As we grow older, it may be that the things we once wanted are no longer what turns us on now. If we want to live our best lives, it becomes more important than ever to figure out what we want for ourselves and then to do something about it.
One of the things we can do to make what we want more tangible is to create a vision board.
What is vision boarding?
‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve’ Napoleon Hill
Making a vision Board became popularised in the book ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne.
A vision board is simply a bunch of images, photos, words etc of the things that you want for your life. It is probably one of the most powerful visualisation tools available and it serves as blueprint for your future and is a tangible representation of where you are going. It represents your dreams, your goals and your ideal life.
Everything we do in life is based on our emotions. We tend to move towards pleasure and away from pain. Stimulating positive emotions using pleasurable images is a powerful way to get you moving in the direction of your dreams.
Your brain will work tirelessly to achieve the statements that you give your unconscious mind. And when you see what you want to achieve, your unconscious mind takes that as a direction to get to work!
How do I make a vision board?
It is quite simple really!
All you need to do is find pictures to represent the experiences, feelings and material things you want in your life in 7 years’ time.
You can pretty much choose any time frame, but I find that 7 years is a great place to start. We often underestimate what we can achieve in 7 years, so it is easier to achieve.
Also, you can choose to do a dream board depicting all areas of your life. These areas include health, relationships, finances, emotions, business/career and spirituality (whatever that means for you).
If you are making a vision board for a shorter time period, eg 1 year, you may want to concentrate on just one area of your life eg health.
Realistically, it is up to you. It is YOUR vision board.
If you choose images of happy couples (if you are wanting to find a soul mate) or of a strong lean body (if you want to work on your health and lose weight), ensure you have your face on it by doing a literal cut and paste of photographs and images. If that is not possible, choose images of silhouettes or ones with head turned away etc. You want your unconscious mind to think that the person in the image is you…. not Brad and Angelina with their faces…. and this is probably not the best relationship to emulate anyway!
Include anything that speaks to you like symbols, inspiring quotes, words and thoughts of the things you want. Be sure to include a photo of yourself at least somewhere on the board. Make sure it is a happy photo of yourself! Ensure the words you use are positive and resonate with you.
You can cut all of these out of old magazines or find them on Google images or Pinterest and print them out.
As much as possible, keep it neat and organised. If it is scrappy, chaotic and cluttered, your unconscious mind may pick up on that and chaos is not what you want (I am guessing)!
Another important thing is to put a date on it. If it is for 7 years’ time, include the year 2026 and ensure this is somewhere clear on the board. You want your unconscious mind to know that there is a deadline on this…..otherwise, it could always just be sometime in the future.
It is a good idea to look at your vision board every day. Meditate on it and let the images, words and quotes really imprint themselves on your mind. If you can, have the vision board where you can easily see it every day.
One very important thing to note is that the unconscious mind does not process negatives, so it is imperative that the directions you give your unconscious mind are for the things that you want and NOT the ones you don’t want.
I wrote a blog on focusing on the things that you do want and my skiing story is a metaphor (a true one) on why it is important to focus on what you do want rather than on what you don’t want. Check it out!
There are many other resources out there that can help you with vision boarding.
Hal Elrod talks about vision boarding in his book ‘The Miracle Morning’. In this book he dedicates a whole chapter to visualisation and says that a vision board is something tangible to focus on during the visualisation process.
Here is a video by Jack Canfield on ‘How to create a Vision Board’.
Here are some other tools on Pinterest that can help you too.
Now that you are on your way to making your own vision board, there is another step I suggest you do!
Write out your goal by stating ‘Today is (date 7 years from now) and I am ____ years old.’ Then describe your perfect day with all the things on your vision board in mind. Do it in present tense as of that day and use positive language.
You can look at how to set out your written goals by referring to a previous Australian Menopause Centre article I wrote. See it here.
Just one more thing….. If you want to have even more fun making a vision board, you can do it with your significant other and/or your children and grandchildren! Just go and have fun with it!
So, what are you waiting for? You now have this simple and effective tool to put you on track to having the life of your dreams.
If you would like some help with this, you can book into a no obligation complimentary clarity session with me. Just visit my website to book in on www.midlifecoachingforwomen.com.au
Or, you can book a quick chat directly into my online calendar https://calendly.com/gcmitchell58/quick-chat
References:
Hill, N. ‘Think and Grow Rich’. New York. Fawcett Books, 1987. Print:
Byrne, R. ‘The Secret’. New York. Atria Books. 2006. Print. Accessed 17th April 2019:
Mitchell, G. ‘Focus on the Snow’. www.midlifecoachingforwomen.com.au, September 2018. Web. Accessed April 17th 2019:
Elrod, H. ‘The Miracle Morning’. UK. Hal Elrod. January 2014. Kindle. Accessed 17th April 2019:
Canfield, J. ‘How to create a Vision Board’. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iamZEW0x3dM, July 2017. Web. Accessed April 17th 2019:
About The Author - Gina Mitchell
Gina Mitchell, best-selling author, midlife expert, certified coach, NLP and Matrix master practitioner and hypnotherapist, stands for women being empowered and owning their own lives while going through midlife and menopause. Gina is the founder and CEO of Midlife Coaching for Women. She has been supporting her clients to reach their goals since 2011. Her niche is coaching women over 40 because of her own challenges with midlife and menopause. She is not okay with the fact that many women suffer and struggle through this stage of life and beyond. She wrote a #1 best-selling book about female midlife relationships called ‘Ignite the Spark’. Gina’s mission to help midlife women live their true potential comes from over 35 years as a scientist and science teacher. Her other passions include her family, pet cats, travel, advocating for animal rights and the environment. ‘Not just surviving menopause and midlife …..but thriving’ - Gina Mitchell