Vision Board your New Beginnings
Updated: Jan 7, 2022
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and all sorts of industries use them daily to intellectually stimulate the mind and emotionally engage the heart in order to sell their visions, ideas and products to clients and consumers in pitches, presentations and advert campaigns.
It has been shown that visualised messages provide the 'centre brain', the subconscious, with a more persuasive call to action. This is what makes vision boards so effective, because making a vision visual, actually helps you achieve it.
We quite literally begin to imagine them into existence!
A visual reference creates a more sensory, emotional engagement. Your heart may race with the chemical rush of gratification, of what it would feel like to be experiencing the thing you dream of happening, or to hold what you hope for, in your arms.
As they take root in our imaginations, ideas can feel more tangible, more real, more possible and more achievable. Energy gravitates around them and enthused, we can more easily begin to manifest them in reality. We quite literally begin to imagine them into existence!
I’ve personally found them to be a really helpful tool to bring expression and visual articulation for the things I’m working on making a reality in my life as well as to translate and convey my imagination to clients in my work as a stylist and designer. Here's my guide to the process.
First, carve out some space for you. Perhaps light candles and put on some relaxing music. It can be helpful to start with by reflecting on and taking in, just how much, you have already accomplished, before moving on to what you would love the next year to hold.
Big and small, reflect on your achievements of the last year, the wins, experiences you’ve enjoyed, or survived, lessons you’ve learned, new things that have come into your life, things let go of, things mended and things left behind, character formation and new habits created.
Complete the sentence: 2020 was the year that I ...
Big or small, think about your aspirations for the year ahead, things you would like to do, experiences you'd like to have, areas of yourself you might like to work on, hobbies, interests and causes to focus on, changes to make, ideas to develop and things to create
Complete the sentence: 2021 will be the year that I ...
Then, get crafty. Work with magazines to collate and collage images together to capture the mood you’re trying to create for your year and any words that evoke the kind of vibe or achievements you wish to manifest. Also be lead by the images you are instinctively drawn to.
The practice is a creative and cathartic one. Laying your ideas out on a board and physically touching and moving them around, engages you with them. It helps discover, figure out and articulate what you want to focus on and prioritise, as you process and arrange your thoughts.
Here's what you'll need:
Magazines, cuttings you've collected, a good size piece of cardboard (I like A2 greyboard), scissors, cutting board, craft knife, ruler if you prefer & glue
Tip:
To tear pages out of a magazine more easily, first open the magazine very wide and press along the seam. Then tear the magazine completely in two down the spine. You will then be able to easily rip the pages out that you would like to use.
Remember:
New beginnings can unfurl any time, not just the start of a new year.
A step by step guide:
If you would like, do the exercises on the handouts attached below to reflect on the wins of the past year and the things you would like to manifest in the year to come
Find pages from magazines that appeal to you and represent the things you want in the year to come - you may not always know why you're drawn to them, but just go with it
Arrange large images on the board as your backdrop with scenery, textures or colours that appeal to you and stick them down
Layer on top smaller images with some words if you would like and build up the collage as you choose, trust your instincts and go with what emerges
When it's complete, take a photo and then glue everything down in your layers or as you go along if you prefer
Put your vision board in a prominent place and make time to sit with it as often as you can, connecting emotionally with your aspirations. Imagine in your mind the things happening in reality, this will help you achieve them. You don't have to wait for a new year to start.
Here's a link to download the free handouts to help you reflect on the past year, plan for the year ahead, create balance in the different areas of your life and think about setting goals. Try lighting a candle and putting on a relaxing track, while you go through the process.
Vision Board Your New Beginnings Worksho
.
Download • 6.16MB
Enjoy creating!
