Vision Boards – How to best create and use them
If you have ever worked with a business coach, mentor, counselor or even some therapists, most of them make you create a vision board. I personally make my clients create a vision board once we have worked a few months together, and at first, the reactions are all the same. We have begun to create vision boards from school, and it has put many people off from making one. If you have made one in the past, it hasn’t worked for you or has made you feel they cannot work. I have a few tips and tools you can use to make a vision board work you.
If you have felt, you have previously failed at vision boards it is because you have probably tried to do it as per other peoples standards of a vision board. A vision board must be true to you and who you are.
Do not put things in your vision board that you think must be in it. You need to put in what is your dream. For example, putting a picture of a Porshé or Lamborghini when truly your dream car could be a family car like a Mazda CX3.
It is also a common mistake that once a vision board has been made, there is no plan behind it to achieve what is on that board. It is important that there are goals and plans behind the vision board for it to remain a vision board. If you are not sure how to turn those visions into goals, it is important to attend a Goal Setting Workshop.
You do not have to be a creative person to make a vision board work for you. With that said, a vision board does need to be visual.
I personally dreaded collecting magazines, going through them to find my images, the sticky fingers from the Pritt does defiantly not interest me and it takes me back to my school days, definitely not a what a business owner wants to feel like.
With today’s technology, there are many alternatives to magazines. Even though a magazine does not work for me, it might work for you. Flipping through pages and placing those images on a cardboard is a creative person’s heaven. Finding what will work for you will make a vision board from a task to a time of relaxation and motivation.
My personal favourite is going on Canva or Presentation and searching for images. Canva has many pre-made templates you can choose where all you must do is search the image and drag it into the template. You can then save the vision board and put it as your screensaver or wallpaper on your computer as a constant reminder while you work what you are working towards.
Getting a board, printing images and placing it on the board in your office is a great way to not only remind yourself but also your team members what the common goal you all are working towards is. If you are not in an office but work from home, there is nothing like a wall of images to get the conversation going at your next family gathering.
The key to doing a vision board, is to do it when you are at your most relax. This way you won’t feel you are taking up working time. Set a time in your diary when to the vision board, with an environment where you are at your most relaxed and inspired.
If you have just started your business or still young, the “ultimate goal” might be overwhelming to think about. In the beginning, it is very easy to get stuck on getting through now, and not having time to think about 3 years, 5 years or 10 years’ time. However, this is why it is even more important to have a vision board. You need something visually to work towards, a motivation for the tough days.
A vision board is not set, it can be adjusted. You can add as you grow and your business develops. Perhaps in the beginning you wanted to live in a mansion in 5 years, but now, living in a 3-bedroom house is exactly what you want. It is okay to adjust as you grow or develop.
My personal struggle with the vision board, was that image in the middle – the ‘ultimate goal’. ‘What do I want my life to look like in 20 years?’ Being in your twenties, you might not be sure. Remember, it doesn’t always have to be a materialistic image. My ‘ultimate goal’ is a feeling. Your ‘ultimate goal’ might be a feeling too – that is okay – it is your vision, no one else’s. Using these tools will get your vision board working for you. The most important aspects of a vision board are that it is visual, motivational, inspirational & has a plan behind it to be achieved. Even though it might be your business coach, your mentor, therapist or someone else making you do a vision board, it is your vision board and not theirs.