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How Vision Boards Help You Achieve Your Goals

Author Name: Duronto
How Vision Boards Help You Achieve Your Goals

A vision board brings together visualization and reinforcement to visualize your aspirations and to take action steps towards them. Being daily reminders, they help remind you where you’re going and motivate and clarity you. But vision boards are no magic, they really work best when you take action, spit out a plan and make sure you hold yourself accountable.

But what are vision boards, how do they work, and what’s their psychology behind it? Let’s delve into how vision boards work and the psychology of it, and practical tips that will help maximize your vision board’s effectiveness.

 

The Psychology Behind Vision Boards

How Vision Boards Help You Achieve Your Goals - The Psychology Behind Vision Boards

1. Visualization and Mental Rehearsal

Using vision boards takes advantage of your brains ability to see what you want. Repeating to your mental vision what your future you’s hopes from you today helps your mind to develop the idea that what is imagined is not simply imagined, but real, a process called mental rehearsal.

Example: Visualization involves athletes using their minds to practice winning a race, or a skill, in their head. Likewise, you rehearse success daily by using a vision board.

 

2. The use of the Reticular Activating System (RAS)

Your brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) filters the information that passes through it based on your focus. A vision board is a way for your RAS to get in the habit of noticing opportunities, resources and connections that align with your goals, by creating the vision.

Example: When your vision board reads “start a business,” your RAS will literally bring you ‘conversation, articles, and opportunities’ related to this.

 

3. Positive Reinforcement

Seeing your goals visually helps you to maintain optimism and stay motivated. The focus is continuous, and it builds resilience and motivation even in the middle of the challenges.

 

What Makes a Vision Board Effective?

  • Clarity: Unsetting the goal of being successful is fine, but defining specific actionable goals like ‘save $10,000 this year’ are far better.
  • Focus: Show your vision board wherever you will see it everyday.
  • Motivation: Read it every day to keep yourself excited and inspired when things get hard.
  • Accountability: Treat it as a visual commitment to yourself because it’s pushing you all to follow through.

 

How to Make a Vision Board Work for You

1. Set Clear Goals

Very specific, measurable goals for at least half a dozen key areas of life: health, career, relationships, finances, to name just a few.

Example: Instead of, “Get in shape,” say, “I want to lose 15 pounds in three months, doing four workouts a week.”

 

2. Create a Meaningful Board

What images, quotes, and symbols really speak to you? Select them and experiment with making sense of life by connecting to them. A generic one is much less powerful than an individual one.

 

3. Wherever You Will See It Often

Visibility is key. Show off your vision board in your room, where you work or as a desktop wallpaper each day to resound the goals that you are trying to achieve.

 

4. Review and Update Regularly

Make it a habit to check out your vision board from time to time and make sure your aspirations are still on it. Change it to be updated with new goals or progress.

 

5. Take Action Daily

Vision boards on their own won’t get you there. Then pair them with consistent effort, actionable steps.

Example: If your vision board looks like saving up for a dream vacation, set a monthly savings plan to make it happen.

 

Scientific Support for Vision Boards

  • Visualization: In a Psychology Today study they found that seeing the success helps keep people motivated and quicker to achieve goals.
  • Goal Clarity: Harvard Business Research points out that people with specific clear goals are more likely to succeed.
  • Positive Thinking: Studies from Positive Psychology link optimism to improved problem-solving and resilience.

 

Tools for Creating Effective Vision Boards

  • Physical Vision Boards: Mount your images and quotes on corkboards, poster boards or scrapbooks.
  • Digital Vision Boards: Fix My Life AI is a platform that lets you build, edit and track your vision board online.
  • Hybrid Approaches: Keep physical and digital tools well combined to get maximum inspiration and open flex.

 

ADDITIONAL READING

Does a Vision Board Work

Where to Write New Year Resolutions

Are Vision Boards Helpful

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