A vision board is a collection of images, words and other materials that helps you to truly consider your goals and ambitions, then helps to drive you towards them by serving as a constant source of inspiration and guidance.

We’ve written a lot on vision boards in the past, from how to make one to how often to look at a vision board. However, it occurred to me that a lot of people may not even know what a vision board is. I wanted to circle back to the beginning to ensure that we had an article here on the site that suitably answers the simple but valid question “what is a vision board?”

Taking Vision Boards Literally

Whoever coined the term ‘vision board’ decided to call it as they saw it. It’s a board much like any other, where you place things that help to outline and describe your vision. They are known by several names, such as dream boards, but as that name also suggests, they’re designed to achieve the same kinds of goals.

While it might sound like a bit of a copout, a vision board can be anything you want it to be. As long as you have a large, flat surface, such as a big piece of card, or a device capable of the digital equivalent, the sky is the limit and you can put down anything that you feel adequately represents your ambitions.

What’s the Point of a Vision Board?

I wouldn’t ever go as far as to say that a vision board is essential, but there are several great reasons to make one.

They Encourage You to Really Focus on Your Goals

Goals and ambitions can be fleeting. Are you the kind of person that thinks “I’d like to do that sometime” and then doesn’t really give it any more thought? Do you ever really take time to take stock of where you are and where you’d like to be?

If you don’t, a vision board could well be the perfect solution. I recommend sitting in silence and thinking about now and the future, building a clear picture of what you want – even if you have no idea how to get there. If that’s not something you do often, it may quickly become clear what you want, when you’ve never paid attention to those urges before.

They Encourage You to Stay on Track

I’m also a big believer in positioning your vision board in such a way that you see it often, and in situations that are relevant to what you want to achieve. In doing so, when your mind wanders from the task at hand or you find yourself procrastinating, you can see exactly how you intend for your hard work to pay off.

Vision Boards Reinforce Your Power with the Law of Attraction

As I’ve stated many times when writing here on the site, you don’t need any interest in the law of attraction to encourage vision boards to work for you. You don’t need a vision board to manifest your dreams with the law of attraction.

Nevertheless, they work well together to reinforce each other. I’ve spoken to many people that state that a vision board will invoke the law of attraction whether you like it or not – and that’s never a bad thing.

What Are Vision Boards For?

You can use a vision board for anything you want to change, improve or achieve. From friendships and relationships to material gains like houses and cars, they can work incredibly well to bring those dreams to life.

The process of discovering exactly what you want within yourself and making an effort to constantly remind yourself of what you can achieve automatically ensures you stay on track and that the time you spend striving for something all works towards a significant goal.

As long as you can find words, pictures and other materials to represent these goals, and do so in a way that immediately focuses your mind with just a glance, a vision board can be used for anything you want to achieve.

What Is a Vision Board? – In Summary

A vision board is a collection of thoughts and ideas, presented visually, which clarifies your goals and propels you towards them. You can use card, cork boards, software, apps or anything else that presents you with a large, clear surface on which you can place pictures and phrases that mean something to you and will encourage you to focus on your hopes and dreams.

They’re great for helping you to map out long-term goals, while giving you the structure and impetus to remain focused. Essentially, they give meaning to what you want, and they work to remind you that all your efforts are worthwhile, even if they only involve taking small steps as part of the bigger picture.