Every year we set the intention to travel, go to the gym more, make money and make new friends. And every year, we lose sight of all the resolutions we assigned ourselves at the beginning and we are back at square one.

This year, consider creating a vision board to aid in tracking and achieving your goals. 

What is a vision board?

A beloved Oprah ritual and the latest TikTok trend, vision boarding is simply a collection or collage of images that represent your goals and desires. Vision boards can consist of physical images or cut-out words and quotes from magazines that represent or resonate with your goals. In light of the new year, your vision board can include images of your 2023 goals.

Vision boards can also serve as a form of manifestation. Creating a visual representation of a potential future may allow the creator to manifest opportunities for themselves and increase their chances of success and achieving their goals. 

Essentially, vision boards serve as a daily reminder of your goals and where you wish to be. In addition, they may be able to offer motivation when you are needing an extra push. 

Creating a vision board can be considered a powerful form of manifestation and self-reflection. Your board can focus on a singular idea or a bigger picture. 

What you need to make a vision board

• A base for your images (a small canvas, magnetic white board or poster board)
• Glue, tape or magnets (depending on your base)
• Printed images or a magazine you can use to cut pictures or words out of
• Scissors
• Markers, stickers, etc. to customize your board (optional)

How to make a vision board

Set your intentions. What do you want to achieve this year? Good grades? A trip with your friends during spring break? Being more mindful? Strengthening your relationship with your partner and/or friends? Whatever your intentions may be, you should write them down and think about how you can visually represent them with a picture or word(s). Your intentions can be physical (going to the gym, taking care of your health or buying that pair of shoes you’ve had your eye on), spiritual (finding peace and tranquility), mental (reading one book a month or adding an hour of self-care to your day) or anything else.

Gather your images. Once you have a clear idea of what your intentions are for the new year, start gathering your visuals. Your vision board materials can consist of actual images of an object or idea, quotes, a single word and things that make you happy. Think of things that bring you joy and things that you hope will make you feel joyous in the future. 

Arrange your board. The best part about a vision board is that it’s completely and utterly yours. You should arrange your images on your board to your aesthetical inclinations. As soon as you feel inspired by looking at your newly created vision board — that’s when you know you are finished. You should then glue or tape the pieces on.

Placing your board strategically. You should put your vision board somewhere you can see it every day for motivation and reflection. Consider placing it on top of your desk, drawer or nightstand.

Why make a vision board?

Seeing is believing! The best way to manifest your vision and turn your dreams into reality is by having a physical, visual format of the goals you aim to achieve. 

Vision boarding causes you to actively visualize the outcome of achieving your goals and therefore accumulate more motivation to achieve whatever it is you set your mind and heart to.

While vision boards are an excellent tool and source of inspiration, you should be open to variations of what you want to achieve in life. You should adjust your vision board as life unfolds. Things change and life doesn’t always end up exactly as planned, so feel free to adjust your vision as it develops!