A vision board can be quite abstract if you have only heard about it from a surface level. If you have only heard of a vision board but not used one then it may not seem practical or just seem like something that dreamers use. I want to use this opportunity to dispel this myth and tell you that a vision board is probably one of the best tools that you can use, when you are pursuing goals.
A vision board is just simply a visual representation of the goals that you wish to achieve. It is seeing, in image form, the goals that you want to attain. We cannot underestimate the power of seeing goals in image/picture form. There is a saying that says “if you can perceive it, then you can achieve it” something which Oprah Winfrey has been quoted as saying.
Speaking of Oprah Winfrey, she has mentioned that she used a picture on her vision board when she wanted Barack Obama to become the 44th President of the USA, look how that turned out. The talk show host, Steve Harvey, regularly professes using vision boards and world class entertainer, Beyonce, when she spoke to Steve Kroft from CBS, made reference to the fact that vision boards motivates and lifts her focus. These are undeniably successful people, who have recognized the power that vision boards have had in helping them achieve their goals.
In order to see it you need to visualize it, visualization therefore means holding the mental image of something. Visualization has been proven to provoke action, it has been said that it can help to reduce stress, some athletes use visualization as a training tool. The keeping of a mental image in your mind and staying focused on it, is visualization, therefore a vision board helps in this process of holding a mental image. At the very least it serves as a foundation for deciding which goals to pursue.
If you have never created a vision board before then why not follow the eight simple steps I have come up with to help guide you. I have split the eight steps into two parts, this week will look at steps one to five and the following week looks at steps six to eight. Let me also issue a disclaimer at this point and let you know that steps one to five actually look more at the mentality of the process then the practicality. The practical steps will be covered next week.
- Pray – In the book of Hosea (in the bible) in chapter four verse six it says, “without a vision the people perish” here, the bible lets us know that we are supposed to have a vision for our lives. Therefore it doesn’t seem reasonable enough to connect and pray to the creator of life, God, to let him guide you as to which purpose and goals you should pursue.
- Be Disciplined – If you really want to see your goals come to fruition, then this is critical, you need to be disciplined. Staying focused is key, especially since obstacles can meet you along your path and try to derail you. Just like an athlete, who stays focused on running his or her race, so must you be when you are following your goals.
- Speak Positively – You cannot speak negatively and then expect to experience positive results. That indeed is a conflict. You need to speak in alignment with the results you are desiring. The bible says that death and life is in the power of the tongue, so go ahead and speak life into your situation.
- Gratitude – There is a saying that your gratitude can determine your altitude. In other words, the more grateful you are the higher you can climb. Being grateful positions you for more. You may not be where you want to be but you are also not where you could be, there are those who would wish to be in your shoes. Do not live in deferment mode, where you are waiting until such and such happens before you are happy, don’t only be happy when you get, be happy for what you have got. Learn to be grateful.
Next week we look at steps six to eight.
The writer is an experienced Marketing Manager, has several years’ customer Service Training under her belt and she is an accredited Life Coach.@ Ladysamgh (Instagram)
