This is not my vision board.
So I’m going to make a vision board. For those not versed in new-age, it’s a collage. For inspiration, I surfed the net for a while and found all sorts of tips, many of which are geared toward people who harbour a secret for a better life. See what I did there? That was my poor attempt at a pun while simultaneously alluding to that movement called The Secret, which is hardly a secret anymore. For those who may have forgotten or who have been able to avoid such hooey, the premise of The Secret is that you can have whatever you want…you just have to want it bad a enough. With this movement came the resurgence of the collage, only this time it is called a Vision Board or a Dream Board and its purpose is more focused. In order to help you get what you want in this world, it is important to have a visual representation. It’s sort of like a grown-up letter to Santa Claus. You want a Porsche? A super-hot girlfriend? Cut those babies out of your FHM magazine and slap it down on some poster board. (But of course your Vision Board will be a little deeper than that, right?) The Internet is rife with those who would swear on their collage that their dreams came true simply by focusing on such literal representations.
I don’t believe in The Secret. I think some people get lucky breaks and some do not. I think some people do work harder than others but I also think some people are given better opportunities than others. I think some people have had things happen in their life that made life difficult for them. I don’t think it is so easy to pull oneself up by ones bootstraps. I think if you don’t agree, read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers.
Despite this, I am going to make a vision board because I do think they carry some weight. I see a vision board as a thesis statement for one’s life — a set of visual goals can help keep me focused on what is important in my life, and what I want to work toward. And the actual process of creating a vision board is also helpful in simply determining what it is that I do want, as this is not always so evident. Like journaling, it helps to get ideas down on the page. It also looks fun.
Here are a few things I garnered in my Internet travels for creating dream boards:
1) Look for images that truly resonate with you. Don’t just choose pictures of sports cars and beach vacations as these are things that society tells us are desirable. Go deeper.
Too many words turns your Vision Board into a ransom note.
What makes your heart sing?
2) Put your board up somewhere where you can focus on it every day to help keep things in perspective and your goals in sight.
3) Be creative and don’t censor. Cut out any image that appeals to you and save it for your collage. When you put your images together, have fun, using fancy glitter pens or stickers (if you have kids, raid their craft box). Have fun with this.
4) Here are some examples. View at your own risk as some look like the workings of crazy serial killers. You will also see it is quite personal and why I won’t be sharing mine with you.
5) Plastering on too many words on your collage can make it look like a ransom note.
6) My own tip (so take it for what it is worth): Try to be Zen about this. Less is more. It will be easier to focus on what is truly important.
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