Top 7 Examples of Vision Boards to Bring Your Dreams To Life

Are you spending most of the workday just dreaming about your next vacation? Or maybe you're just waiting for a free weekend so you can finally pick up that keyboard that's been sitting in your drawing room for ages and learn to play it. Speaking of the drawing room, how far have you gone in deciding the interiors of your dream house?

We all have goals, big and small, which inspire, motivate, and encourage us to keep going in life. But sometimes, amid the busy daily schedules and myriad distractions, we often forget our dreams and visions and what we need to do to achieve them. So, why not keep these in front of our eyes, through personalized vision boards?

Like the name suggests, vision boards are conceptual pieces of art designed around a particular goal or idea, often used to remind people exactly what they want their future to look like. You can create a vision board for just about any goal or idea, on a chalkboard, piece of wood, paper or even your computer. Read on for some cool vision board ideas and how to bring them to life:

What is a Vision Board

A vision board, also called an inspiration board, poster board, or manifestation board, is a visual representation of your dreams, ideas, goals, and motivating factors. It is a way to recreate the images you have in your mind of your dream job, relationship, family, or dream life, and put them in front of you. Your vision board can be as simple as a collage of pictures you've cut out from old magazines, decorative stickers, doodles, and words of affirmation to entire game plans of your goal and how you're going to achieve it.

Want to see a simple vision board template to try and build your own? Keep scrolling:

Vision Board Ideas to Try Out at Home

Personal Goals

Personal goals can be anything and everything that we want to achieve--buying your own house and car, moving to your dream city, writing a book--you name it. But the bigger and more ambiguous these ideas and dreams are, the easier it is to get confused and overwhelmed by them, and you may soon abandon them altogether.

So, create a vision board of all your personal goals as you want them to look like--the title and outline of your book, a picture of your dream house, or where you see yourself in 10 years. The more thought you put into your vision board, the more clarity you'll get in your goal.

Education and Career

As children, we all have big dreams--some to become an astronaut and walk on the moon, others want to become doctors who save lives just like superheroes, or firefighters who hang off big red trucks as they sail down the road. And to achieve this dream, we must get into the best, most impressive school and top the class. So your education and career vision board should encapsulate all of these thoughts---a picture of the future you (or the most you-like stock photo you can find) in your job uniform, your perfect SAT score, and a brochure of your dream college or university. You can even throw in some report cards with perfect scores and fancy stationery to make this board more inspiring.

Family and Relationships

Some people's ideal life includes the perfect family--a loving partner, two or three kids, a dog, and a cat. Others who didn't grow up in the most privileged way may dream of giving their parents a great retirement after a lifetime of struggle and sacrifice. Your love and hope for your present and future family are hard to put into words, but maybe you can put together a family vision board that shows your feelings. Use design elements like family heirlooms, printed images of memories you've made together, your future kids' names, and other things that make you feel warm and fuzzy, as well as motivated enough to build the relationships you're dreaming of.

Healthy Habits

During the years of the pandemic, when everyone was stuck inside, a lot of us just let ourselves go and neglected our health. It was a stressful few years, but now's the perfect time to regain what we lost. Make a health vision board with a picture of the old, fitter you, the exercises you should be doing, a good diet plan and other things that will make you want to get back into shape.

Hobbies and Fun Activities

We all may have had hobbies and interests when younger, that we lost touch with as life got busier--be it sewing, singing and dancing, reading books, or arts and crafts. Or, maybe there's an interest you've always had but can never find the motivation to get started on. By creating a hobby vision board, you can put remnants of your hobbies or pictures of the ones you want to take up, and maybe one day it'll give you the push to pick things up again.

Travel and Adventure

Who doesn't love exploring new places? Even as a homebody, I do enjoy waking up to a beautiful view of the mountains instead of just my room now and again. And don't we all have a dream destination?Get some touristy pictures, travel postcards, fake tickets and other elements of your next travel setting and put it on a vision board, so you're constantly reminded to take that time off and arrange your perfect holiday!

Values and Beliefs

Hope and faith keep people going in life, whether they are spiritual, religious, or simply believe in the power of the universe. Make a simple vision board of the beliefs that you hold dear, the inspiring words, phrases, and thoughts that keep you hopeful, so you remember to see the light even in the darkest of times.

Why Making a Vision Board Works

Now, you may have gotten a few vision board ideas from my list, but do you believe in the power of them yet? It may still seem like the vision board is just another art project that people use as a way to procrastinate on more productive work. But actually, there's a lot to say about why they work.

Have you, for instance, heard the phrase "fake it till you make it"? The more we believe something is true and possible, the higher the chance we have of actually making it happen. A goal-setting vision board serves as such a visualization technique--the more you see your goals in front of you, the likelier you are to work on making it a reality.

The power of vision boards is also backed by science! In a 2024 study published in the Journal of Research in Personality, researchers say that visions inspire and create positive emotions that make you believe your dreams are achievable. Daily positivity and vision alone can work wonders in helping you meet your life goals!

Plus, vision boards can be really fun and relaxing to make by yourself or with family and friends, letting you express your personal style in a new and unique way.

Convinced now? Then let's get set to make a vision board!

How to Create your Vision Board

Set your Goals

A vision board must be intentional, if not precise. Know exactly which goals you're making your vision board for, so you can add relevant images, hunt for the right art supplies, and make something you can relate to instantly without needing to think too hard about it.

Decide your Medium

Physical vision boards are the more traditional and arguably fun choice. But there's no reason you can't go for digital vision boards if they appeal to you! In fact, if you spend a lot of time on your PC, you can make the vision board a display on your home screen or lock screen, so you're reminded of it every time you open your device to start the day. An online vision board using Google slides is also easier to create, customize and update.

On the other hand, if you love journals, why not dedicate parts of your health or goal journal to your relevant vision? That will be a great way of boosting your intention whenever you take up recording the goal progress.

Pick Powerful and Personal Imagery

Your vision board needs to be personal, so you need to pick images that mean something to you. Don't just add a picture of any house, but rather look for one that most resembles the place you want to live in one day. And simply placing the images won't help--add little notes and thoughts below each one to remind you why they're there and what you want to do to fulfill the vision you have for them.

Keep it Organized

Arranging images creatively on your vision board can be fun, but don't get too random with it. Put it in a basic order that makes sense to you, so that your board tells a story you want to hear and make come true.

Keep it in View

Don't hide away your vision board in a back room out of embarrassment--display it proudly so people know you're a person with serious goals! If it's a physical board, display it in the room you spend the most time in and where you'll be encouraged to stay focused, not distracted, by it. And if it's a digital vision board, keep it on your most handy device!

Review and Update It

As you work towards your goals, the final picture may evolve and change slightly, so make sure you take them time to update your vision board accordingly, so it does its job of keeping you productive.

Final Thoughts

Vision boards take us one step closer to achieving our dream goals. Create your own today!