Vision board = Powerful visualization tool used to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on your life goals.
Last week-end, I set out to do do something I had planned on doing a couple of years ago, but was kinda resisting all along…So after a couple of years of fighting with myself and procrastinating, I walked into Staples on a rainy Sunday morning, grabbed a cork board (HERE’s a medium-sized one, and a wide frame one HERE from Staples), a box of colorful pushpins (check out this one HERE), some scissors (like this pretty pink one HERE), and went on my way with a mission: Build my first vision board ever!
I got home and gathered a bunch of magazines and even some of my favorite books, and went to town. There I was cutting, sticking, and creating the best visual representation I could muster of who I was and what I really wanted out of life! And between the board, the scissors, the colorful pushpins and the images I picked, it was both scary and exhilarating at the same time…
Now why a vision board? And how can a simple piece of corkboard with some random images stuck to it create the life of your dreams? How about working on what you really want and already have, and leave all the woo woo stuff to your superstitious grandma?
Those are all questions that kept me from buying into the whole concept of visualization and creating a vision board. For the longest time, I have to admit I thought vision boards were kind of an active exercise in daydreaming. Well, I’m glad to report the joke was on me…And here’s why…
Visualization is your brain’s most powerful tool.
According to Psychology Today, a weightlifter lifting hundreds of pounds emits the same vibration patterns as when s/he simply imagines it. Or you could just ask olympians for the basis of their mental training, and they’ll gladly tell you that visualizing their performance ahead of time helps them not only do better, but actually even work the same muscles they would otherwise use in reality.
This is to say that for decades, and especially in popular culture after the book The Secret came out, we’ve been realizing that our brains are more powerful than we think. That we can actually change our performances, outcomes of situations and our entire lives based on the thoughts we think and those things we can see in the eye of your mind. I mean, if uccessful moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Uncle Rush consistently use vision boards in their own lives and empires, why shouldn’t we?
BUT (there’s always a but, right…)
We tend to resist seeing ourselves as our best selves.
From my own experience, I can see how it’s easier to just conform, and resolve ourselves to”fit in” to our environments, rather than daring to see ourselves in the full expression of our potential and desires.
Whether it’s in our careers, our businesses, even in our families and relationships, it requires a lot of courage to say “this is what I want, and that’s what I’m going for.” Is it any surprise then that women especially tend to not negotiate the salaries they want and deserve? That we tend to put ourselves last? And that we’d rather be “realistic” than give our dreams a real shot?
Yet again, is a simple piece of corkboard with a bunch of ideal images stuck to it with colorful pushpins going to be able to change all of that, and all of a sudden give us that promotion, send us on that vacation, or build that billion-dollar empire for us?
Which brings me to my next point…
The secret is not in the stuff, it’s in what the stuff brings out of you!
The biggest misconception I had about vision boards was that they were about the stuff. The perfect job, the dream house, the vacation in Venice, even hanging out with Oprah (Oprah, if you ever read this, I’ve not given up, and yes, you’re on my vision board)…Except I was totally wrong…
As we strive in life and allow ourselves to aspire for more, ask for more, experience more, we’re not just yearning for the stuff. Sure, the stuff is part of it. That amazing business would allow you to afford that Cartier watch you’ve been eyeing. Making partners at the firm would let you have more of the prestige and everything that goes with it, including the padded yacht and luxurious vacations…
But what really makes a difference, what really drives us, moves us, makes us get up in the morning, is not the stuff. It’s how the stuff makes us feel. How watching our kids grow into amazing people in part because we can afford to give them a quality education, makes us feel. Or how building a business from scratch turns us from fearful creatures into fearless, powerful individuals.
That’s the secret wrapped into visualizing simple images from a magazine into a reality you can live. And that’s also the fuel hidden inside the power of those visualizations, that turn the power of your mind into tangible action that brings you closer and closer every single day to your wildest, craziest goals…
Just because you dared to question your own assumptions, stepped into a Staples on a random Sunday morning, and purchased a corkboard, a few pushpins, and a solid pair of pink scissors…
So if you’re ready to give it a try, here are a few things you’ll need:
- Any kind of board. It can be a corkboard, like the ones I recommend above from Staples.
- Scissors, pins, tape, glue sticks, to put it together
- Magazines you’d like to cut inspiring images from, like that great beach in Rio de Janeiro you’ll be lounging in soon, or that Louboutin beauty you’ll be slipping your tired feet in in no time
- Your favorite photos, quotes, sayings…All the stuff that inspires you to keep going. For me, it includes my kids’ and hubby pics, my mom, dad and siblings, and all the empowering Bible quotes and other mantras I live by. And don’t forget to add a picture of yourself in there as well, preferably one taken at a time when you were really happy, to bring back those memories.
- Embellishments: if you’re into the glitz and glam of board vision making, then knock yourself out. Add fun stickers, markers and all the bling you want to make your board really YOU.
Last but not least, give yourself some time and space! Allow a couple of hours for this exercise, so you’re not rushing into it, and you really take your time to pick the images that best represent your best self and life. Most importantly, take the time to enjoy the process and enjoy yourself through it!
Pick a space that evokes peace and harmony to you. If you’re in the mood, light a candle, put on some soft music, or that Beyonce anthem that gets you going…And while you’re at it, pour yourself a glass of wine too…
PS: Here’s a quick tutorial on how to build your dream vision board that I really like from The Cubicle Chick:
Have you built your vision board yet?
Here’s to your vision!
The Corporate Sis.
