When people find out I’m a life coach, I am often asked to suggest a tool that might help them in creating a better life. Though there are many, one of my favorites is called a “vision board.” What is it? Simply, it’s a collection of pictures cut from magazines, or some other source, of things that you would like to have in your life.
Why a vision board? I have found it brings clarity, awareness and focus to clients. How? When reflected upon regularly, it keeps the clients’ goals in their consciousness. Also, just by doing the simple task of looking at pictures and saying “Yes” to some and “No” to others, they really are asking themselves, “What’s important to me and what do I really want?”
The human mind loves to solve problems. In creating a vision board, it’s almost like you are saying to the mind, “OK, here is what I want my life to look like … go find it!” My experience is that it activates the subconscious like no other coaching tool. If I have a client create a board, in two to four weeks I usually hear something along the lines of, “You are never going to believe what happened. Remember how I put that picture on my board? Well, I got it!”
Some people also say that making a vision board activates the universe (or the powers that be) to help you create what you want. The research regarding this type of “genie in a bottle” results are very limited (and in my opinion, non-conclusive). However I will say that my own experience with a vision board has completely fascinated me. I made a vision board a couple of years ago. On there, I put pictures that reflected my desire to travel. I had not done a lot of traveling due to the lack of funds. Cutting out the pictures, I really didn’t believe pasting them on a board was going to magically make it so I could travel but I did the exercise anyway. I really wanted to test this tool.
Last year, a good friend started working for an airline and with that job he received a “companion pass.” The holder of this pass can fly complimentary on my friend’s airline and some others. Out of the blue, he offered it to me. This year I have flown nationally and internationally two and sometimes three times a month. Someone remarked to me that it was neat I had “unlimited opportunities to travel.” That phrase sparked my memory. Going back to my board, I remembered I had cut out that exact phrase, “Unlimited Opportunities to Travel” and put it on my board. And yes … I had definitely gotten that! To close this story out, I had also put on my board “First Class Travel” and a picture of an airline seat that converted into a bed. Two months ago, I was on an international flight with my pass, got bumped up to first class and found myself with a seat just like the picture.
Sound interesting? Want to do one? Here’s how…
Start going through magazines and cut out pictures of how you would like your life to be. The goal is to pick the pictures that give you a strong, positive emotional response. Also be on the lookout for the voice inside you that says “I would like that but I could never have it.” If you hear that …CUT THAT PICTURE OUT! Those are definitely the kind of things we want on your board.
Attach the pictures to a poster board, bulletin board or something of the sort.
Then put the board somewhere you will see it every day.
I created mine with the Windows 7 Paint program by copying and pasting pictures from the Internet to my “board.” I then saved it as wallpaper on my computer so I see it every time I turn on the computer.
Happy visioning! Please email me to let me know what happens!!!
If you have a question you would like to ask Bob, email him at bkiser@bobkisercoaching.com
Look for the answer in the Bob’s ASK THE COACH column the first Saturday of every month.
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