Life 12th December 2020 by Amie Edmonds

Can You Pritt-Stick Your Way To A Great 2021? Why Vision Boarding Is Back In A Big Way

It's time to get collaging.

Picture this: You’re 13, sitting cross legged on your bedroom floor, cutting out your favourite photos from magazines with Pritt Stick-covered fingers, not a care in the world. Well, get ready to embody your 13-year-old self again, because vision boarding is back and it’s not to be made light of.

Recently revamped as Future Boarding, it could be part of your pathway to smashing your career goals, your good fortune, and everything in between. With 2021 (thankfully) on its way, we’re not going to bombard you with the usual ‘New Year New Me’ mantra, because who can really keep up with that anyway? Instead, we’re letting you in on the jist of vision/future boarding, and what it can do for you.

Firstly, what is it exactly? Well, think of it as a physical representation of your goals, like a real-life Pinterest board. The idea behind vision boarding is basically being able to visualise and imagine your goals. If you think of your imagination as a muscle that has to be exercised, one way to do this is to visualise your goals on a daily basis. It boils down to you wanting something, being aware of your goals and really believing in them.

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Putting all this positivity on a board and in your eyeline means you can always keep them at the top of your mind and hopefully, really get your shit together. Take a few minutes to yourself and think of your actual goals for 2021. Forget winning the EuroMillions or becoming the next Beyoncé overnight. Let’s think realistically here. In the wise words of Oprah, “if you can see it and believe it, it is a lot easier to achieve it.”

If you’re one of the many, many people who read (or watched) The Secret, then you probably know all about visualisation at this stage. The Secret tells us that “the law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts. When you are visualising, you are emitting a powerful frequency out into the Universe.”

In a nutshell? Once you’re actively visualising your goals and working towards them, over time, the energy that you put into this process will begin to shift in a positive direction. It’s not all just inspiring quotes and rainbows – you’ll still have to actively work towards each of your goals. It can be something small, like reading more rather than watching reruns of Criminal Minds, or something bigger, like getting one step closer to owning your own home. Hey, if it’s good enough for Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith, it’s good enough for us too.

If you’re not fully convinced on the concept, just think of it this way. One way of achieving your goals is ensuring that they’re always at the top of your mind, and that you’re always thinking of ways to move towards them. How are you going to do this? With your vision board, of course.

Creating a space that displays what you want to bring to life is both motivating and inspiring. What we focus on expands. Don’t think so? Think of the last time you decided you were going to buy a new car, then all of a sudden, you start to see that particular make of car pretty much everywhere you go. It’s because you’ve put your attention on that car and you subconsciously seek it out. It’s not just coincidences that get us to where we want to be.

Not sure what you actually want to get out of the next year? Well, stick on the kettle and get thinking. Creating a vision board will help you define your realistic goals for 2021, because you’ll have to put something down on your new vision board. Of course, you can always change them over time, but this will give you the little push that you need for the moment.

As far as the benefits go, well, it’s pretty far. Visualising your goals and putting them on a vision board right in your eyeline increases everything from motivation and determination, to productivity and focus. By paying attention to what you actually want to achieve, you can start to take steps towards what you need to do. Looking at your fabulous vision board each day can spur you on to keep going, even if you just feel like throwing the thing out the window.

Even if you’re not gone on the benefits, seeing your goals everyday is going to be a whole lot more motivating rather than just daydreaming about that promotion when tucking into that Tesco meal deal you hurriedly picked up for your lunch.

So what are you waiting for? Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Any kind of board, whether it be a notice board or even a sturdy piece of cardboard. It doesn’t really matter, as it’ll soon be transformed into a masterpiece.
  • Scissors, sellotape, pins, Pritt Stick: something to put your vision board together.
  • Magazine or print outs of things you want to look at every day, and envision of course. Photos, quotes, postcards, anything that will inspire you and align with your goals.
  • Time. This could be the trickiest part – who has two hours to give for arts and crafts? But try to block out some time on a Sunday evening, stick on your favourite playlist and even light some candles. We could almost bet with you that it’ll be worth it all in the end.
  • Persistence and patience. If you want this to work, you have no choice but to be persistent with it. There’s no point in creating this vision board just to leave it at the back of your wardrobe, now is there? Display it proudly, check in on it daily and be patient.

You need to get clear on what you want, be consistent, and basically, act like you’ve already achieved it. Believing you’ve already achieved something, before it even happens, can actually trick your mind quite easily, because your brain can have trouble distinguishing what is reality and what’s not.

Think of your vision board as your simple, but effective way of staying focused and motivated towards your 2021 goals. Not only does it show you everything you want right now, but it’ll be your little cheerleader in the corner, inspiring you to keep pushing forward, complete with pom-poms and cartwheels. It doesn’t take that long to actually make, plus you’ll probably enjoy creating it, and the benefits can be insane.

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