Alight, my friend. I have a bit of a new challenge for you. Are you ready to accept?? 

This is NOT your Average Vision Board 

Let me just start by saying this; I am a BIG fan of vision boards mostly because I am a very creative person who needs an outlet to “create” (and my drawing skills are just not up to par enough to be that kind of artist). Vision boarding has always been a way to create that connects me to something greater.

I started with creating a vision board for each year.

A few years ago I started the practice of having a “word of the year” and the vision board always represented that word along with a few of the big goals or things that I wanted to make happen.

I then started making mini or secondary vision boards for short term goals or specific projects, as well as for homes or relationships I was (and am) manifesting. 

I love the focused approach for vision boarding because it allows you to connect to the feelings of having the thing that you are manifesting, on a deeper level (more on that later!).

Why Your Vision Board isn’t Working for You

Here’s where the problem with vision boards (and honestly goals in general) come into play.

I’ll start this point with a question… Are vision boards always meant to be about a specific goal or outcome of something you want? 

You want the job. You want the dream partner. You want the house. You want the 100k. You want 10 new clients.

What would it be like to make a vision board based on the aesthetic or feeling you wanted once you already had that outcome? Or let’s even remove the outcome and simply talk about the feeling and aesthetic you want to be living in on a day to day basis? 

The thing is, there is nothing wrong with having your goals stated in your vision board… I mean, that's what the concept of the vision board is all about.

HOWEVER, if we place too much focus on the goals themselves, we can easily keep ourselves in an energy of wanting, of feeling like we need to reach the goal as opposed to already feeling on the same level as that goal.

In situations like these, what is truly missing is the FOCUS ON FEELINGS.

The REAL Reason WHY Vision Boards WORK.

The feeling you evoke with your vision board is the CORE purpose of WHY vision boarding works.

When you look at your board, the goal is to connect to the feelings of how you want to feel… but because you are connecting with the feelings, you get to feel them right now.

That is it. That is the full secret to why something as simple as collecting pictures and creating a collage is SO freaking powerful.

This is also the secret to Why you feel your vision boards have not been working for you. You’ve been connecting too much to the physical outcome too much and not enough to the feelings that you would feel when you have that outcome.

Your challenge: Creating your REST vision board

With that being said, I want to challenge you.

Let's peel back all the layers and get down to the feelings. Let’s wipe away the goals for now and focus SOLELY on the emotions you want to be evoking. 

I am challenging you to create a REST VISION BOARD.

Why? Well, firstly, because “resting” isn’t about what you achieve or reaching a goal… it’s about creating a feeling within yourself, so that you can feel rejuvenated and reset.

Second, we are currently in cancer season, whose major themes are resting, nurturing yourself, slowing down, flowing, being guided by your intuition, and tapping into that childlike wonder and creativity. So literally, what better time to create a vision board that’s all about what rest looks like in your life!?

(If you are reading this after cancer season has ended, I still encourage you to do this; the energy for slowing down, nurturing, creativity and flowing is just very potent right now.)

Your steps: 

1. Take 10-30 minutes to journal on the below questions to really identify what rest looks like for you and what your body is asking you for at this phase of your life that you are currently in. Decide how you want to FEEL moving forward.
2. Pull up Pinterest and search keywords that represent the feelings or concepts you want to find pictures for (see below for examples). The important thing to remember here is not having a picture that represents what you are doing, but rather that evokes the particular feeling you want to be feeling.
3. Open Canva and let the creativity flow. I’ve shared my current vision board in this post and feel free to DM me or email me with any questions or thoughts. My Aligned Productivity Academy ladies and 1-1 clients get tons of resources around this because it is an incredibly powerful tool for doing embodiment work (which is what enables us to create more by doing less - and this is your first step!).

Journaling Qs: 

• What does rest look like for me? What does rest feel like for me? 
• What things did I love doing as a kid? Is there anything I’m craving to do now again?
• What am I doing when I am really truly happy? Who am I with? 
• What are the categories of my life that I want to consider in rest (i.e. how does work change on a “feeling” level when you are incorporating more rest or maybe your relationship feels more flowy and relaxing now)
• Are there themes of things you are focusing on in your life right now (i.e. health and wanting to get more sleep; you could use comfy bed pictures to evoke that “ahhhh” relaxation feeling and create a positive connotation by connecting this feeling with sleep).
• Are there things you want to be doing more of? For example, playing music, dancing, painting, connecting with friends, taking baths, spending time with yourself, etc.? 

Potential Keywords: 

• Children playing (this is what I choose to add to my board to emphasize the “inner child” in me coming out more)
• Beach vibes
• Boho aesthetic (putting aesthetic behind your keyword is a lil’ trick)
• Photography or graphics after your key word depending on what you are looking for
• The things you love  - i.e. painting aesthetic 
• You can also check out my Time-Freedom Lifestyle board as a starting point
• Using the Canva graphics to add an extra layer and a sticker look to your board

Email me (hello@declutteredintentions.com), Dm me @Declutteredintentions with your vision board or post a story on your social media and TAG ME so that I can see your beautiful rest vision board AND re-share them to celebrate you and the transformation you have created!