How I Create a Vision Board
This morning I sat in my kitchen with a magazine, some scissors, and a mind full of ideas. Instead of putting pen to paper, I would put pictures, words, and glue to paper. It was time to make a vision board, a daily reminder of my points of focus this year.
I paged through a magazine and was immediately drawn to pictures: a graduation cap, a pair of shoes, and a drawing of a couple (among others). My first reaction was to double think my choices. I did not cut anything out, though several pictures caught my eye. I then realized my perfectionist inner critic was at work*, doubting my intuitive choices. A foundational learning in my coach training was the importance of listening to intuition, though you may not know immediately where it will lead you. Eschewing my inner critic, I began cutting out the pictures that called to me. As I pasted them on my vision board, their meaning took shape; the graduation cap would encourage me to complete my Coaching Certification, the sneakers would remind me to exercise (for mind, body, and mood), and the drawing of a couple would signify the centrality of my marriage as we support one another and look forward together.
Intuition moves us forward though we often don’t know exactly where we are going. That is the journey. We are all a work in progress, and so is my vision board. Instead of allowing my perfectionist inner critic tell me not to put up my vision board until the page is filled with pictures and words, I listened to my intuition and grabbed some tape to post my incomplete vision board in my bedroom. Now I can continue to post pictures on my vision board as they emerge. I left open space for more dreaming. I don’t have to know it all right now.
One hour later, I walked up to my bedroom and glanced at my vision board. One word I posted looked right at me and winked: “write”. And here I am, sharing these thoughts with you.
It was freeing and energizing to take time to dream about what I wanted for this year. By following my intuition, allowing myself space to dream, noticing my inner critic but not following its directives*, and jumping into the risk of getting these thoughts out for you to read, I am one step closer to my vision for this year.
Where are you trusting your intuition and ignoring your inner critic?
I would love to support you in leaning into your intuition and shedding light on your inner critics for forward momentum in your life. Contact me here.
*As Tara Mohr outlines in Playing Big, we all have an inner critic. She posits that the goal is to notice it, label it, get to know it, and then let it recede into the distance. Notice it and then move on.
