6 Ways to Create a Vision Board That Works – Martha Beck
These six ways to create a vision board that works will help bring your passions, hopes, dreams, and future plans to life! I’m so inspired by Martha Beck’s latest article in Oprah Magazine. I love Martha Beck, I love thinking about authenticity, and I love the idea of finding our destiny!
“When you start assembling pictures that appeal to your deepest self, you unleash one of the most powerful forces on our planet: human imagination,” writes Martha Beck in “The Vision Thing” (Oprah Magazine, June 2010). “Virtually everything humans use, do, or make up exists because something thought it up.”
Martha Beck is one of my favorite motivational authors; her latest book is Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny. And, here are six ways to find your desiny by creating the right type of vision board…
5 Ways to Create a Vision Board That Works – Martha Beck
1. Be open to the power of a vision board. “When you start assembling pictures that appeal to your deepest self, you unleash one of the most powerful forces on our planet: human imagination,” writes Beck. “Virtually everything humans use, do, or make up exists because something thought it up.” Remember that a vision board sets the stage for possibility. And, making your dreams come true – finding your destiny – isn’t about getting exactly what you want! It’s about getting what you need.
2. Be clear on what a vision board is. “A vision board (also called a Treasure Map or a Visual Explorer or Creativity Collage) is typically a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn out from various magazines. It’s simple,” writes Christine Kane, author of The Complete Guide to Vision Boards. “The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.”
3. Create a vision board that represents who you are. Don’t look through the most popular magazines for images that represent everyone’s idea of success (eg, beautiful vacations, no credit card debt, a happy family). Instead, find unusual pictures of unfamiliar places, people, poetry. Find images that resonate with who you are – without worrying about other people’s expectations. Find pictures that represent your most primal, wild, unique, innate self.
4. Cut and paste photos that spark your inner “a ha”! Beck encourages us to find pictures that invoke the following responses: joy, wonder, excitement, curiosity, and happiness. Put photos that make you do a double take or gasp with excitement – and avoid our culture’s clichés (perfect families, exotic vacations, early retirement).
5. Stop thinking about what you want out of life. Instead of focusing with narrow minded tunnel vision on finding your destiny or making your dreams come true, let go of what you want. “Stop thinking about it,” says Beck. “The biggest mistake aspiring reality creators make…is continuing to push something they’ve already set in motion.” Hmmm….this one stopped me in my tracks. Maybe I’m too focused on “making” my Quips and Tips blogs succeed…maybe I reek of desperation and need! Maybe it’s time to let my vision board hum quietly in the background while I relax and do what I love (which involves blogging, so I won’t be abandoning my dreams :-) ).
6. “Be still and still moving.” Alas, Martha Beck says, vision boards aren’t a substitute for elbow grease! We need to be active about getting what we want out of life – we need to keep moving forward, in the direction of our dreams. How? By walking through open doors, listening to our hunches, taking advantage of “coincidences”, and doing what comes naturally. And, by knowing what to let go of! For instance, I’m constantly tweaking my ads on my Quips and Tips blogs, instead of relating to my readers or meeting new bloggers who have common interests.
“Your vision board itself doesn’t impact reality; what changes your life is the process of creating the images — combinations of objects and events that will stick in your subconscious mind and steer your choices toward making the vision real,” writes Martha Beck.
For more Martha Beck on See Jane Soar, read 6 Ways to Increase Weight Loss Motivation.
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Hey Martha,
This is a really simple and easy way to create a visionboard and with some great tips. I definately agree, it is not wise to go through all the generic magazines to try and define what you want. I would add its probably really important to find out what you truly want, where you want to be in the future and how you want to feel about it. Then to create the vision board with this in mind.
I have my vision board in my bedroom and its sooo kool being able to experience some of things that are up there, it re-enforces your ability to use the law of attraction and create whatever you desire. I also use this in conjunction with my Mind Movie which is like a digital version of my Vision Board which I can update more regularly. I think the two go hand in hand.
Thanks for the great post =)
Thanks for being here, Susan — it’s always great to hear from you!
I have a great friend who says that we don’t need to strain to achieve our goals…she says we simply need to relax and let them happen. Well, she says something like that, anyway….and her point is that pushing towards your goals can backfire.
Yeah, that #5 was a little startling for me too.
Being so ambitious and motivated, I definitely can wear myself out.
Its so much easier to trust… let go… allow.
Lessons that I am still learning to this day.