Employability Skills for Young People
Create your own vision board
A great way to unleash your creativity and visualize your ideal life and career
A vision board (or a mood board, or a dream board) is a visualization tool to build a collage of words and pictures that represent your goals, wishes, and dreams.
You might think: “Oh — this is so childish!”
Or you might resist the idea because you do not have time: “Oh, this is a luxury. I do not have time and space in my life for such fantasies.”
Or, you might say: “I am not creative enough to do this.”
Let me tell you: None of these voices in your head reflect reality. Creating a vision board will take about one hour or so. It does not require any special skills, talents, or creativity. If you want to do it, you can easily do it. It is certainly not a fantasy or luxury activity — the activity provides you much-needed focus and clarity.
Why should you create a vision board?
Creating a vision board and putting it on your office wall or corner is one of the easiest, but greatest creative investments you will ever make.
Visualization is a very powerful mind exercise; as you are preparing your sub-conscious for a greater and better life.
As you put your imaginations, dreams, and wishes on your mood board, you are also making them a bit more concrete. By placing them in a personal or professional space, you are also reminding yourself to focus on these goals, dreams, and wishes. As you display what you really want, you are bringing them closer to reality. Whenever you focus on these images, you are expanding your sense of what is possible.
You will create an inspirational collage of your imagined future.
Remember: Your mind responds very strongly to visual stimuli. A picture is worth a thousand words.
When you visualize your dreams, your brain patterns are activated as if those dreams are true. This is a critical power you want to tap into.
Olympic athletes are known to use imagery and visualization to dramatically improve their performance.
Your collage of words and pictures will make your ideal life more tangible. They will remind you of your goals, dreams, and wishes on a daily basis. So, you will be inspired, stimulated, and work harder towards these goals.
Your vision board should focus on how you want to feel in the future. You can put anything that will inspire and motivate you on your vision board. You can put up your goals in your career, business, personal development, learning, travel, home, health, creativity, and relationships. Whatever you focus on will expand.
You can also use vision boards when you pitch for your clients or for your brand at work. Vision boards often have magical quality and power, since they activate the subconscious minds. They can be used to convey a holistic look and feel of the final design. Yet, they are much easier to make than mockups and prototypes.
In short, you can use vision boards to create inspiration, affirmation, visualization, and communication. Vision boards capture your identity, vision, desires, dreams, and wishes.
How do you prepare a vision board?
Please watch the video below to see how it works:
What do you need?
First, decide if you want to do this digital or physical.
If you go for digital, you will pull images and words from the Internet and assemble them digitally. You can use Pinterest, Mooddream, or Instagram to get inspired.
If you go for physical, you will cut out pictures and words from old magazines and stick them on an A3 paper or poster. I like this option better, as there is something magical about using your hands (the old school way) that completely refreshes and revitalizes you.
- Remember: The vision board is about who you would like to be, and what you would your ideal life and world to look like.
- Think about yourself in your ideal life and write down whatever comes to your mind — this will guide you.
- You can use old magazines, newspapers, and your own photos.
- Choose pictures that inspire you.
- Cut out the pictures using scissors.
- You can also use art/craft materials as you like.
- Organize all these pictures on an A3 paper or poster.
- Do not overthink it — focus on gut instinct.
- Think 80–20 Pareto: Cut roughly and use a little glue to keep pictures in place.
- Focus on the meaning of the big picture or the abstract look and feel of it
- When you are done, take a clear and high-resolution digital picture — you can post it on Instagram or online.
- You can put your physical artwork on your wall to get inspired.
What can you include in a vision board?
You can include images, words, colors, visual metaphors, artwork, quotes, fonts, textures, patterns, accessories, verbal explanations — as you wish. Which emotions do you wish to capture and convey? Aim at that overall look and feel of what excites you.
Below are some great videos and resources to get you inspired:
It is time we think beyond any limits, take risks, and be creative in planning our future lives and careers.
Creating a vision board is a right step in that direction. It will inspire you towards a greater life and career.
I wish you good luck in your future career.
Sincerely;
Fahri
