The idea of vision boards has been around for a few decades and has gained popularity thanks to a few publications and famous people, most notably Oprah Winfrey. It is founded on the universal Law of Attraction, which essentially asserts that our brains are incredibly potent devices capable of bringing desires and thoughts into life.
The effectiveness of vision boards has yet to be thoroughly and definitively researched, but similar studies are inconclusive. Dr. Neil Farber, writing in Psychology Today, pointed to several studies that showed people who visualized a positive outcome were less likely to take concrete steps to make their goals happen. Still, some of the studies showed that visualizing the work to achieve a goal (like training for a sport or studying for a test) was more likely to make the participants do the hard stuff (i.e., studying for the test), as opposed to just picturing the end result (getting an “A.”).
Neil says your mindset is important to the creation and success of the boards. “Vision boards can be unsuccessful if you have the belief that they don’t work. It’s as simple as that!” he says. “If you believe in the vision you created, then your dreams can be realized.”
Fantasizing about your perfect world and your perfect life may make you feel better in the short term but will limit your ability to transform your dreams into reality. Convert your vision boards to action boards.
Dream about it, envision how you will realistically do it or get it, and then make it happen.
