How to create an effective Vision Board for 2025

Have you ever wondered what life would look like if you knew 'exactly' what you wanted?

Do you have clear goals and intentions to pursue?

Vision boards have become a hot topic in the buzzy personal development movement. I remember the days when "The Secret" was actually a secret!

With all the commotion around vision boards lately, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the last decade of crafting my own and give you my best tips and tricks for creating the most effective vision board that truly translates into transformational changes in your life!

Here are the 10 steps:

1)Close out the previous year:
Closure is important for all new beginnings.

• Physically:

Clear out any items in your home that may be draining your energy; this could be old clothes in your closet, gadgets you no longer need in the kitchen, or that stash of notes on your desk.

As you know the energy we allow in our home directly impacts our life.

• Emotionally:

Attracting starts with Gratitude

Pick 3-5 people who directly impacted your life the previous year and either write a letter, text, email, call, or even set a coffee date to express your gratitude.

Brownie points for you writing them a handwritten letter and reading it out loud to them (only do this if you want to experience the ultimate level of happiness, I learned this happiness trick from Harvard's Psychology of Wellbeing course back in the day.)

2) Life Wheel
Gauge where you're at.

Check out this handy exercise I use from IPEC, the institute I got my coaching certification from.

We can envision better when we have clarity, knowing where you stand in each area of your life allows you to direct your focus.

3) Remember your values
Living in alignment.

Values are basic beliefs that guide or motivate our actions. 

When you live by your values, you live intentionally and in flow. Flow is the sweet spot to live by: it's the spot of creation, ease, and joy. It's where time stops and you're fully immersed in the present moment.

A term coined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1970, he described flow as the "secret to happiness," one that makes a life worth living.

Values make up our moral compass, like a "North Star", they're the clues to designing a life that supports us; they guide our thoughts, behaviors, and interactions, and can be the driving force to our lives.

If you're having a hard time thinking of your values, remember what you loved doing as a kid, what is important to you? What brings you joy?

4) Mind Movie.
Powerful visualization

What do you want your life to look like 1 year from now?

Think of every detail:

• Materialistic & Experiential

• Inner World & Outer World

Some questions to help you press play to your mind movie:

• How do I want to feel when I wake up?

• Who do I want to be?

• What does the perfect day look like?

• What am I doing?

• Who am I being?

• Where am I living, how am I living?

Connect with all your senses and describe all the details as if you were truly directing a movie about your ideal life!

DREAM. Connect with that frequency of possibility, and this will naturally allow change to happen.

When you can "live" the vision in your mind, you will start seeing the vision come to life. By connecting with this energy, you are attracting it to you.

5) Pick one word, or affirmation to define the vision.
I WILL VS. I AM

(I'll write another article about the importance of this verbiage!)

• "I am" empowered

• "I am" blessed

• "I am" influential

Bonus: Think of 3-5 statements of your goals:

• "I am" starting a podcast about x y z by (timeframe.)

• "I am" traveling to SE Asia by September.

• "I am" learning a new skill in xyz by (timeframe.)

6) "Begin with the end in mind"

What needs to happen for your intentions and goals to materialize?

List out some things that need to happen in each time frame:

• 6 M from now

• 3 M from now

• 1 M from now

• 1 Week from now

• Tomorrow

• Today

7) Time to create!

Materials Needed:

• Cardboard of your preferred size

• Magazines

• Glue Sticks

• Scissors

Gather some magazines from around your house, your doctor's office, your dentist, the grocery store, or anywhere you can source magazines from!

They also sell Vision Board magazines online now, but it's more fun to have random magazine cutouts remind you of deeper meaning, without the "cookie cutter" images on the magazines.

Flip through the magazines cutting out images or words that jump out at you; maybe you saw these images in your mind movie earlier, maybe they bring you joy. Cut them out and put them aside!

Once you feel you've cut out enough material to fill up your board size, start arranging them in the order of your liking, grouping themes together, or randomly arranging them.

Glue the images to the cardboard and hang your board in a place you can see every day.

It's important to place the vision board in a place you'll see every day, to continue the connection with the energetic frequency of the feelings you experienced while you were creating it. Remember your affirmation, goal, or mission statement to keep it playing in your subconscious.

You'll notice you'll find yourself making decisions that bring you closer to your goals. By gaining clarity on your vision, visualizing it, and ACTING on it, the Universe conspires with you to manifest it.

Happy co-creating!

With love,

Juliana