What Is a Vision Board? Meaning, Benefits and How It Works

When people hear "vision board," many picture a weekend craft project. Some magazines, a glue stick, a few pretty pictures of beaches and nice cars. Or maybe a quick collage put together on Canva.

I understand why. But after opening my vision board studio in 2018 and guiding countless people through the process, I can tell you that a vision board done well is so much more than that. I've watched women cry at their boards, finally admitting what they really want. I've watched people walk out of a workshop with a clarity they hadn't felt in years.

So let's talk about what a vision board really is, why it works and how to make yours count

In this post

What is a vision board?

A vision board is a visual representation of the life you're creating. It brings together images, words and symbols that capture your goals, your dreams and the way you want to feel, all in one place you see every day.

A vision board is not a collage. It is a tool to live an intentional life.

The meaning of a vision board comes down to one idea: You can't consistently create what you can't clearly see.

Most of us carry our dreams around as fuzzy ideas. "I want more money." "I want to feel better." "I want a business I love." A vision board asks you to get specific. What does "more money" look like? What does "feeling better" feel like? What kind of business, serving who?

There's an old phrase I love: you become what you behold. What you look at every day shapes what you think about, and what you think about shapes what you do.

What a vision board is not

• It is not a collage.

• It is not a wish list.

• It is not magic.

• It is not a one-time craft project.

Is there a wrong way to make a vision board?

Here's the truth: there's no wrong way to make a vision board. Any time you sit down and get honest about what you want, something good is happening.

But there are definitely better ways.

For the past eight years, I've refined my vision board process so my clients create boards that actually work. I've seen what makes the difference between a board that collects dust and one that changes a life. It comes down to a few key choices most people never think about.

Want to create a vision board that actually works?

Download my free guide 5 Steps to Creating a Vision Board That Works and get the same insights I share with my clients.

Why images work

You might be wondering, "Why not just write my goals down?"

Writing your goals down is powerful (and important), but a vision board adds something a list can't: images.

And images do something special in your brain.

• Your brain remembers pictures better than words. Psychologists call this the picture superiority effect, and it's been studied for more than a century. A picture of the home you want sticks with you in a way the words "buy a house" never will.

• Images carry emotion. A picture can make you feel something instantly. That feeling is what keeps you motivated on the days your goal feels far away.

• What you see often stays top of mind. The more often you look at your board, the more your goals stay at the front of your thinking, and the more likely you are to notice opportunities connected to them.

• Your board makes a great bedtime habit. As you drift off to sleep, your mind tends to replay what you've been focused on. In a well-known Harvard study, people who spent hours playing the video game Tetris reported seeing the falling blocks as they fell asleep. This became known as the Tetris effect. That's why I love making your vision board part of your bedtime routine, so the last thing on your mind each night is the life you're creating.

• Feel it as if it's already happened. When you look at your board, imagine what it feels like to be living it. Picturing something uses many of the same brain areas as actually seeing it, which is why a vivid vision can feel so real.

Backed by science: why vision boards work

Research on vision boards specifically is still growing, but studies on visualization, goal setting and accountability point in the same direction.

Entrepreneurs who use vision boards report reaching more of their goals.

In a 2016 TD Bank survey of 501 small business owners, one in five had used a vision board when starting their business. Of those, 76% said their business was where they had envisioned it would be, and 82% said they had already accomplished more than half of their goals. This is a survey of what owners reported, not a controlled experiment, but it shows how many successful people use visual goal setting.

Dreaming alone can backfire

NYU psychology professor Gabriele Oettingen has spent more than 20 years studying positive thinking. Her research found that simply fantasizing about the outcome you want can make you feel like you've already arrived, which can lower your energy to go after it. Her solution is to pair the dream with an honest look at your obstacles and a plan to move through them. Learn more.

Picture the steps, not just the finish line

In a UCLA study by psychologists Lien Pham and Shelley Taylor, college students who spent the week before a midterm picturing the process of doing well, like their study habits, studied more and earned better grades. Read the study.

Writing it down and being accountable matters

In a study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University of California, people who wrote down their goals, committed to action steps and sent weekly updates to a friend accomplished 76% of their goals, compared to 43% for those who only thought about their goals. See the research summary.

What neuroscience tells us about vision boards

Your brain has a built-in filter. Every second, your senses take in far more information than you could ever notice. Deep in your brainstem is a network of neurons called the reticular activating system, or RAS. According to Britannica, when this system is working, you are alert, aroused and attentive. The RAS works together with attention networks across your brain to help decide what reaches your awareness and what fades into the background.

Have you ever bought a new car and suddenly seen the same model everywhere? Those cars were always there. What changed is what your brain decided was important.

A vision board works in a similar way. It tells your brain, again and again, what to pay attention to.

Mental rehearsal changes the body, and action changes it more.

In a Cleveland Clinic study published in Neuropsychologia, people who spent 15 minutes a day, five days a week, imagining strong contractions of their little finger increased its strength by 35% in 12 weeks, without lifting a thing. People who physically trained the same muscle gained 53%. Picturing it made a real difference. Doing it made an even bigger one. Read the study.

That's the whole Dare to Declare philosophy in one experiment. Your vision gets your brain ready. Your action gets you results.

Vision board workshops: a client attraction tool for coaches and entrepreneurs

Vision boards aren't only for personal growth.

For coaches, entrepreneurs, speakers, wellness professionals and educators, a vision board workshop is one of the most powerful ways to attract new clients.

Here's why.

People don't always know they need coaching, but they do know they want more clarity.

A vision board workshop is an easy yes. It gives people a meaningful experience, a real result to take home and a chance to see what it's like to work with you.

For many, it becomes the front door into deeper work together.

Today, Dare to Declare has certified Vision Board Facilitators across 5 difference countries. Each are using vision board workshops to grow their impact and their income, with a proven framework they didn't have to build from scratch.

If you've ever thought, "I'd love to lead these workshops myself," learn more about becoming a certified facilitator through the Dare to Declare Academy.

Your next step

You deserve a vision board that actually works.

If you'd love to be guided through the process, join one of our vision board workshops. We'll walk you step by step from reflection to declaration to action. Experience the Dare to Declare Vision Board Framework that has changed thousands of lives.