Most of you have likely heard of a vision board, a collection of images and words representing your goals and aspirations, strategically placed so you can see it frequently and imprint these positive ideas onto your subconscious mind. But what you may not understand is how your brain science works in conjunction with a vision board to increase its effectiveness. If you're stuck and want to boost motivation, getting clear on what's important to you will help. Creating an online vision board is a helpful tool for manifesting your goals and dreams!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Re-programming our subconscious is an essential step in reaching a goal or changing a habit. Visualizing and mentally rehearsing a positive result can accelerate the process and increase the likelihood of success. Consistently focused attention and heightened emotions from mental imagery prompt the brain to focus and organize more efficiently.
Our brain has something called a Reticular Activating System, or “RAS,” a bundle of nerves at the brainstem that filters out unnecessary information so that just the important stuff, what you are focusing on, gets through. Otherwise, there would be too much information, and the brain would go on overload. So it’s a filtering system that controls your consciousness. The problem is, your RAS doesn't know if what you are thinking about is what you want or if it is simply what you are worried about (which many people are guilty of.) Whatever you are focusing on, the RAS goes out to get more of what you've focused on.
Another critical component in the power of visualization is value-tagging, a term for how your brain filters out unnecessary information and imprints important information. This tagging is where vision boards can be beneficial because they prime your brain to grasp opportunities that may go unnoticed. When you continuously look at images and words that are important to you, your brain imprints these things in your subconscious and filters out unnecessary information.
Related reading: "Visualization and How to Creating a Future You Love."
To the brain, there is little difference between a powerfully imagined vision and the experience of having it actually happen. Therefore, a vision board can help move you toward action. Often, new things can be stressful, which triggers your body to have a stress response, releasing cortisol and adrenaline. But when you repeatedly look at images related to your goals, your brain no longer sees them as new, making you more likely to take healthy risks.
Another essential element of visualization is to combine it with the accompanying emotions you would experience when you realize your dream. Strong emotions signal to the brain that the event has already occurred and compel the vision to fruition. In a 2010 study, fixing our focus and training attention to regulate emotion, Heather A. Wadlinger and Derek M. Isaacowitz argue, “If attention can be trained, then it may be used to actively guide individuals' emotion regulation processes and downstream behavior, ultimately enhancing subjective well-being. That is, people could learn to selectively attend to specific types of information in the service of optimizing their emotional experience.”
Related Reading: "How to Use Visualization to Get Amazing Results"
An online or digital vision board is especially effective for those who are often on their computer or a mobile device because they see it regularly. The more the attention is on the images, the more your brain will prioritize them.
Vision boards give clarity to your desires and add feeling to your visions. There's no right or wrong answer as to how to make a vision board. The goal is to help you manifest your dreams, so the most important thing is to be clear about what you want to begin with.
Start by sitting quietly and thinking about your goals. Please don’t force it; let your instincts take over. Listen to what comes to your mind or excites you to think about. Once you have identified your desires, write them out. Be specific about what you want and why and include details about how you can get there.
Next, start collecting images and words that are inspiring or capture the essence of your wishes. There are several programs to help you create a digital image, slideshow, or screen saver. Pinterest is one way, or for a more detailed version, a tool called Mind Movies is a digital vision board that allows you to create a movie of your ideal life with hundreds of available images. Or platforms like Canva can help you create a graphic to use as a screensaver for your computer or mobile devices for a simplified version.
Related Reading: "How to Create a Digital Vision Board."
Once you create a vision board, be sure to look at it first thing in the morning, several times during the day, and before you go to bed. Remember to take a minute to feel the elevated emotions associated with achieving your vision. This focused attention doesn't have to take a long time. Frequency is critical!
Soon, your brain will gravitate toward these positive images and emotions, and your RAS system will seek out them more and more. With careful visioning and dedicated work, manifesting your dreams can be a lot of fun!
One of Heartmanity's specialties is applying brain science and quantum principles to create a life by design. Let us accelerate your transformation with our signature coaching programs—transforming lives is our business! Email support@heartmanity or to learn more, visit Heartmanity's Brain Fitness.