneficial in helping you increase your confidence in and efficacy on achieving certain goals. For example, a study led by exercise psychologist Guang Yue found that individuals who visualized completing a workout mentally experienced physical results much like those who actually completed the physical exercise. But don't cancel that gym membership just yet. The results weren't identical. The visualization group saw a 35% increase in strength while the group who physically did the workout saw an increase of 53%. So following through on the goal will be where you see significant lift-off, but visualization is a great start.

From my experience with vision boards, there are three really strong reasons to make them each year as you explore how to implement your unique life purpose.

1. For self-discovery.

The process of creating a vision board can be self-revelatory. As you select items to include on your board, it's a helpful practice to notice and record what you are attracted to as well as what feels uninspiring. Seeing the repetition of certain themes you're drawn to can help you learn more about the type of woman you are and what you find important or interesting. All of this information is great data for further refinement and implementation of your life purpose.

For example, when I created one of my first vision boards, I was struck by how frequently I selected images related to books and to physical wellness. This opened up an opportunity for me to explore my unconscious desire to spend more of my time writing and to begin addressing some of my anxieties related to my well-being. What might you learn about yourself through your vision board?

“Without vision, the people perish.”

2. For inspiration.

The first step in knowing how to live a more meaningful life is to begin defining what a purposeful life looks like...for you and no one else. You can't figure out how to get where you're headed unless you have a clear direction set. A vision board is a great place to begin to illustrate the unique hopes and goals you have for your life so you can start living into them. We now know that the average American encounters somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 advertisements per day. Can you imagine?!

You are constantly being presented with images and visions of the life that marketers would like to convince you to need or want. How many of those images are things you feel connected to at a deep soul level? When you create a vision board, you begin to become the driver of your own affections. Your board can serve as a place to continually recenter on the life you're inspired by and hoping to further experience.

3. For focus.

Life might feel uncertain at times and like you are trapped in circumstances due to your particular life limits. However, our generation has more opportunity before us than most. The challenge we face is not always lack of opportunity, but the difficulty of deciding which path to pursue. A vision board is a useful tool that it can serve as a constant reminder of where you're headed so you can stay focused. I like to use my yearly vision board as a filter for experiences, job opportunities or activities that get on my schedule. I also like to front load my schedule with many fo the activities that appear on my vision board because I know these are the heavy rocks that will ultimately move me toward the life I'm meant to live.

Ready to get started with your vision board?

Here's what you'll need to begin.

At the very least you need:

A poster board or canvas on which you'll create your vision board (choose any size you like but something around 24 x 24 is usually great)
Magazines of all types (Some of my favorites are Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, O, The Oprah Magazine, and The Magnolia Journal)
Office supplies (e.g. scissors, markers, pens, glue, tape, etc.)

If you want to embellish your board, you can pre-select some of the following items: