Making a Vision Board for Your Life

Vision boards are fun, versatile tools to put your dreams in one place where the “bigger picture” quite literally begins to make sense. The biggest reason I’ve started making a vision board for aspects of my life is because I find my thoughts jumbled, and if you’re a visual person like me, those visuals help you make decisions more effectively. Recently, the search for graduate schools has me overwhelmed. So, I’d like to share my five vision board categories that help me see a life I want to have, and hopefully these can help you start and maintain yours. 

1. Location, Location, Location! 

Nothing has caused me more stress than knowing that the world will be open to me in a few months after graduation. Options are endless for where I can start my post-graduate life. So, I’ve started thinking about these questions to narrow my field: 

1. What is your favorite and least favorite season? Is it important anyway that you have all seasons or would you like to try a consistent climate? 

2. Your political leanings help determine the type of culture you might enjoy more, so what do your political leanings say about you? Would you thrive in a place with more diversity of opinion, or would you rather it lean heavily one way? Either answer is your preference and for your own comfortability. 

3. How do you like to spend your weekends? Do you like adventuring into the woods, fishing, and hiking or do you like concerts and bar hopping? Perhaps it’s a combination, keep those activities in mind. 

2. Career path 

Not knowing what you want to do career-wise can be burdensome to choosing where to go with your life. It will unfortunately be a foundational point for your vision board. If you already think you know exactly where your degree will take you, more props to you! Here are the questions to consider for career: 

1. Do you want a work-life balance, or do you want to dive into a career that you’ll invest more time in? On the other end, are you looking to ease into your career and establish more friendships and community ties outside of work? 

2. Have you always thought about owning your own business and developing into a leader? Perhaps you’ve always envisioned being an integral part of a big team, as a puzzle piece to a bigger picture, with direction provided. 

3. If money was no factor, assume we all get paid the same for any job, what would you do? This might affect how you see yourself post-grad in terms of needing to go to graduate school or not. 

3. Possessions 

I get a bit overwhelmed having too much clutter, but maybe you’re the opposite of this. You like having items and decor, and purposeful objects for everything you can think of. Think about the things you’ve always wanted to own or perhaps have sworn to never buy. 

1. Have you always led a luxurious lifestyle? Do you want to save money for big practical purchases, like cars, or do you want to spend money on smaller items that make you happy? 

2. Are you attracted more to mansions, tiny houses, or just an average-sized home? Maybe none of these are your style and you’ve dreamt of getting a swanky apartment in the city. 

3. Do you have any big plans ahead of you for travel, weddings, and long term investments? 

4. Single, Married, or somewhere in between?

Don’t assume you have to get married out of college/school/training. This is a mistake so many make, please think about your own heart right now. What are the intentions of your soul?

1. Does the idea of living with someone else romantically make you happy? In an ideal world, would you like to share your life with someone in that way, or are you happy living alone? Perhaps like me, you find happiness living alongside friends right now, but have plans to marry in the future. 

2. Is religion a big portion of your beliefs? Will this affect your views on marriage and seeking (or not seeking) a partner? 

3. Kids. Do you want them? I know I’m not sure on this one, but think about your values and what it would feel like to care for children. Maybe you see yourself as a mentor, but not to your own children — and that’s ok! Put it on the board in whatever way that manifests for you. 

5.  Your biggest pet peeve 

Think about what makes you mad. Put the opposite on your board. I’ll give an example for this one. For me, I can’t stand when people are flakey and make me feel unimportant. On my board, I might put pictures of friends together and charitable acts/service. If I hate people disregarding others, I want to emulate the opposite in my own life.   

My largest point is that your vision board WILL change. Let it change at whatever pace that is. There is no minimum or maximum for pictures and quotes to have on your board. This is a space to understand yourself.