You know that saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”? It couldn’t be more true! Creating a vision board is one of the most powerful visualization tools available. It’s the first step in creating a tangible example of how you want your life to look like in the future; in all aspects of your life, personal, professional, spiritual and emotional.
Doesn’t the thought of CREATING your life get you so excited?
Here is the science behind visualization. It is a proven fact that when we stimulate the region of the brain to perform an action, it’s actually the same region of the brain we use when we are merely visualizing the action. Athletes have been doing this technique for decades. Studies have proven that athletes who have visually practiced their race in as much detail as possible, including record time setting, are more likely to execute it after that “visual practice”. Same goes for weight lifters, they have actually already mentally lifted that record setting weight before even actually doing it physically. The power of the mind!
So here is how to do it in your own life:
- Get yourself into a positive mindset.
My favourite way is to go do some exercise first, get those endorphins flowing and clear your mind. You definitely don’t want to be coming from a negative space while you are dreaming of your future. Set the tone, clear away clutter, listen to relaxing music and get ready to dream BIG. - Start from scratch.
Grab a piece of paper that you can be messy with, start writing down words and goals that come to your mind and without hesitation, write them down. Any and all goals, write them down. Big. Small. Crazy. Wild. No limits here! - Step back.
Once you’ve scribbled down everything that came to your mind in step 2. Take a step back and review. Are there any goals you wrote down that seem not as important in hindsight. Did you write down a goal that really wan’t about you but instead for someone else? If you see anything that really doesn’t excite you – get rid of it! Don’t let it take space from the goals that really set your soul on fire. - Create.
Using pictures, articles, words, trinkets, souvenirs; turn your thoughts and ideas into pictures and stick them to a poster board. Use images that make you happy and that make you FEEL excited! It’s actually the feeling attached to each image that keeps us motivated; while you may thinks it’s the material item that brings you satisfaction, it’s actually the “feeling” you get from achieving that goal that brings us happiness.
That’s it – easy right? Now place your completed board in a place that you can see it every day.
Remember, what you focus on expands, so dream BIG and begin creating a life you LOVE.
Vanessa Jahnke is a leading nutrition and healthy living expert helping women all over Canada create healthy, happy and successful lives. She is the co-founder of Pure Gym & Juicery in Penticton, BC and a healthy living blogger at www.vanessajahnke.ca. In a world where we are inundated with diet information, Vanessa’s approach to healthy-living is fun, straight-forward and attainable, drawing thousands of people to her blog and online programs.
