Fill your board with all the things you treasure
Since I was a little girl, I've always loved creating mood boards and having aspirations about the woman I could grow up to become. Back then my collections of images were based on celebrities I admired, hairstyles, make-up, nail art designs...all of the girly stuff. Nowadays I'm focusing on how I want to mould my lifestyle and my business.
Mood board/vision board, what's the difference?
Vision boards are a little different to mood boards. Generally a mood board covers one particular topic and gives you a feel of how you want it to be. You won't keep changing it, once you've decided you like it, you'll turn it into a reality. For instance you might decide to redecorate your living room. What colours do you like? Flooring? Furniture? Lighting? Cushions? Any wallpaper? Everything goes on here.
A vision board displays a vision you have of yourself for the future. If you create it whilst in the right frame of mind and display it somewhere that you will always see it, it will become a valid tool to keep you focused.
Gone are the days that I buy magazines to find out the latest fashion, trends or just to get a free lip gloss... So I'll use the internet and my printer rather than taking cuttings from magazines. Both are fine to do but I feel I can really hone in on the words and styles that resonate with me if I search myself. Sometimes I'll give my board a personal touch with my own handwritten messages of what I want.
Start a ritual to get yourself into the flow of your soul
To have a real soul deep vision boarding session I'll usually do this as part of a full moon ritual on my own. I like to play some relaxing meditative music, light my lavender candles and one of my sage smudge sticks so I can cleanse my aura and my apartment.
I will sit on my favourite meditation chair and get relaxed enough for a 5 minute meditation. Sometimes I'll hold a few of my crystals that I feel drawn to in my left hand. If I feel like the time flew by too quickly, I will go back into my meditation for a little longer.
After doing this I usually feel really in tune with what my soul needs and what I want from life. I will sit with my journal and a mug of herbal tea so I can write down my thoughts and the topics I want to include on my vision board.
Find your favourite sources for inspiring images
Pinterest, Google, or Instagram are my favourite spots for vision board inspiration and I'm guaranteed to have saved inspiring quotes or illustrations that will help me along my journey.
I put all of the images I like into a folder on my desktop. Once I've finished adding to it I'll flick through them to see how much influence they have over the way I feel and the way I want to feel. The ones that hold a lot of power stay, the others head to my desktop recycle bin.
After blowing out the candles and tidying up. I get ready for bed, feeling good about my future, I dream on it.
Be ruthless with those images
I always feel more ruthless about the photos that make it to my vision board the next day. It has to be a powerful source of inspiration that will influence my decisions, focus, and how I spend any free chunks of time at one glance.
Once this is done, I arrange them in Photoshop to print and cut out. I bought a gorgeous rose gold asymmetric photo grid last year with clips that I can attach my print outs to. It looks beautiful next to my desk.
I update my vision board every few months depending on how I feel about what's on it. Sometimes only a few images get replaced, other times my vision board is given a complete overhaul.
Your board will evolve as you do
I think it's important to regularly update your vision board. Life experiences can change you from the person you were last month, and sometimes change can happen in as little as a week. So with that in mind, I'd really recommend a photo grid with clips or even using blue tack on cardboard if you wanted to create your own. It should be easy to update at any moment that you feel most inspired.
There are no hard and fast rules to vision boarding, just do what feels right by you. Whether you are an avid vision boarder or have never vision boarded, it's never too late to start. Have a go and let me know how it works for you in the comments below.