Creating a vision board doesn’t have to be difficult with our free vision board app, printables, and worksheets that will take you through each step of the process.

What is a vision board?

A vision board, also known as a dream board, is a collection of images or photos that represent a goal or serve as a visual source of inspiration and motivation for your life’s direction. It is a visual representation of what matters to you and what you want in your life. There are different kinds of vision boards for various purposes:

• A dream board to plan your dream life
• A manifestation board to manifest your ideal life (See manifestation board)
• A goal board to set and visualize your goals
• A life vision board shows desires that you have for your life that you would like to experience for fulfillment
• A motivation board helps motivate you to reach your goals

For vision board inspiration see examples of each of these boards below.

The idea behind a vision board is that every time you look at it, you are focusing both your conscious and subconscious mind on the things you desire and on how you want your life to look. This focus increases your chances of this dream life materializing. Have you ever bought something or considered buying something and then suddenly noticed how many people have that same item? These people were there before and you didn’t notice them. However, as soon as you started focusing on this item, you suddenly became aware of it. This is how a vision board works. You will suddenly be more aware of opportunities and potential paths to your goals that you never noticed before.

In the book, The 5 Second Rule (2017), the author Mel Robbins discusses research done by Dr. Pychyl on our “present self” versus our “future self.” Our “future self” is the person that we want to become. This research proves that when you can picture the “Future You,” it gives you the objectivity to push yourself in the present moment. When researchers showed people their own pictures digitally aged, they were more likely to save for retirement. Mel Robbins explains that this is an explanation for why vision boards work. They help you envision the Future You and that is a great coping mechanism for the stress you experience today as the Present You.

How to use a vision board

Do vision boards work? Absolutely, however, you cannot just create a vision board and expect your dreams to come true. A dream board helps you plan your perfect life and set your goals but you then have to do the work to reach your goals. However, when you decide where you want to go, via a goal board, you have taken the first step to reaching your goals. You cannot reach your goals if you have not defined them but defining them is not enough to reach them. So, creating a vision board is the first step of the process but there is more work involved.