Vision Boards

Years ago, I read an article about Vision Boards. 

A vision board is typically a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn out from various magazines. It’s simple.

The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires. 

They add clarity to your desires, and feeling to your visions.

That's so me...cutting, pasting and collaging!  When I originally read the article I thought, "what a great idea!" but I never did anything about it.   And then last month, I had a chunk of time and thought I would go through the increasingly large magazine pile in my bedroom and purge a few of them.  Who knows what actually sparked the cutting and pasting part, but that's what it turned into.   I remember reading in that original article that it shouldn't be a "hunt" for pictures of specific things.  You shouldn't get caught up in reading the articles or looking too hard at one thing.  You should just go through the magazine fairly quickly and if something makes you stop...and especially if it makes you catch your breath...you should cut it out and put it on your vision board.  That totally worked with my plan because the whole point of the exercise was to GET RID of the magazines.  (That's probably why this project has never worked before, because I get way too caught up in the articles and I never get through the pile!  This time I did a "speed run through" of each magazine and only cut out pictures that made me stop.)



Here are the cool things about my Vision Board...

1.  The entire thing is filled with pictures of stuff that's either turquoise or red (or varying shades of those two colors).  My WHOLE life...for as long as I can remember...my favorite color has been PURPLE.  But there isn't a single thing on that board that is purple.  Interesting...  I'm not drawing any conclusions from that.  I just thought it was interesting.

2.  The cake in the middle.  That's one of those pictures that made me catch my breath.   I have no idea why it's on there, or why I felt like I needed to put it right in the center of the poster.  But I love it.   

3.  The Temples.   My favorites are up there...Salt Lake City, UT; Laie, HI; and Logan, UT.  The Temple is a huge part of my current life, and I'm sure that will continue in the future. 

4.  There's a picture of a gorgeous bowl (that I actually own) filled with popsicles. I was shocked when I saw that.  Really....I had to stop and look at it for a long time because the thought of putting popsicles in that bowl would NEVER have occurred to me in a million years.  It's a show piece, not a serving piece.  It's one of those things that sits in my house with an invisible sign that says "DO NOT TOUCH."  I have a lot of things like that in my house...too many.  That picture reminds me that there are "needful things" that are sometimes more important than STUFF.  My kids have never gotten to use that bowl, but I'm working toward the day when I will take it out and not care if my grandchildren get sticky, popsicle-covered hands all over it.

5.  The Whale.  I LOVE that whale picture.  I love it because it's an unlikely friendship.  I love it because he's doing something totally out of character, and that it's unexpected and helpful.   And he made a difference for those little penguins.  Probably no one else cared that he did that, but those little penguins were grateful.  (I know...it's a cartoon ad, but it's a nice one, and it reminds me to find ways to do things that are helpful and that make a small difference.)

6.  The little girl.  The article was about providing drinkable water to small villages in Africa.  It moved me.  The picture moved me more, though.  There's something about Africa...weird, huh?  Especially because I'm an indoor, climate controlled, conveniences of modern technology kind of a girl. 


The poster is filled with other stuff...quotes, words, pictures of places I would like to visit, things I want to do, shoes I'd like to own, legs I'd like to have.  Some of them are a complete mystery.  I have no explanation for them, they're just up there.  And I made sure to leave blank spaces for future magazines.  One of the things the article says is that you should broaden your selection material.  Don't limit yourself to just the magazines in your home.  So I have room up there in case some picture from PC World, Field and Stream, or Modern Dog catches me by surprise.   

The other day, Spell Girl and I were having a talk in my closet (because she likes to talk and that's her spot of choice, and it's actually pretty spacious in there.) She was fascinated with some of the pictures, and she said, "I could sit here and look at this all day long."  I said, "Sometimes I do that."  And then I said, "Let's make one for you!"  

Over the weekend, we went to the library and she picked out some used magazines (5 for $1) and spent the afternoon looking through them.  (She is drawn to National Geographic, Smithsonian, and travel magazines.)  She also looked through Temple pictures on the internet and printed three of her favorites.  (Fresno, CA; Mesa, AZ; and Laie, HI...hmmm...she must like that design.  Not sure why she didn't pick Cardston, Alberta, too.)


Recently when I was in TCD's room, I saw her cutting pictures out of a magazine and putting them into a large spiral notebook.  She let me look through it and explained some of the pictures.  There are outfits and jewelry she likes.  There are sketches of dresses she would like to design.  There are tops cut from one picture and pasted above the skirt of another.  She wants to be a fashion designer, so that theme is prevalent throughout the book.  And she's 14, so it's not surprising that clothes and hair would be important to her.  

But in the back of the book there are quotes from Prophets, handouts from YW lessons, a picture of the Salt Lake Temple, and a list of 100 things she wants in a husband!  (She actually only has 75 currently, but she has them numbered to 100 because that's her goal...to think of 100 things!) 

It's kind of an amazing thing to have insight into their hopes and dreams.  I love talking to them about the things they want in their futures.  I told them the popsicle story.  Maybe someday, when I take that bowl off the shelf and fill it with treats, they'll smile because they will know how much I've evolved!  I'm glad something moved all of us to make those glimpses of our futures a little more tangible.  


You should make your own vision board and see what happens.  


Be Good.  Be Patient.  Don't Forget.