Hidden somewhere in the box of old notebooks and magazines I thought I would re-read one day but never did, are vision boards I created with images I found empowering and motivating.
They include images from a range of different magazines and include images of nature that inspire me to travel the world, bookshops that remind me how much I love reading, beautiful homes I’d love to live in one day with a huge garden with a bench where I can sit and read in the sunshine, in a world of my own away from the hustle and bustle of life.
I have included examples of these images throughout this post. I find the creative exercise of finding these images, while thinking positively about the future, lifts my mood and leaves me feeling happy and optimistic.
A powerful visual tool
Vision boards, traditionally used for personal development and goal setting, are powerful visual tools that can significantly enhance personal well-being. They are collages of images, text, and objects that represent specific goals, aspirations, and dreams.
They can be physical, created with materials such as magazines and photos, or digital, made using apps and software. Websites such as Pinterest are growing increasingly popular as a way of collating images on a range of different themes, from dream homes to holiday destinations.
Dreams and desired outcomes
Vision boards serve as a visual representation of our dreams and desired outcomes, making them powerful tools for personal development and positive psychology. They help give us purpose, our lives meaning, and help cultivate a positive mindset.
They allow us to dream, to imagine a happy future, to picture what that would look like, where we’ll be, who we will be with, how we spend our time and what we value.
Meeting a basic human drive
The Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, wrote in his book Man’s search for meaning (Frankl, 1985), that the search for meaning in life and the need to attach broader significance to our life is a basic human drive.
A visualisation technique
Vision boards are a visualisation technique. They offer a compelling mental stimulation of a future reality and help us visualise what success might look like (Carton and Lucas, 2018).
Research has found this method to be most effective when goals are aligned with our personality and values. This results in a higher sense of personal ownership, which increases our levels of motivation (Voigt, Sheldon and Kehr, 2024).
A creative outlet
Vision boards can also serve as a creative outlet for expressing emotions, reducing stress, and enhancing emotional well-being.
They allow us to process and articulate our feelings in a non-verbal, artistic manner. They are also easy to create, once we have the materials we need.
I had to spend some time gathering magazines before I could start mine, but once I had them, I was good to go.
There is also no expectation that they need to be perfect. We’re creating them for our own benefit. It’s our choice whether we choose to share them with others.
Vision boards in a therapeutic setting
Vision boards are a safe and nonthreatening intervention that can be used to inspire and help clients to focus on their goals and to empower them to create the life they imagine.
They help clients visualise their future, which can sometimes be a difficult task, and move away from a focus on past problems and concerns Burton and Lent (2016).
Motivation and aspiration
They can also help the client break down goals and aspiration into more manageable steps, feel more optimistic and positive about the future, and allow them to feel a sense of control over the process (Burton and Lent, 2016).
Mosley (2010) described it as “an excellent way to engage clients in identifying, defining and clarifying what they really want in their lives.”
Constructing images acts as a source of motivation for future behaviour. When using vision boards with clients, imagery may help clients visualise improved life circumstances or may help them to identify improvement in goal areas. ~ Burton and Lent, 2016.
Cultivating optimism
Optimism is “an expectation that good things will happen” Chang (2001). Scheier and Carver (1985) conceptualise it as a person’s positive expectations for the future.
The optimism generated by focusing on the future in a positive light has many health benefits including improved well-being and physical health (Gallagher, Lopez and Pressman, 2013).
Optimism also increases the chance we will persist with an endeavour and not give up, less reactive to the stresses of life, and better able to cope with setbacks. Optimism about the future keeps us engaged in life (Carver and Scheier, 2017), who go on to say:
A large literature shows that people with positive expectations for the future respond to difficulty and adversity in more adaptive ways than those with negative expectations.
Focusing on our future selves
While many of us many focus on immediate gratification, giving little consideration to the impact this may have on us in the future, a focus on the future can incentivise us to think twice before forfeiting future happiness for gratification in the moment.
If our vision board includes large price items we want to own in the future, like a car or home, or places we want to travel to, we are more likely to be fiscally responsible today. If we want better health, we’re more likely to address our eating and exercise habit today.
Focusing on our future selves helps determine our behaviour today.
Positive affirmations
Incorporating positive quotes and affirmations into our vision boards reinforces positive thinking and self-belief.
Positive affirmations can motivate us, helps us make positive changes in our lives, boost self-esteem, and replace negative self-talk with a more positive narrative (Rana, 2018).
These affirmations can be powerful tools in building a positive mindset and overcoming self-doubt. They decrease stress, increase well-being, and make us more open to behaviour change, and our most effective when viewed daily (Rana, 2018).
Mindfulness and presence
Returning to the creation of our vision board, engaging in the creative process promotes mindfulness and helps you stay present in the moment.
Mindfulness may be important in disengaging individuals from automatic thoughts, habits, and unhealthy behaviour patterns and thus could play a key role in fostering informed and self-endorsed behavioural regulation, which has long been associated with well-being enhancement ~ (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Flow
The activity also encourages a state of flow, where you are fully immersed in the activity to the exclusion of everything else. You’re ‘in the zone’ and can easily lose track of time.
Flow can lead to a sense of calm and well-being. It is also highly correlated with feeling happier and more fulfilled (Csikszentmihalyi, Abuhamdeh, and Nakamura, 2005). The go on to say:
Another quality and benefit of the flow state is that an individual, “in the zone” is not only able to suppress and ignore negative thoughts, but they are also found to have higher self-esteem and confidence.
Learnings from the business setting
Discussions in the business world of the importance of having a vision to work towards are just as relevant outside of a business setting, as is evident from this quote from an article published in The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science (Levin (2000) focusing on organisational visions:
Visions should be future oriented, compelling, bold, aspiring, and inspiring, yet believable and achievable. Effective visions describe a future that is more attractive than the present.
Steps to Create and Utilise Vision Boards for Well-Being
Identify its purpose
The first step in creating a vision board is to determine its purpose. In other words, why you are doing this exercise. It could be to set short term or long-term goals or visualise the future you’d like to create.
We could focus on a specific goal, such as career aspirations, academic plans and travel dreams, or an area of your life you want to enhance, such as relationships or health.
The starting point for this process could be blank piece of paper on which to map out thoughts and ideas and help clarify thinking.
Gather Materials
Collect various materials that inspire you and fit in with the area you are focusing on. These could include magazines, photos, aspirational quotes, and any other items that resonate with your goals.
If you prefer a digital approach, there are numerous apps and online tools available for creating virtual vision boards, but I find it can be enjoyable to scour through magazines and cut things out.
Create the Vision Board
Start arranging your materials on a board, canvas or in a digital format. Include images, quotes, colours, and objects that align with your vision board’s overall purpose.
Focus on creating a visually appealing and cohesive composition but know that it does not have to be perfect. If it reflects your desired outcomes and aspirations, that’s good enough.
Don’t rush the process; allow yourself to immerse in the creative journey. Have fun with it. It’s designed as an activity to inspire and motivate.
Reflect and Connect
Once your vision board is complete, spend time reflecting on it. What emotions does it evoke? How does it align with your goals and aspirations?
Use the vision board as a tool for meditation or visualization exercises. Spend a few minutes each day looking at it and immersing yourself in the positive emotions it generates.
An evolving vision board
Periodically update your vision board to reflect changes in your goals, emotions, or circumstances. This keeps it relevant and aligned with your current state of mind.
Life changes and our goals can too. What is important one month might be less important the next. As we grow and learn and experience more of the world, we might want to change direction and focus our energy elsewhere.
An evolving vision board can continue to inspire and motivate you as you progress on your journey.
A final word
Vision boards are powerful tools for enhancing positive well-being by combining visualisation, creativity, and emotional expression.
Whether used for setting goals, expressing emotions, or simply fostering a positive mindset, vision boards can significantly contribute to an individual’s overall well-being and happiness.
Sources
Burton, L. and Lent, J., 2016. The use of vision boards as a therapeutic intervention. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 11(1), pp.52-65.
Carton, A.M. and Lucas, B.J., 2018. How can leaders overcome the blurry vision bias? Identifying an antidote to the paradox of vision communication. Academy of Management Journal, 61(6), pp.2106-2129.
Carver, C.S. and Scheier, M.F., 2017. Optimism, coping, and well‐being. The handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice, pp.400-414.
Chang, E. C. (2001). Introduction: Optimism and pessimism and moving beyond the most fundamental questions. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 3–12). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., Abuhamdeh, S. and Nakamura, J., 2005. Flow. Handbook of competence and motivation, pp.598-608.
Frankl, V.E., 1985. Man’s search for meaning. Simon and Schuster.
Gallagher, M.W., Lopez, S.J. and Pressman, S.D., 2013. Optimism is universal: Exploring the presence and benefits of optimism in a representative sample of the world. Journal of Personality, 81(5), pp.429-440.
Mosley, S. (2010, Fall). Using a person centered vision board in counseling. North Carolina Perspectives, 3, 28–33.
Rana, M., 2018. Positive Affirmations and its Benefits on Psychological Well-Being. Edu World, 9(2), pp.5-11.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
Scheier, M. F., and Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implication of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219–247.
Voigt, J., Sheldon, K.M. and Kehr, H.M., 2024. When visions truly inspire: The moderating role of self-concordance in boosting positive affect, goal commitment, and goal progress. Journal of Research in Personality, 109, p.104471.
