How To Make a Vision Board, Part II

Today's blog post is once again brought to you by my favorite magical intern, Mariah:

How To Make a Vision Board Part II: Mariah’s Vision Board

If you’re wondering why it took me so long to post part II of the vision board blog, I am a senior in college and my crazy, hectic school semester has finally calmed down and has officially wrapped up. All of my final exams, papers, and projects are turned in and complete. I am finally free! …for now.

My vision board was inspired by my mantra: “Health, Wealth, Love & Perfect Self Expression.” I have no idea where the mantra originated, but my favorite “follow” on Twitter, @ShanaBeaa tweets the mantra almost every morning and I’ve grown to love it and recognize that health, wealth, love & perfect self-expression are things I want in life.

I prefer reading strong phrases and statements to looking at pictures so my board is full of words. Words like strong, work, sexy, sweat, summer, self, are all words that kind of stand out to me as key words. I want to be strong and sexy for the summer time so I have to remember to work and SWEAT to reach those goals.

Health: My weight loss journey began June 2013 and I have lost 129 lbs since. I have definitely hit a plateau and have been stuck at the same weight for I don’t know how long. When I look at my board every morning, it will be a reminder to stay strong and remember that it took years to pack on the pounds so it will take time to shed them.

Wealth: $ave, $$ave, $$$ave!! What more can I say? Besides wanting to save money, I have to remind myself that I have to WORK to get the money. “Good things come to those who work.” I love the picture I found of the empire state building with the words “I finally earned enough miles to fly to NYC.” The picture is perfect for my board because for spring break 2015, I want to have enough money saved to take a trip to NY.

Love & Perfect Self Expression: Getting dressed and ready at the start of every day is a perfect way to express myself. Besides dressing to express myself, it is important to look presentable throughout the day everyday. Making you look and feel good is an act of love and appreciation for you. Sometimes, I let the fact that I am in college get in the way of me dressing well like I know how. The women on my board along with the words “Personal Style” are reminders to make the effort when getting dressed in the mornings. Besides expressing myself through dress, on my board I have the words “ladies night” and “anything could happen.” Those two phrases are reminders to just have fun! Have fun and put myself out there because I never know what could happen.

My vision board is placed where I can see it every morning to start my day and every night to remind me before bed. My board is hanging on the wall next to my bed.

If you have a vision board, share with me your boards, ladies! 

How to Create Your Own Vision Board: Part 1

Jessica is off on a European adventure, so today's post is brought to you by Hey Lola intern, Mariah!

So I bought a white board about a month (or so) ago with the purpose to create a vision board. Mind you, I have never made a vision board before but it seems to be a fun project, plus the purpose of a vision board is pretty legit. I even have my board theme already: a mantra, “Health, Wealth, Love, & Perfect Self Expression.” Cute, right? So why the heck is it taking me so long to make this freaking board!? Turns out I actually have no idea what I’m doing! So I did my research.

(image source here)

·         What is a vision board? A vision board is a poster board filled with pictures, quotes, anything really that will inspire you to do better. Most folks use a vision board as a visual map-out of their life goals. The point of the vision board is to ultimately achieve the goals you posted on your board.

·         STEP 1: PLAN

o   Write down your vision – in the words of Erykah Badu, “Write it down on real paper with a real pencil. And watch shit get real.”

o   Believe in your vision – sit down and honestly ask yourself what it is you want and what you CAN do to get there. With that being said,

o   Make specific, attainable goals – Use pictures to portray your specific goals. My goal is to limit my sugar intake. I’ll probably use a picture of a soda pop can with a red X through it on my board as a reminder to cut down my sugar intake by not drinking pop.

(image source unknown)

·         STEP 2: Get the Right Materials, for example:

o   A pile of magazines

o   Scissors

o   A stick of glue (or tape.. or rubber cement…. Something sticky)

o   Markers

o   Glitter, stickers, fabric - anything that will make your vision board attention grabbing 

(image source unknown)

·         STEP 3: Create your board, aka the fun part!

o   Use effective images – it’s easy to take a pretty picture. Choose pictures that speak to you. I chose Oprah because to me she represents a woman who came from nothing and turned nothing into everything.

o   Write out captions as reminders of what the pictures mean to you.

·         STEP 4: Place the board where you can see it everyday.

o   Because what’s the point of having a vision board that you can’t see…? (there’s a pun somewhere in there).

OK - So now I have a better idea of how to make my vision board. My goal now is to have my new (gold) board filled the next time you hear from me. This should be interesting. **cues cheering children**

In the meantime, check out popular YouTuber Tyler Oakley’s video where he explains his own vision board! 

Tyler Oakley's overall vision board theme is similar to the board I want to make.

Until I come back with a finished product, check out a couple of vision board inspiration sites that I found while doing my own research. Vision board site # 1 is here and vision board site #2 is here.

(Mariah's vision board part 2 is here!)