The reasons vision boards work and how to make one

Goal setting and vision boarding is one of those techniques that you completely embrace for the upcoming periods. I love visions boards, I adore them but sometimes equally roll my eyes when I this practice.  In this blogpost we will cover why visions boards are great, the application of vision boards, how vision can be misleading and the missing ingredient.

Why visions boards are great

Reticular Activating system

In our brains, across the brainstem, is something we call the reticular activating system or RAS for short. Its main function is regulating arousal and sleep-wake transitions. However, the ascending projections of the RAS facilitate the conscious perception of sensory stimuli. Meaning that when it comes to vision boards, this translates to sifting criteria in your RAS, and the perceived need to see and even respond to sensory stimuli.

When we put something on our vision boards, it goes into the RAS which acts like a sift. A good example of this sifting process is when we are on social media. There is a reason why we don’t look at every piece of content with immaculate detail. We just simply scroll, until something clicks that makes us stop scrolling. Have a scroll on Instagram, let your fingers do what they normally do. When you make an unconscious choice to do stop that is your RAS kicking in, so your mind is working for you. You can help your mind help you when you are not even doing something. This is a great reason why vision boarding is great, because we can unfill our RAS.

Value Tagging

Within our minds, we value tag things that we deem important to us, either on a deep values base level or for what we are looking to achieve in business. This is similar to RAS however the RAS is based on information access being universal, we have all the information available to us and then filter it to see what we want.

Now we all know with social media and algorithms that isn’t the case. The algorithms decide what you see to begin with. When we do a vision board, we are showing our mind things that should be value tagged. Things such as activities, people, legacy and everything important to us. This gives it an increased value tag in our minds. And the brilliant use of value tagging is that our mind will understand if there is a void of information that we have value-tagged that we are seeing. This is the reason why some people fall out with social media. Because the mind recognizes that the algorithms are showing nothing of value to it.

That all sounds wonderful so far, so what is my eye-rolling about?

2 areas are often missed when it comes to. The creation of the vision for the vision board, and the application of the vision board post creation. It’s not just about just creating it, not just all arts and crafts. Doesn't that seem obvious? If we are memorializing this on a vision board, shouldn’t it be something that we want to create and take some time what the vision is?

Creating the vision for the vision board

 My first eyeroll is that it isn’t about what pictures you can find in a magazine. Not about getting done as fast as possible. Not putting on the first pictures that you can find that vaguely represent what you do. If you haven’t had success with vision boards before, my advice is to simply take some more time. Focus on the vision first and see what happens.

Your vision vs. the vision of others

What we need to look out for if it is your vision or the vision of others. Is it truly your vision or is it the vision of your parents, your partners, your culture, your ancestors or even your coach? If you haven’t done it before look back and ask yourself if everything you put on your vision board is actually your dream, or is it a borrowed vision?

We carry a huge amount of cultural cues and family cues with us about what our future should be when we grow up. I remember in one of my grandparents' houses. There was a picture on the wall of 3 men, one of which was my father in his graduation gown, and his degree under it. This was in my RAS of when I was a child. Deeply in there registered how important going to university and getting a degree was. I’m mentioning this because it was something so simple. It’s something that I should do. When you say you should do something, it’s a great indicator that it is not your vision but somebody else's. It’s about how long was I using a different piece of information to shape my present and my future.

Your vision board needs to feel amazing to you. Doesn’t matter if your vision is completely different from whoever you are working with from a coaching, mentoring or consulting point of view. It doesn’t matter if your coach looks at your vision board and say oof. Do not let anyone that your hired or anyone in your circle put a judgement on your vision board that allows you to change it. It only needs to make sense to you. Doesn't matter if it’s not Instagram worthy.

Soul-Aligned or Ego-Mind

When you think about your vision, look at your vision of the future. Is it what your soul craves. Is there any societal pressure that is influencing what you are looking to create? Are you visioneering big or small? I as a coach know from experience that people talk about dreaming big often. However I have also have seen people dreaming big, but it’s not their version of big. Whether you are dreaming too big or too small, have you supersized it into something you don't want, for it is not soul-aligned?

Is it your present-day vision or is it an old vision you won’t let go of? Especially in the pandemic things have changed for many people. The beauty of a vision board is that you can re-evaluate it. You can revise it at any time. You don’t need to specially review it at the end of the year, it is not time-bound. Look at your vision board and if it doesn’t serve you, then remove it.

Hypnotherapy

I'm also a master hypnotherapist, when it comes to creating a vision, I will take clients through a guided visualisation. Some people will make vision boards separately for their work and their life. For entrepreneurs, those things are usually very blended. I’m taking you through what each side of that blend looks like. When you are creating your vision board, on all aspects, what are your looking to create and do they blend well?

The secrets are often locked in the unconscious mind as to what you want to achieve. Visioneering is a feeling when activating desire, which is what this is, desire for your ideal life, it is about using all your senses to create.

Vision is misleading

Not just visual

The biggest eye roll that I have is that people create vision boards for their eyes only, and they are missing out big time. Yes, the word is vision board, but it has been taken far too literally. People create vision boards for their goals and dreams, but only for their eyes. You have so many other senses.

Let me give you an example. Imagine one goal that you dream of achieving. What does it feel like to achieve that goal? What does the success of that goals smell like, what does it sound like? Imagine now as you achieve that goal you’ve longed to do, what does your skin feel like? Warm or cold, what are you wearing? Is there a taste in your mouth that resembles success to you?

The answers you’ve had around these questions as you are thinking about your vision for your future, can all appear on your board. You can find items to be around your board that help associate a trigger with a feeling. If you look at your vision board and any part of it feels numb, your vision board is lacking impact.

This is why when I do vision boards, it's a sensory board. I created my scent of success candle, that scent is always near my vision boards and anywhere at any time, I can smell that candle and instantly feel success. Think about your board. Is it doing the job for you it needs to be doing?

Application of the vision board post creation

One of the areas that I see vision boards failing is the application of the vision board after it’s created. If you create your vision board and then file it away, not looking at it regularly, it isn’t being used to its full potential. You made it but you need to be able to think regularly, is there something there that is missing. Your vision board should be somewhere you can see regularly. If it is in your office, then place it behind your screen and above eye level. And if you have associated items such as a scent, crystals, noisemaker, then that can all go there too.

There are various other ways where you can implement your vision into your daily routine. Take a picture of it and put it as your screensaver or desktop of your computer or laptop. Put it as the lock screen or the background on your phone. Small visioneering tip, the thing we do the most in a day is unlock our phones. If you have a number or a password, pick any of those that are in alignment with your vision board, use that as your password so that every time you unlock it your mind gets that little hit. The last thing you can do is look at your vision board right before you go to sleep. Ideally, it should not be on tech, I do not want you to catch blue light right before you go to sleep.

The missing ingredient

One of the missing ingredients we come to the real secret of vision boarding is the law of inspired action. You can have faith in creating what you want to create, but action makes it happen. That’s right, people making vision boards is great. It is a game-changer. You know what else is a game-changer, taking inspired action. Yes, have faith in attracting what you want to create, but also take action to make them happen.

I’m not a great gardener, and I don’t like weeds, which is why I have a gardener. However I can want the weeds to disappear, and I can think and look at them disappearing, and manifest and dream of them disappearing. And say out weeds out. But they are likely to remain. The quickest way is to take inspired action.

I do something that is not and move them and save the law of attraction energy for another area of your life. Is there something as you think of your vision board that you can take inspired action on the assist with bringing that vision to reality? The question that I want to ask you: is there something as you think of your vision board that if you took inspired action on, you would assist to bring that vision into reality quicker.

If you're looking for support to move your business and life forward, you can work with me in the following ways:

Firstly a 90 minute on-demand session, for a super boost of top-line strategy for how to kick off your 2022 for success.

Secondly a private accelerator day in person or on Zoom and 30 days of support, including 2 121 sessions. 

And if you are ready to work together 121, then why not come and listen to the podcast over on Apple Podcasts called Wielding Legacy