Do They Work?

Vision Boards can be magical but they are not magic.

I was liking and commenting on social media when I saw some ask about vision boards. Do people create them and do they find them useful?

It that time of year, the time of year, where we create goals and some of us may even do vision boards in support of their goals. Maybe you are setting your goals now, maybe they are already done. Do you support them with a vision board?

I do. I’ve even been hired to do a corporate vision board workshop.

The question remains… do vision boards help? Do they work?

I believe vision boards are magical. However, they are not magic.

If you just slap pictures on a board and hope that something will happen, you will be disappointed. Vision boards are a tool, they are not magic. I remember the first time I heard about The Secret. I was a different person, living a different life (I’ve changed a lot since then). I remember that I thought it was hogwash. I can hear some of you gasping. It’s ok, breathe. Look at it from my point of view of my past self. To me, it was a book and a movie suggesting that we could clear cancer by watching funny TV. Or that a new bike would just appear because we wanted it. I just didn’t believe that life worked that way. The part that I either missed or the secret didn’t tell us, or maybe it just didn’t say it loud enough for me, was that you have to take action towards those goals. When we focus on something and take action, the universe will assist us.

A part of me was right. Magic doesn’t just happen. We have to take the action and then magic happens.

The same is true for a vision board. Create your vision board based on the goals you have, things you want in your life. Be specific. I call it setting intentions. These goals cannot be fantasy. They can’t be unachievable to you. They can be stretch goals, but they can’t be unachievable. They also can’t be goals that you are unwilling to do anything to move the goal forward. For example, I can’t put a picture of a puppy on my vision board. Yes, it’s achievable, but honestly, in the next 18 months to two years, I’m going to do nothing to move that goal forward. The pictures, the words, the quotes on your board are there to help you create emotion, to visualize and to hold your focus on the things that are important to you. What you focus on expands. By putting the time and effort into creating the board and then putting it somewhere you can see regularly, you remind yourself regularly what your goals are. You keep your goals in focus.

The magic of the vision board doesn’t happen until the next step. The magic doesn’t happen until you take action every day towards those goals. On my vision board are goals for my business, trips I want to take (when we can travel), home improvements, physical health and relationships (my love and friends/family). I take steps towards all of these on an ongoing basis.

The vision board reminds me of what I am focusing on. My plans, my success activities, my goals all support these. The vision board, by reminding me daily what these successes look like, keeps my mind tuned in and open to opportunities that could be important to me. Together, all of this creates momentum towards my goals.

The role of the vision board is to help you get clear about what success looks like. When you can see it, hear it, feel it, you can get excited by it. This excitement helps motivate you to take action, consistent action. And on the days that you don’t feel motivated, you have a visual tool to remind me why you need to move forward anyway.

The vision board is a tool. A tool that can be magical. On its own, it is nothing more than pictures on a board.

Jenna Kutcher recently interviewed Dr. Tara Swart, a neurologist. In that podcast, Dr. Swart call vision boards action boards. I like that. I also like calling it a vision board. The truth is, it is both. It helps create the vision but you need to take action to make the vision a reality.

Now that you know the secret to make vision boards magical, will you create one?

“The best way to succeed is to have a specific intent, a clear vision, a plan of action, and the ability to maintain clarity.”

Steve Maraboli