In my junior year of high school, I was dreading taking biology. One of my best friends sent me a TikTok of a vision board and suggested I make one to stay motivated — not just for biology, but for the entire year. Creating a vision board not only helped me successfully complete the class but also became a yearly routine to reinforce my goals and motivation.
A vision board often looks like a pretty, aesthetic collage, but it’s more than that — it is a creative visualization of your goals, dreams, intentions and values created to help you stay motivated. People often create them at the beginning of each year to help them manifest their goals. Whenever I feel unmotivated, I pull up my vision board and I’m reminded of all the achievements I’ve done and goals I hope to achieve. It makes me feel hopeful and is one of the things that gets me going!
This idea ties into the practice of visualization meditation, a technique used to mentally picture success and reinforce motivation. Visualization meditation strengthens motivation and self-belief by mentally rehearsing success with vivid sensory detail and emotional connection.
So, whether you need motivation to pass a certain class or you just want to make your aspirations for the new year prosper, here is my step-by-step guide on how to create an inspirational and aesthetic vision board.
- Define your goals
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In order to have a vision board, you need clear goals you can… well, envision. They can be short-term or long-term goals. Think about what you want to manifest in different areas of your life:
- Personal Growth (confidence, self-care, learning, affirmations)
- Career & Academics (dream job, college goals, projects)
- Health & Wellness (fitness, mental health, habits)
- Relationships (friendships, family, love)
- Lifestyle & Travel (places to visit, hobbies, dream home)
For me, my 2025 vision board consists of academic goals, physical items (I really want a pair of New Balances), friendships, career progress in journalism, words of affirmation and romanticizing my college environment. A brainstorm of ideas you want to improve in life or to manifest will give you a clear goal of what you want to do.
- Gathering Materials
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You can have your vision board be physically on a board or create a digital board. I’ve always created my vision boards digitally on PicCollage, but there are other apps like Canvas or Pinterest you can use. If you’re hands-on and are more on the creative side, feel free to use the following materials:
- Magazines, printed images, polaroid photos or drawings to cut out
- Scissors, glue, tape, or pins
- Markers, stickers, washi tape (optional for decoration)
- Find Inspiring Images and Words
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Find inspiring pictures, words, quotes, symbols and more that represent your goals and that inspire you. Because I create my board digitally, I get my images mainly from Pinterest and my phone’s photo album. If it’s a physical board, cut them out from magazines and papers or print them out. Add as much as you want there.
- Arrange and Assemble
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Lay out your images and words on the board in a way that feels right to you. You can group similar themes together or make a collage. For me, I usually group my images based on themes in my vision board so that it’s organized. For example, my words affirmation (my main grouping on my board) is all together on one side, and same for my academic goals, friendships etc. That way, I can see each group and reflect on each of them simultaneously. Glue, tape or pin them in place if it’s a physical board.
- Personalize and Decorate (go crazy with it)
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After spending hours assembling, cropping and sizing my images to fit my digital board, here comes my favorite part — decorating it! I enjoy customizing my boards with different color schemes and themes and adding in my words of affirmation. Add as many personal touches like doodles and symbols as you wish. Like I said, go crazy with it.
- Place It Somewhere Visible
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When you are done crafting your vision board, place it where you’ll see it daily. This will remind you of your goals and keep you motivated. It could be in your bedroom, workspace, college dorm or your phone wallpaper if it’s digital. I save and download my vision board as my phone and computer’s wallpaper.
- Reflect and Manifest
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Every day or however frequently you’d like, take a few minutes to look at your vision board and reflect on your goals.
Creating a vision board for me is one of many ways I practice manifestation meditation. After doing it for three years, it’s like making a wish to the universe. It’s a step close to reaching my full potential, clarifying my goals and believing that it will happen. However, it’s also important to put in the work to make the goals come true, as goals take time. But it’s great to have a visual representation of goals that serve to fulfill and motivate us to put our best foot forward.