Vision Board Tip #1 — Your vision board should not stress you out!
(This is the first of a series of five posts on making the most of the vision board experience — follow me to get the others as they are published!)
Making vision boards should be fun — but if you are anything like me, you might find even using glue and scissors an opportunity to let your perfectionism cause ripples of anxiety.
What? This board is supposed to show my future? What if I get it wrong and I’m stuck with a future I don’t want? I need to put a picture of the PERFECT house on there, otherwise I might get the one in the picture that is the wrong colour? What if I don’t find pictures of ANYTHING I like? What kind of a vision board is that? I haven’t even decided what I want in my life so how do I know what to look for? And what are the chances of the perfect pictures being there in the magazine even if I had? There are just lots of pictures of BBQ ribs in this magazine I’m looking through — and I don’t even eat meat!
Yep — that’s the kind of thing you might be thinking.
In the past, I have made vision boards by deciding what I want, and then going on the internet to find the exact pictures of what I’m thinking, and printing them off. That’s one way of doing it, but it becomes more of a chore than a fun exercise. Picture of red-headed woman reading book in cosy cafe? Check. Picture of red-headed woman standing on stage with adoring audience? Check. Bugger. Why can’t I find a picture of that amazing New York apartment I once saw and have coveted for years? Just a few more hours, I’m sure to find it again. Maybe I had saved it to Evernote, I’ll look there. No, not there, if only I could remember what article I was reading when I saw it. I DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP ON THAT NEW YORK APARTMENT! I MUST HAVE IT ON MY VISION BOARD! See what I mean? It’s not really supposed to be that stressful!
Recently I made a vision board where I simply had a pile of magazines in front of me, and I let the pictures find me. This is a far more intuitive way to make your board. Trust that the things you need will come to you. You might be surprised what really jumps out at you. For example — I’d completely forgotten that I have forever been looking for the perfect backless dress until I saw a picture that reminded me. (Sticking to the important things here!)
My vision board told me that while work/ambitions are a part of my life (those words over on the left hand side), it is the ‘small wonders’ and ‘treasured moments’ I really want to focus on. It’s lying in a hammock under dappled light, it’s drinking tea surrounded by a teepee filled with beautiful textiles, it’s a roaring fire, my fella and good cheese. And who knew that I wanted to take a river cruise down the Zambezi?
Vision boarding can be discovery as much as intention, it can be reminders, and rekindling. It can be heart over head. Or as the wonderful Miisa Mink from the Driven Woman network says, it’s about ‘letting the force be with you’.
There are two things you really need to make a great vision board, and that is a LOT of magazines (a great variety of magazines, especially magazines you don’t normally buy for yourself) and time. This is not something to be rushed. Luckily you will get both if you join me in a full-day vision board immersion workshop I am running on January 28th, 2018 in London. The magazines are piling up in my study as we speak! Are they calling your name? Have a read and see what you think…
Suzi (P.S. If you enjoyed this post, please click on the ‘clapping hands’ a few times so more people can find it — thank you!)
See also:
Vision Board Tip #2 — How your vision board can cure your Facebook addiction
Vision Board Tip #3 — It’s about the words, not just the pictures
Vision Board Tip #4 — Add your Word of the Year for extra impact
Vision Board Tip #5 — Would you prefer a Vision Journal instead?
