Using Vision Boards to Reflect and Refocus
Whether you were directly affected by COVID-19 or felt unsettled or anxious at times, the last two years proved a turbulent and unrelenting time for us all.
As 2022 is a matter of weeks away, now is an opportune time to reflect, recalibrate and refocus in order to move forward with clarity and intention.
There are many reflective and goal setting exercises in the personal growth and professional development space, though one practice we have found particularly useful over the years is the creation of a vision board.
What is a vision board?
Typically visions boards are a physical montage of imagery, words and artefacts that serve as a representation of one’s goals and aspirations for the future. Visualisation is said to affect the subconscious mind, allowing us to tap into latent resources in order to propel us on a more direct, unhindered path towards our goal.
Once a vision board is created, it’s important to display this somewhere that will be viewed regularly. Regular viewing of a vision board allows our conscious and subconscious mind to respond to the visual stimulation — eliciting an emotional response and igniting our motivation to work towards the goals at hand.
Why create a digital vision board?
When it comes to creating a vision board, it is as much about the journey as it is the destination. By this we mean the experience of building a vision board itself can be as inspiring and enriching as it is to meditate or reflect upon the board in the weeks / months / years to come.
Traditionally this would involve sourcing and collating images from your favourite books and magazines, however with the shift to digital in all aspects of life we believe the process of creating a vision board can likewise move into the cloud without compromising the experience.
The main benefit of a digital vision board over a traditional printed vision board is enhanced visibility. In our day and age and especially with the advent of COVID-19 we are moving around more than ever. Moving houses. Relocating workspaces. Partially or temporarily working from home. Escaping to the beach or country.
As our very existence becomes more transient, transporting a physical vision board from place to place becomes difficult. As it’s essential to view often in order to effectively manifest and work towards our goals, a digital vision board is more accessible as it can be viewed from anywhere at any time.
How to make a vision board
Just because your vision board is digital it doesn’t mean the experience of creating your board is any less sacred or meaningful.
To create your vision board (or boards), we suggest allocating an expanse of time where you can think, reflect and create without interruption.
You can create your vision board anywhere, though the experience can be heightened with soft music, aromatherapy, and gentle lighting… anything that creates a sense of calm and allows you to focus more deeply on your goals. In this environment, consider what you would like to achieve and how you would like to feel.
You can create one all encompassing vision board, or create separate boards for each facet of your life in which you would like to experience personal growth or professional development. That could be, for example, a board to articulate your professional goals, learning aspirations or personal dreams like a renovation or big trip.
Using myhaventime to create a digital vision board
Just as you would physically collate images, text and other artifacts, a myhaventime room can be used to house all of the contents of your vision board.
As myhaventime is a cloud-based multimedia platform and therefore accessible from anywhere, it allows you to reflect upon or contribute to your vision board with ease.
Spend time exploring your favourite websites, media channels, and library of images. Select only the very best content - or gems - that ignite motivation and symbolise the experiences, feelings, or material objects you would like to accomplish or accumulate in the future.
myhaventime is a mindful multimedia platform, meaning you can upload any file type - from photography to video content to music files - to create an abundant depiction of where you would like to grow.
Once you have compiled enough content, begin by creating a new room which will serve as your vision board. Name it accordingly.
You can then begin to fill this room with all of the consciously gathered gems that spark joy, motivation and inspiration to achieve your goals. Simply upload your media and make note of what each image or file means to you.
How to use your vision board
A vision board can be static — a collage that depicts your goals and aspirations in that moment in time. However we feel that your vision board can be expansive and evolving over time.
Whilst a vision board is made to be viewed regularly in order to influence the subconscious mind, we also think it can be added to over time as your learnings, new ideas and experiences unfold.
When we stumble upon new inspiration or experience an ‘aha’ moment in our journey towards this goal, we return to our myhaventime room to add more content and continue to cultivate the rich visual representation of what we want or how we want to feel in years to come.
We review our vision boards at the beginning of each day, though when life is at its busiest visualisation, manifestation or meditation practices can sometimes slip to the wayside.
Activating the myhaventime Virtual Learning Coach reminds us to contribute new gems to our vision boards. This supports continuous learning, ideation, creativity and introspection as we continue to work towards our personal growth and professional development goals.
