Whenever I have some friends over at my place for the first time, they look confused at my vision board and ask: “What is that thing up there at the wall?” – “It is a vision board.” – “A what?” I thought that a short article could trigger a few interesting questions in you.
My vision board
Do you remember the time back then, when you were a child and used to have the walls of your room papered with posters of the Power Rangers, Batman or Knight Rider (Yes, I admit it. I was an Hoff fan at the age of seven. Oops!)? Did you ever walk around in the streets in your Super Mario or Fairy costume? If yes, ask yourself why…
My personal assumption is: Because we wanted to be like the characters we saw out there on billboards. Who does not want to have super powers, the ability to fly or save the world as an epic hero? Back then we also were not socialized to an extend, which made us look at things from a rational point of view. We did what FELT right. Not what we THOUGHT (or were taught to think) was right. We were authentic. And we were carefree. We believed in our (superhero) abilities and strengths. Look at us today…
A vision board can be understood as an adult version of these childhood dreams and goals. But instead of the above-mentioned characters you stick “real life superheroes” to your walls resp. a magnet board. Examples for “real life superheroes”? – Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Nelson Mandela, Madonna, Tony Robbins, Mahatma Gandhi. I could go on like this for a while…
Who inspires you? From which person can you learn? Whose life would you love to live? And why?
You can even go one step further and add pictures of your essential values in your life like passion, personal growth, inner peace, happiness, freedom etc. Why don’t you also add a picture of your dream house, job, car or even partner? Your imagination is the limit.
What are your key values in your life? In a “perfect” world, how and where would you live and work?
My friends then usually ask me how to make use of a vision board. Oh well… there are no rules for it. One strategy could be the following: At the end of every day, you sit down on your couch and have a proper look at each and every picture, symbol or word you put up there. While doing so, ask yourself if you acted in line with these goals or role models during the day. If you did not, ask yourself why and how you can change that. Especially when you had a bad day and nothing seems to make sense, the vision board is a great reminder of who you are and what you REALLY want.
For those of you who still aren’t convinced of this approach: Did you know that the likeliness of reaching your goals dramatically increases once you write them down? In numbers: The percentage varies, depending on the study. The answer lies somewhere between 42 and 95%. Please also reflect on the actions of successful businesses. What do they do in the beginning? Exactly. They get clear on their vision, mission and strategy. Why I mix business with private life here? – The circle closes if you quote successful AND happy people like Jay-Z who once said: “I ain’t a businessman. I’m a business, man!” – Interesting approach, isn’t it?