How To Create A Vision Board: Part I

Note: This is not my 2011 vision board, just a digital representation

So this entire year I've been raving about how much creating a vision board at the beginning of 2011 has helped me go above and beyond. It's truly miraculous all I've been able to accomplish this past year as a result of staying focused on attainable goals and literally staring at them everyday. So I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Vision boards work. Seriously. If you don't believe me, keep reading. In this 3-Part series "How To Create A Vision Board", I'm going to walk you through what I did to make mine, how mine helped me achieve success and then finally how others have achieved success using these methods. Happy December - get ready to take 2012 by storm!

Step 1. Decide on your goals for 2012 and write them down.

They should be concrete, attainable, and well thought-out. Don't just throw "Win a Million Dollars" on there. Take a few days to truly reflect on the things that you lacked, the things you really craved for but couldn't have and the things you regretted not pursuing this year. This should drive your goals for next year. Feel free to steal inspiration from people you look up to and admire. There's nothing wrong with that, and they don't have to know. Warning: Positive goals only. If your motivation is to see your ex-boyfriend's new girl fall off of a cliff in 2012, this is not the right exercise for you. You're better off seeing a hit man. Better yet, you might need Jesus. Just saying.

Step 2. Shop for Materials.

Ok, once you've taken some time to reflect on the goals you'd like to accomplish, it's time to go shopping! Head to your local pharmacy, bookstore, and/or craft store to pick up your favorite magazines and other inspiring materials. Search for publications that truly represent your personal goals. Some of my faves for personal/career motivations are Essence, Ebony, Uptown, and Black Enterprise (these publications normally contain images of people I personally wanna be like one day). For fashion, I love Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Nylon, and Lucky. Whatever your goal is, choose mags that center around that theme.

Step 3. Research.

It's time to research the images you'll be looking at all year long and set them aside for Step 4. This is another activity you'll want to set aside at least 2-3 hours for. Remember, your vision board is a year-long image that you'll look at daily. It's a work of art. You want to clip images that really represent your goals and tug at your emotions and motivations when you look at them.

Step 4. Put it together.

Source

So here's the tricky part - you'll want to arrange your vision board so that everything flows together well, and so that it looks pretty. Again, you're going to look at this e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. It should look as fly as you!

My personal recommendation is to separate different parts of your board based on your goals. In Part II, I'll show you how I did mine but basically you can arrange the images in different sections of your board to correspond with each goal. So for example, have health in the upper right corner, career at the bottom left and spirituality in the middle. Whatever you prefer!

Step 5. Hang It In A Visible Place.

The point of the vision board is just that, vision! You must be able to see your board easily. Hang it in your bedroom, or living room. Wherever you spend the most time, that's where your board should be. If you're a workaholic, keep it at your desk at work! You can even take a picture of it and make it the background wallpaper for your cell phone. Whichever way you choose, just make sure it's easily visible and always in your face. It pays off, trust me.

Stay tuned for Part II (update: see it here) - I'll show you how I put my Vision Board together for 2011 and how each of the goals on my board were achieved this year. In the mean time, have any of you created a vision board? If so, I want to chat with you!

Email luvbrownsugar@gmail.com with either a) a picture of your vision board or b) a story highlighting how it helped you in 2012.