What is a vision board?
It is one of the most powerful ways to define your goals, whether for personal or business purposes. It is a collection of pictures and words that are inspirational and represent goals or dreams in collage form. The visually designed board could give a boost to imagination, encourage self-reflection, set intentions and the right goals and also create drive and motivation.
Decide to Go Digital or Physical
Some individuals prefer digital, and some prefer the traditional format. There are, of course, pros and cons for each. Thus, choose the one that suits you the most. A digital version is more accessible everywhere but also private from other people. Displaying it as a widget, wallpapers or lock screen could prevent you from forgetting to have a vision board. The digital board could be done using a photo editing platform such as Canva, which can be accessed both on a mobile device and a computer. A physical version could be done on a poster or in board format. If it is a board, it is easier to update, while the poster can be updated using tools on devices to be printed out again.
Collect, Arrange and Display
Grab suitable images that could represent your goals. This can be obtained from physical books and magazines. For digital, you could easily obtain the pictures online for stock photos or on popular online photo platforms such as Pinterest. For example, it could be how you want your office to look. You could include the layout and interior designs of your dream, but ensure that they are realistic. Another example of a goal could be adapting a learning mindset. You could include pictures of attending seminars, conferences, reading books and prioritizing learning with your team.
Track Progress and Celebrate Every Wins
Keeping track of your progress and celebrating your accomplishments along the way is crucial. According to some psychological and neuroscience research, it will improve life satisfaction and motivate you further. Also, you’ll see how well your vision board and action plan are working together. Mark each task as completed, then evaluate your results and reflect on what you learned. You can also keep track of your progress and criticism in a notebook, spreadsheet, or dashboard. Many useful productivity or note-taking tools, such as Notion, could help you track every step of your progress. Finally, never forget to praise yourself for your accomplishments, no matter how big or small they are.
Review and View Your Board Regularly
Ensure that your vision is still relevant and realistic. How frequently should you view your board? Every single day. Display them where you can easily see them. It could be on the table or the wall. According to Kappes and Oettingen (2011), who found that mental contrasting and envisioning both the desired future and the current reality can boost goal commitment and action initiation,. They suggested that mental contrasting can cause a gap between the future and the present, activating the brain regions responsible for goal pursuit and planning. Therefore, when a goal is consistently viewed, your brain will automatically keep that note, which will trigger actions. However, actions will only trigger when you are aware of the challenges you need to overcome and the steps and strategies to take. Without them, it will only create a false sense of achievement, which is a fantasy.
