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You’re probably hearing a lot of buzz about this thing called a Vision Board right now. You’ve heard about how it can help you clarify your goals and keep you focused as you work toward them. You’ve seen some pretty elaborate ones proudly posted on Facebook and Pinterest. And maybe it all just seems a bit too “out there” for you. After all, how can an arts and crafts project help you reach your health and fitness goals?

I’m glad you asked! A vision board is not about the board itself. It’s about cultivating a MINDSET that is going to get you to where you want to be. How? Three ways:

Making It

Making your vision board is all about finding tangible images to represent your goals. Part of the reason why so many people fail to reach their goals is because their goals seem like these distant ideals that they’re not actually sure they can reach. This is not so motivating. Attaching your goals to something concrete roots them in REALITY: a reality that you are creating for yourself. Say, for example, you’ve made a goal to lose 20 pounds. That’s not very tangible. WHY do you want to lose 20 pounds? To fit into that dress hanging in the back of your closet? Put a picture of it on your vision board! To be in better shape so you can easily run around the park with your kids? Add a picture of them joyfully running around the park! By identifying these images, you’ve just clarified your goal by attaching a “why?” with some emotional weight to it, which is going to be a powerful motivator for you when the going gets tough.

Sharing It

Yikes. Really? Do you have to actually show it to people? Technically, no. Don’t do anything that you are extremely uncomfortable with, but pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone can be a good thing! Sharing your vision board with your challenge group and/or some close friends lets them know that you’re doing something so that they can cheer you on! It also invites accountability, which, yes, can be uncomfortable, but it can also get you through the low points and make the high points even sweeter. Humans are meant to live in community. When you share your vision board, you might be surprised by the encouragement you get and the stronger commitment to your goal you feel.

Using It

Make sure you put your vision board in a place where you will see it several times each day. Put it on your bathroom mirror, make it your computer desktop image, whatever works for you. Try moving it periodically so that it stays fresh in your environment and you take note of it whenever you see it. The more you visualize the life that you want via the images on your vision board, the more successful you will be at creating it. Don’t believe in manifesting things with your thoughts? That’s okay! This really boils down to behavior modification. By continuously focusing on what you want and thinking about it in the PRESENT TENSE, over time you are “tricking” your brain into believing that it is already true. Thus, you will find yourself behaving as though it is true, which will lead you to make it become true. This is not weird, hippie magic. This is PSYCHOLOGY!

I hope this helps clear up some of the misconceptions about vision boards. They really are EXTREMELY useful tools that help you create and maintain a mindset that will lead to success. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about vision boards or getting started on your own health and fitness journey!

What are your goals or dreams? Perhaps you want to lose weight and increase your energy. Maybe you dream of running a marathon even though your knees ache and you’ve never run a mile. You might long for healthier relationships, and a better career. Does the thought of achieving your goals make you feel fearful that you might not have what it takes to succeed? This vision board has three steps to help you know exactly what you need to do to make your ideal future a reality.

A vision board is a creative tool that will help you achieve your goals. You will illustrate the future you want to create using images cut from magazines or printed from the internet. For this particular board, consider using a tri-fold poster board used for school projects. A large piece of cardboard you have hanging around the house, or even three smaller pieces from cereal boxes will do. With this vision board, you will be illustrating your present, your future, and what needs to happen in between. These three steps, inspired by the method of visual goal setter, Patti Dobrowolski, will give you a more complete picture of how you can achieve your goals. Knowing where you are presently in regard to your goals, is key to understanding what you need to do now to achieve them.

Step One: Illustrate Yourself in the Present

On the left side of your board, use pictures to illustrate yourself within your present reality. Take an honest look at your life without being overly critical of yourself. Do you spend too much time on social media? Are you surrounded by unfinished projects. Are your cupboards and refrigerator filled with high calorie junk foods that only serve to keep you and your family overweight and unhealthy? Be sure to represent the good in your life too. Friends or family who care about you, a comfortable home, and a car that runs and gets you where you need to go, are all things that support your success.

Step Two: Illustrate Your Desired Outcome

The right side of your board will represent your ideal future, when you’ve achieved your goals. Leave space in the middle of the board for the last part of this project. A picture of yourself will help you better imagine yourself in your new and improved reality. If your goals are to lose eighty pounds and run a marathon, add pictures that represent family or other people in your life who could be cheering you on. This will help you connect with the emotions, and a larger purpose, that will drive you to succeed.

Step Three: Illustrate Your Action Steps

The third and middle section of your board is where you illustrate how you will get from your present reality to your dream life. You can use words on your vision board as well as pictures, but it’s important to use pictures as they help you visualize possibilities and understand your goals as reality. It may take a little more time to fill in this section. Look over your present reality and find what’s lacking. Let’s say you want to lose weight and find a better paying job. If you are spending more time than you need to on social media such as facebook, this could be time better spent doing short intervals of exercise and writing your resume. If you are busy with work all week and eating fast convenience foods, you could picture yourself spending a Saturday with your kids having fun cooking up healthy, delicious meals to freeze and have ready for each night of the week. If you want a better relationship with your spouse, relationship therapy could be a necessary step in moving from feeling sad and misunderstood in the present, to having a loving connection and lasting happiness in the future.

Are you ready to see your dreams come to fruition? You have all you need to begin. Collect your cardboard, magazines, and tape or glue sticks, and fire up the internet — just don’t open facebook or your mailbox, you don’t need these distractions. On a piece of paper, clearly write down the goals you want to achieve, and your present state of health, emotions, habits and assets. Brainstorm and write down on another piece of paper all of the action steps you can think of that will lead you to your success. Now that you’ve clarified all of this on paper, you can begin illustrating your board. Draw a divider between sections and label them at the top. For example, you can name each part, “my current self,” “action steps,” and “my new reality”. Once your board is complete, keep it someplace where you can view it daily. You are ready to begin. Happy journeying on your road to success.

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