Perhaps you’ve heard of this concept of vision boards and it’s sounded cheesy and weird to you—like something for a high-school sleepover party (young girls picking out their dream weddings), or more recently, just an offshoot of a pinterest driven lifestyle.
But it can be so much more than that. It’s not just a visual wish list of home decor items, or a gallery wall of photos, but rather a visual map to your best life, usually one year at a time.
I’ve had so many folks ask me about these, and I wanted to share more of an in-depth look into what I do to create mine each January, as well as some of the overarching framework for approaching goals/plans and dreams for each coming year.
I know this practice of vision boarding has literally changed my life since I put it into practice 5 years ago. For some of you, this may be the year this practice catches your interest and you run with it to your best life.
We’re also doing a module/focus on it in my Life By Design course—be sure to get on my email list (up top) if you want some of the fun content and details I’ll be sharing about that in the coming weeks (yep, it’s already been prepped, before babe). Ideally this vision board practice is part of that larger 5 week lifestyle transformation that we’re undertaking, in a fun and easy to implement program that’s for anyone, in any walk of life!
If you’re someone that doesn’t like traditional goal setting, has already forgotten what your New Year’s resolutions were, or, if you were like me, and are very driven/connected to goals but sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture of WHY they really matter (so checking them off is not as satisfying), creating a vision board is the habit you need. It’s about leaning into a bigger picture perspective of how your life is ready to expand, to transform, to be different.
We all know life will be different in 365 days, but a vision board can be the key to having a strong hand in shaping and creating that difference, and not just letting it happen to us.
My First Time Vision Boarding I Was Afraid
The first time I did a vision board it was tough and somewhat scary to really try to fix on what I wanted. What visuals, materials or pictures represent my life? (But that exercise is exactly where the magic begins.)
And of course, there’s the objection I got (and continue to get) from folks: “well, what about what if I don’t know what GOD has planned for me, aren’t these just my selfish desires being put out there, and how can I know if I’m actually supposed to be wanting this stuff?”
Well, I have lots to say on that topic, but I’ll try to just pose this question: what if you can make the process of developing a vision board a prayerful exercise?
Vision Boarding as an Expression of Hope
You can discuss things with your life partner/spouse, make plans based on where you see your family and life going, and with prayer, put it out there in the form of a vision board. We know God is ultimately in control, but you entrust your hopes and dreams into His care with the knowledge that He wants to make good things happen for, through, and with you. If life plans do a big shift—through a job change, or an unexpected move, a child coming, or anything else planned or un-planned—then you adjust. The vision board isn’t going to be “wrong” at any moment, it might just need to be updated as life unfolds and you continue to hone the muscles of discernment along with life-design.
I find that so many folks are just not intentional enough, or don’t believe enough that their own vision, desires, needs and goals CAN and SHOULD shape their real life, so I like to encourage you to take this seriously, and then simply perfect it with your overall goal setting/discernment as you go. My family vision boards are very different than when we first started making them…they are much more specific and focused on our core values, because that’s where we can do the best work and where we’ve seen fulfillment over the years.
These boards are not just a list of things you want to purchase or a home design pinterest board, they can be a record of the way your desires and values shift and change as you get to know yourself and your God-given purpose better with every passing year.
See, the more specific we get with letting our heart and desires shape reality, the more God actually can work, and move things for us.
I love the following quote, and I think we can understand the sense of divine intervention/support for our deepest desires—they are in alignment.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
A Look at My Vision Boards Over the Years!
So, I’m going to now share a few vision boards we’ve made over the years, and some details on how I like to set ours up now-a-days, in line with our circles of focus: such as social, spiritual, success/skills, etc.But there’s really no right or wrong way to do these—as long as you have fun with them (ideally do them with good friends and a glass of wine or champagne, we’ve done vision board brunches before, so fun)…just have at it, and see what unfolds in the process!
Topics for our vision board this year: grouped into these 6 main categories:
Family
Travel
Business growth/focus (this could also be a hobby or passion project)
Giving back/philanthropy
Personal growth/Inspiration (spiritual, emotional, mental)
Fitness
Of course I have intentions/focus in a few other areas; Spiritual etc, but the visuals for those can be grouped within these, above, as you can see.
If you have a word for the year, or words, or themes you want to emphasize, those go well on this board as well. You can see my 3 words, with visuals surrounding them–Intention, Integration, Impact. For me, words are another powerful trigger, so I find ones that will really pull me into the feelings behind the goals/vision, in each section, and quotes are huge for me too.
In summary, this practice is something that I laughed at at first, finally tried with the encouragement of some wise mentors, and then got hooked on, and have gotten better at (more specific, building around a family vision and focus) over the years.
It’s incredible to me how the visions of what life could be like several years ago back when we lived in an apartment in Brooklyn, have become our reality. I had country sheds and gardens and all these things that seemed totally incongruent with that current lifestyle.
Last year, it was hard to make a vision board with anything that was a stretch beyond what I currently had, and I was cultivating/focused on contentment.
There’s always a balance to be found: some people can be tempted to live in the future and only focused on what they want that’s coming/hasn’t arrived yet. This practice isn’t meant to encourage that spirit. Rather it’s about creating space, giving sight and vision to allow MORE good to come, to allow ourselves to be pulled out of our comfort zones, and to become more of who we are meant to be (which after all, is what this is all about—not just what we have, where we travel, or any of the material stuff). It starts with a deep gratitude for where your life is at, and perhaps even some visuals/prompts around that, if you need it.
Have fun creating your 2019 vision boards! I hope you’ll share with me whether this article inspired you to give it a try, and even share with me by email a pic of your vision board when it’s finished!