"Every year around the end of December, I set resolutions to eat healthier, journal more, and decrease the time spent on my phone (I swear, this is my #1 resolution every year), and by the end of the year, I find that nothing has changed. So this year, I’m taking a different approach. Instead of letting my resolutions collect dust in a random notebook or be soon forgotten on my notes app, I’m creating a vision board.
Whether you want to manifest your dream job, a love life, or better health, a vision board can help you visualize your goals and intentions and stay focused and aligned with them. And the act of visualizing what you want can be almost as powerful as actually experiencing it. According to Frank Niles, Ph.D., a social scientist, when you visualize an act, the brain generates an impulse that tells the neurons to “perform” the movement, creating a new neural pathway (clusters of cells in your brain that work together to create memories or learned behaviors) that primes your body to act in a way consistent to what you imagined. In other words, when you visualize your desired outcome, you start to “see” how it can unfold. Read on for everything you need to know to create a vision board that actually works. Consider your 2025 New Year’s resolutions crushed.
Why Ditch Your Typical Resolutions For a Vision Board?
Let’s leave the “New Year, New Me” mindset behind in 2024. Have you ever felt like resolutions hold a certain amount of shame? Like you need to achieve these resolutions, and if you don’t, you’ve failed? “We are primed to view our lives and events through a negativity bias, focusing on what went wrong versus what went well,” said Elspeth Robertson, a registered clinical counselor and professional art therapist. Resolutions tend to be about breaking a pattern to become “better” (less phone scrolling, no alcohol, no sugar, etc.), but quitting a bad habit is not the same as manifesting a better life. “If a resolution says, ‘Here is what I need to take away,’ a vision board says, ‘Here is what I would like to add,'” Robertson said. A vision board is intended to make you feel confident and inspired in your life, not shameful for all you should change about yourself.
What Is a Vision Board?
A vision board is a collection of images and words that represent the things you want to achieve in life, helping to hone in on your intentions and keep them top of mind. Instead of focusing on what habits you should be stopping, they inspire you to focus on the possibilities for the next year. “From a scientific perspective, vision boards do what we call ‘priming,’ which essentially is when exposure to a certain stimulus affects how you act towards whatever comes next,” said Elizabeth Mateer, a licensed mental health counselor associate. “A vision board is an opportunity to focus on the reality you want to create, a prediction of your possible future, and a connection to hope and a life that feels aligned,” Robertson said.
How to Make a Vision Board
Do it digitally
Pinterest and Canva, FTW. When you’re scrolling on Pinterest looking for photos, only choose photos that you feel emotionally drawn to—photos that you believe will give you motivation and courage throughout the year. When you have all of your photos, you can keep your Pinterest board as your vision board, or if you’d prefer to turn it into your computer wallpaper or a printout, upload the images to Canva. Fight the urge to make it perfect. The photos don’t have to be flawlessly organized on a grid, in the same color scheme, or make sense to anyone other than yourself. Remember, this vision board is for you.
Categorize and subcategorize
First, think of the different aspects of life that you’d like to invest in this year. Maybe it’s your career, love life, or self-love. Or maybe it’s your home, travel, or overall health. Then, break them up into subcategories. What growth do you want to see for yourself professionally? Where do you want to travel specifically? Where do you see yourself living in the next six months? Use your answers to start searching keywords (think: “CEO aesthetic,” “Greece aesthetic photos,” “apartments in Boston,” etc.).
Be super specific
Be specific with your vision board: What city do you want to live in? Chicago? New York City? What type of self-care do you want to make a daily ritual in your life? Cozy cardio? Hot girl walks every morning at 7 a.m.? What does your ideal job look like? Working from home? A raise that comes with more benefits? Go to Pinterest and search for specific photos that depict what you want to manifest.
Add affirmations
To counteract the negativity associated with resolutions, try adding affirmations to your vision board along with the curated photos. “Affirmations go hand-in-hand with successful vision boarding because, just like vision boards, affirmations are also about rewiring your beliefs about yourself and what is possible for you,” said Theresa Cheung, an astrologist and dream expert. Cheung suggested using simple affirmations to ground your intentions throughout the year:
- Every day I take small steps in the direction of my dreams.
- 2024 is the year to focus on what is important to me.
- I am doing what is right for me, not what others expect.
- I will overcome any challenge and learn and grow from it.
- I notice my thoughts and feelings and what they are teaching me.
- I am grateful for all that I am.
- The past does not define me.
- I choose to think positive thoughts about myself.
- Success and happiness are my birthright.
- I am moving forward in the direction of my dreams.
- I am enough.
So I Made My Vision Board… Now What?
Be intentional about where you put it
To manifest the contents of your vision board into existence, astrologer Jill Loftis suggested to “charge” your vision board by placing it somewhere you’ll see often. Whether that’s making it your laptop or phone wallpaper or printing and framing it, simply being intentional about its location is manifesting in itself. To begin manifesting your goals, Loftis advised making your vision board a daily ritual. “Place it near a candle you can light or create a small altar with the board as its centerpiece, adding symbolic statues, crystals, or other items,” Loftis recommended. Whatever your vibe, look at your vision board every day and repeat some of your favorite affirmations, bringing back the intentions you set on the day you created the board.
Bring it into your meditation practice
Another manifestation tool that can support your vision board intentions is meditation. “Meditation reminds you that you are not your thoughts, your feelings, or your skills,” Cheung said. “You are your choices. You can consciously choose more positive thoughts, feelings, and actions, and when you do that, you naturally start to feel better about yourself, and you start to manifest or attract a better life while using your vision board.” Light a few candles, place your vision board in sight, and sit quietly.
Make changes and adjustments as needed
Remember that your vision board is ever-evolving. You can add, delete, and change things as the year progresses. Your thoughts and goals will grow, just as you will. Whether you need support, guidance, or hope, a vision board can help you stay true to yourself in 2025. Say it with me: “I deserve whatever happiness and success the universe has to offer.“
Experts Consulted:
Elspeth Robertson is a clinical counselor and professional art therapist.
Elizabeth Mateer is a licensed clinical mental health counselor.
Jill Loftis is an astrologist and yoga, meditation, and breathwork instructor.