How to Make a Vision Board

Every successful person seems to agree on this one important factor: You need to visualize your future achievements not just in your mind, but on paper. And you can do it by learning how to make a vision board.

The night before the first day of my senior year of college I sat in the middle of my room, with a stack of old magazines, scissors, and tape beside me, and began cutting out images, words, and quotes that spoke to me. From images of Queen Latifah and Jennifer Lawrence, to the headlines “Best Happy Hour” and “Life is Beautiful,” I began cutting bits and pieces of the images I saw that I felt I could use as personal affirmations for the new academic year ahead of me. After spending hours flipping and cutting through pages, I strategically placed the pieces of the puzzle together, tapping the images onto my wall. Before I knew it, an entire wall of my room was covered in vivid images of powerful women, photos of exotic places, and quotes full affirmations that I would use throughout the year to rejuvenate my drive in both my personal and academic life.

I created a vision board, a collection of vivid imagery that serves as a visual representation of your goals. It helps you to envision what a fulfilling life may look like for you. Wondering where to start? Here’s how to make a vision board.

Vision boards are one of the most powerful visualization tools to help you organize and embrace your goals. The activity itself requires you to actively seek out images and stimuli that can encourage you daily. The board gives you a chance to lay out those general desires, and you can then turn those intangible emotions into real-life goals and achievements. The positive images and words are things you can internalize, and you’ll begin to live out those positive statements and want to recreate those positive images in your daily life. “

Whether you look at it from a spiritual or scientific aspect, this world is a huge vision board. Everything that’s here is because it started as an image someone had in their mind,” Lucinda Cross, motivational speaker and vision board expert told the New York Post. “You want to call it a blueprint, or a business plan? Fine. But first, they had to think about it and draft it. So a vision board? It’s like selling our own ideas to ourselves,” she said.

The next step is to find the right place for your board. By placing your vision board in a place where you’ll see it every day, you’ll see the Law of Attraction come into play as your dreams begin to manifest and become reality. When you have images of people you admire on your vision board it can motivate you to do the work necessary to make that dream a reality. It’s important to strategically and carefully choose what you put on your vision board. Make sure the images you choose speak to you emotionally and that you instantly get inspired when you see them. Try not to become involved in the aesthetics of the pieces you choose; make certain you’re choosing them for inspiration and not because you think it’ll make your board look “cool.”

Avoid letting your board become cluttered in minutiae. Focus on putting images on your vision board that are in direct relation to your goals and aspirations. The images you chose should each be an affirmation and helpful visualization of the kinds of people and energy you want to attract into your life.

Do you believe in the power of vision boards? What are your tips for making one that works for you?

By Samantha Callender: Samantha loves empowering young adults and working with issues relating to multiculturalism and diversity. She believes in giving a voice to the voiceless; cliché, but necessary. Loves social commentary and is open to dialogue. Open to networking and engaging with others to enhance professional and personal aspirations. This post was originally published on Her Agenda.