5 Ways Vision Boards Help You Reach Your Goals

Hopefully, you're starting to think about setting your personal and professional goals for the upcoming year. If not, how do measure your growth and progress? When was the last time you allowed yourself to daydream about the type of life you want? Do you envision the life you want? Do you truly know your WHY, the reason behind all the long hours you spend on your business?

Creating a vision board has become a popular activity in recent years, especially as the New Year approaches and people think about the past year and the New Year’s resolutions they want to keep. A vision board is simply one tool that helps you visualize your dreams and your goals. How so, you ask? Let’s explore the ways…

Vision boards make you focus on what’s important to you.

Whether you combine a personal and professional vision boards together or keep them separate, thinking about what you want in these areas forces you to prioritize what’s important. Thinking about your desires whether it's buying your first house, moving to a warmer climate or expanding your business, putting a photo of your dream location by the beach will inspire you to work harder and not undercut your prices. If you want to move, you alone can make that happen and you’ll make better business decisions based on that desire to move.

Visualization stimulates the creative side of your brain.

Whether on your phone, on your desk or computer, or on the wall, always keep your vision in front of you. This serves as a daily reminder of what you want goals and what you want to achieve. Some believe having a visual on your nightstand so that is the last thing you see before you end your day, helps stimulate your subconscious before you go to bed. Imagine waking up and being motivated first thing because you're seeing your vision board first thing. With that being said, it would be a great idea to keep a notebook handy to jot down any ideas you may have.

Focusing on goals makes you recognize new resources or opportunities.

Visualizing yourself living in a warmer climate (or whatever your primary goal is) will motivate you to work towards that goal. Creative visualization also helps to manifest new opportunities and resources which could potentially lead you to reaching your goal. These resources may have always been present, but there's something about being tunnel focused that helps you see your resources and opportunities in a new light: as a way to help you reach that intended goal.

Break out of your comfort zone by stating a big, scary goal.

Don't allow yourself to get stuck in a funk because you're afraid to break out of your comfort zone! Acknowledging big goals – as scary and outrageous as they may be – will help you step out and take on new challenges, all in the name of reaching that scary goal. If your goal is to speak in front of an audience of 5,000 at your favorite conference, seek out opportunities to speak at smaller speaking engagements. These smaller events will give you the necessary practice and help you build your name recognition so that when the organizers of your favorite conference advertise that they’re looking for speakers, you’re well prepared to submit your name.

Seeing a big goal forces you out of the daydream and into action.

Nothing happens without some action on your part. Vision boards are not magic tricks; they are instead a tool that spurs us into action because we finally know what we want out of life. Visualize your ideal life then approach each day with intention, create action steps which will lead you toward that ideal life and then get to work!