Do Vision Boards Work?
Are you familiar with vision boards? Do vision boards work? Would you use one yourself? How might they work with a child?
A vision board is basically a large piece of paper cardboard maybe a pin board or something that you can stick pictures on.
There are lots of examples of people who use vision boards and think they’re a really good way to help them achieve their goals. This includes athletes, psychologists, business people, and many other people of all walks of life. Different people will tell you different reasons why they think vision boards work. Business people will often tell you that the main purpose is that you look at your goals and concentrate on getting on and getting things done. Psychologists will tell you that it’s because you’re using your reticular activating system part of the brain which shuts down what we’re not interested in, in order to concentrate on what we want to notice. It’s a bit like when somebody buys a red car and then notices red cars all over the place.
So if we put a particular holiday on a vision board it might be that we happen to notice when there’s a special offer for that destination. Whereas maybe we would never have noticed otherwise, and would always have assumed that that place was out of our price range.
Some people even argue that just thinking about something a lot but we want draws it towards us.
Whatever you believe is the reason for vision boards working, it does seem that they make a difference. They are also good fun to put together and might be an enjoyable way to have discussions about things that you and your children would like to achieve.
Formats
I have created vision boards on pieces of paper, online (Hay House have a vision board app for the iPad), and I also have a book that I’ve put things in that I stick pictures in and write ideas and thoughts. I have enjoyed doing this so much that I decided to create my own book on Amazon which is available for you if you would like it. It just has blank pages in so that you can either write or stick things in.
Vision Boards on Paper or Cardboard
For children I think it would be most fun to create their vision boards on paper or cardboard. They often enjoy cutting and sticking and decorating and this would allow them to do that.
As I said before, this should be an enjoyable activity.
Chat
Have a chat with your child about what you’re planning to do with them and make some notes. This will give you a chance to gather together some materials. You might want to collect some pictures from the internet or get some magazines and also collect things like scissors, glitter, coloured pens and colourful pieces of paper.
Have/Do/Be/Learn
You could just have a general chat or you might want to divide your conversation into 4 sections maybe have, be, do and learn. This is just my idea.
Have
First, talk about things that your child would like to have. Help them understand that they are not going to get everything or even anything in the next few days or weeks or maybe ever. This is for them to think about what sort of things they really like and maybe find ways to earn money or to know what they want when they go shopping so that they don’t waste their money buying things that they then wish they hadn’t bothered with. You can talk about the fact that lots of people buy little things as soon as they have got money and so never have enough money saved up to buy the bigger things that they would really like.
This list might be quite useful for you as well. You’ll have a place to go to see what your child would really like without you having to ask them and then disappoint them if you decide you don’t want to get it. It might be interesting to encourage them to think about small things that they would like, medium value things and larger things that it is unlikely that they will get but if they were very lucky that would be what they wanted. You might want to use some of the smaller things they ask for as rewards for them when they achieve some of their goals. If they go to spend pocket money or birthday money you might encourage them then to look at that vision board to see what it is they would like to buy. The medium sized objects might be useful for special occasions or special rewards. Maybe if you have uncles and aunts or grandparents asking what they would like for a present then that will give you some ideas. Then the larger the larger items could be reserved for special birthdays, Christmas, passing exams, etc. and you felt they deserved a really big reward.
Do
Here is where you would talk about what your child would like to do what experiences would they like to have. Although again, you could use these as rewards they might also be very useful ideas for some of your family experiences. These are the sorts of things that children will look back on in years to come and value the time that you will spend together.
Be (when they get older/grow up)
I’m splitting the “be” section into two because I think there are two aspects worth considering. We will look up what they want to be when they get older or grow up first.
See if they know what they would like to be when they grow up. This doesn’t need to be set in stone. It can however be highly motivating. For instance, if they say they want to be an astronaut you can talk about some of the things that an astronaut needs to do for instance the need to communicate well, to do maths, they need to learn science, and they need to be able to think for themselves and solve problems. This might encourage them to take an interest in all these different areas. Later, they might decide they would like to be a marine biologist, which they might never have heard of when they were seven, but a lot of the things that they took an interest in when younger might help them to get on a course to move towards this as a career.
This section might also be for things like hobbies, for instance, be a scout, be a brilliant birdwatcher, be a super singer.
Be (character)
This bit of the “be” section is about their character. What sort of person would they like to be? Would they like to be fit, kind, clever, strong, friendly, and/or hard-working? Would they like to be the sort of person has lots of friends? Would they like to be the sort of person who goes on exciting holidays? What can they do now to start to work towards being this sort of person.
Learn
In this last section, let’s consider “learn”. You might like to talk about what your child would like to learn, how they would like to learn, and when they would like to learn. This should give you lots of ideas for activities to do. It may also give you some interesting milestones. I think one of the issues for children is they often don’t recognise their own progress. They see what’s ahead of them and think I’ll never learn all this, but they often forget what they have already learnt and and don’t see how far they have already come.
Too many suggestions
I am aware that I have made too many suggestions here. You might want to take just one or two ideas and work with those to start with.
Why not create a vision board of your own first, so that you’ve got an example to show your child. Then you can talk about your aims and goals and the things that you would like to have and how you’re going to go about working towards these.
Some Useful Resources
These are from Amazon. I will get a small amount of commission if you decide to buy any of them.
The Complete Vision Board Kit: Using the Power of Intention and Visualization to Achieve Your Dreams
BiSilque Notice Board Framed W600xH450 Lavender
Premier Stationery A4 160 gsm Activity Card – Rainbow (Pack of 50 Sheets)
Berol Colour Broad Fibre Tipped Pen – Assorted Colours, Pack of 12 by Berol
Pritt 1483489 Glue Stick, Small(Pack of 5)-White
Have fun!!
I do know for fact I seen a lot of athletes doing this, gonna give you an example… and his name is JOHN CENA, no really I used to admire John back when I was a teen and I was looking forward to developing my self an athletic built like him, for him he said in a interview every time he woke up he had pictures of Arnold in the wall and that was his source of motivation for his bodybuilding pursuit .
Brilliant, thanks for this!
Julia
I think this is a great way to collect thoughts and bring scattered information together.By doing this i think resemble the common trait of mind mapping ,brainstorming and SWOT analysis technique where all of the process also involves mapping your own mind .Then focus on the thing within subject matter .A great way to collect thoughts and focus if you will.
Hi – I hadn’t thought about how these techniques overlap but you are right.
And it is time for me to create a new vision board!
I like your idea of a vision board. I haven’t done this with my kids but we talked about it. I think this one is more concrete and give them directions in life as they peek into it every year. It will also be a good memento as they grow up if they’ve reach their dreams or maybe they found a better dream and it came true. I really love your ideas. I never tire reading your site. Thanks.
Since a teen I had this yearning of seeing the world. I loved Geography no surprise there that I got an A plus in the subject. I kept an exercise book and scribbled Europe and filled all the pages with Europe. I visualised seeing every country in Europe.
This obsession was driving me crazy. After I completed my apprenticeship in woodwork. I applied to work on cargo boats. I not only saw Europe but I travelled around the world twice. I have vision boards on my fridge my little office and can honestly say it works.
Dreaming is not enough you have to back it up with action. I took my wife on a three week cruise last year from Cape Town to Venice. It was a dream come true. I cut out images of the boat. I would my finger on the image and would send strong thought signals to that image every day. My adult children use image boards and teaching their children how to use image boards
Hi Richard
This is an amazing story and very inspiring!
I agree you do need to take action.
I bet you have some amazing stories to tell.
Julia
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really am suffering from depression and I have been trying to do EFT ( tapping ) meditating, positive affirmations, etc the problem is, my negativity momentum is going, going, going and its hard to stop and focus on what I want / desire. I didn’t know what to do and I literally asked the universe for a sign of how to alleviate myself from this nonalignment I have with my source. I needed something to create to help me focus on my desires and being happy. When I read your article I instantly felt inspired to make a vision board myself. Right now I am gathering up magazines and my glue stick, oh I am very crafty with some scissors.
HAVE , BE, DO, LEARN
My son is only 19 months, so his communication skills are very minimal to the effect of me discussing what his hopes and dreams are, but in regard to ME, I was very much moved by this article because I actually prayed for a solution to a very negative thinking pattern and this was show to me.
I love it! I will make this vision board work for me. Thank you so much for the inspiration.
Hi Sophia,
I am so pleased that this has been useful to you – in a way that I had never envisioned!
Isn’t it amazing the way the universe works!
I hope you are benefiting from the experience!
All the best,
Julia
Hi Julia,
I think vision boards are an excellent idea. I love to use them and have a big one in my study. It gives you a birds-eye-view of your ideas and projects. I prefer to use technology for most of my planning and scheduling, but sometimes nothing can replace to old pen and paper.
In my opinion using vision boards for you children will help with their development and with a bit of imagination, you can turn it into a fun activity.
At what age do you recommend can we introduce vision boards to our children?
Hi Jessica
I also love technology, including using it for vision boards but also like to use pen and paper at other times
I think vision boards can work well with young children who can choose pictures and stick them on paper – maybe 3 or 4 year-olds? You can give them as much or as little help as they need.
And yes for young children, it should primarily be fun – don’t worry about getting it right!
All the best!
Julia
Hello Julia
It is very good that we tutor our children when they small so that they can grow with what we have put into them. Some parents don’t really know that… Some could just allow their children to grow just like that, without putting good knowledge into them. It very good that we train our children to do things when they are very small and they have grown, they won’t struggle to do those things.
Vision boards definitely works, I tried this with my nephews, and I have to say that the result is very good.
Not only they enjoyed it and we had a very great time, but they also understood much more and they remembered things much better.
Now they are more grown up, so I have to look for somebody else to do this with.
Anyway, great post and thanks to share it with us!
Excellently put together, it is well used in all facets of life. I call it the zoom in and zoom out lens. This is because it allows you to have a definite path and work strictly along that path. You get to be a lot more focused and have a unified direction. It works quite well for every body, children, adults, teachers, doctors name them. Once you have the vision board, u wake up each morning look at it and know what your goals are in both the short and long term.
Sometimes you may want to call it the on the wall diary, but it is far more effective than just a diary it is a clear path that teaches you the next thing to do.
For children, when they see it, they are thrilled and they want to quickly achieve the set goals…… I love children. So vision boards often work no doubt.
Thank you for this. I love it so much.