What’s the big deal about vision boards? They look like a collage of pictures pasted to cardboard. How can that process bring success to your life? Surprisingly, the making of a vision board provides visualization success into your life in a variety of ways – both professionally and personally.
I have personally found the vision board to help me visualize my intentions and drive my success forward. How does the process of visualization drive success?
The Science of Visualization
According to author, David Rock, in his book, Coaching with the Brain in Mind, research in the field of sports psychology has verified that imagining an experience in detail can dramatically affect performance.
The science behind visualization is this: The pathways in the brain that we use to undertake an activity – for example, throwing a basketball into a hoop- are the same pathways used when we merely picture this activity. In both instances, the visual cortex- the part of the brain that sees is activated….rehearsing a performance in the imagination can prepare mental circuits (in the brain) in ways similar to the real performance.
Therefore, a vision board with pictures of your dreams let you prepare mental circuits in your brain.
If you look at your vision board, daily or even weekly, you can yourself in the dream and goal that you want to occur – setting intentions for your brain to be open to opportunities as they arise.
To make the visualization even stronger, you can choose different sections of your board and mentally rehearse what you steps you would take to get yourself to that goal in a specific manner.
Plus the more precise and detailed you can be with what you would see, feel, hear as you reach your goal, the more likely it is to occur.
Looking at your vision board repeatedly while placing yourself into these goals and intentions, moves you forward and lets you see ways to meet your intentions.
Finally, I believe the dreams and desires have been placed in your life by God and opening up to His power and purpose allows you to see His path forward as well.
Stories of Success
However, you don’t have to just take my word for it. Last week, I shared my success story. Here are snippets of others’ success stories from this past year.
In January, when Nancy came to the vision board retreat, she was in the middle of Holy Yoga training. She wasn’t sure what her vision was for her life and profession at that time. As she created her board, she found herself drawn to pictures of a yoga and sharing it with other women.
She saw herself creating a Holy Yoga business and added photos that reminded her of her God-given dream.
By fall of 2017, she had remodeled her lower basement and started her own Holy Yoga business, inviting other women into her home to experience Holy Yoga with her. She’s now excited to see where this path will take her.
My daughter Liz, helped on two different retreats this past year. In the first one, she focused more on personal visions, like connecting well with her son and finding girlfriends that she could relate to as a single mom.
In her second board, she expanded those dreams by focusing on her on-site hair and make-up business for brides. By June of this last year, her dreams were to have booked 30 weddings,add two people to her wedding team, find a safe apartment for herself and her son to live and to feel more settled and organized.
She is happy to report, as a creative entrepreneur, most of those dreams came true, even exceeding the 30 weddings bookings. She is looking forward to creating a new board for this year. As 2018 begins, she is finding new friends to hang out with as well as share her business dreams. The organizing is still coming along!
Another success story I heard about was with a professional business woman who is the manager of a local bank. When I saw her recently she was telling me about her wedding plans for the summer.
It dawned on me that dreaming about a partner might have been on her vision board. When I asked her, she smiled and said, “Yes, you can add me as one of your success stories.”
The Take Away
Vision boards are a strong aid to visualizing your dreams for the year. They give birth to the dreams you hold in your heart, no matter your focus – family, business, self.
They open your mind and brain to opportunities to explore the intentions you have for your life, give you mental pictures for completing those intentions and a place to train your brain to be ready for those opportunities as they come your way.
What about you? Ready to make those visions real and your intentions concrete for the year? Join Nancy and other participants for a “Create Your Healthy Dreams” Vision Board Retreat, coming up February 9th. You can get more information here and sign up
You’ll be glad you did.
Nancy Booth is a certified life coach. I love creating safe spaces for you as you go through life’s transitions to discover and support your vision for health and well-being in an overwhelming world, explore possibilities for next steps and find hope. I write about taming the overwhelm and finding ways to find life balance, looking for ways to motivate, energize and inspire you! You can sign up to receive my weekly blog or contact me to find out ways you can begin to shed overwhelm stress and enjoy a healthy brain . It’s time to explore possibilities of new relationships, better life pacing and gain hope and peace.
Don’t miss the vision board retreat that could help you set your intentions for your own healthy lifestyle. I am offering a Create Your Healthy Dreams Vision Board Retreat, February 9th, 2018 in the Stoughton, WI area. Check out the information here and join us for a day long retreat to set your year on the right track. I can’t wait to work with you!
Or get on the mailing list for the next retreat. Email me and I’ll get you on the next mailing or online class..