How to Design Your Life and Home Now With 5 Simple Vision Board Ideas

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Vision Board | Bliss Board barbaraficarra.com

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA

If you’re wondering how to reach your goals and dreams, creating a vision board may be the first step to help you find clarity. A vision board is a visualization tool to help you manifest your goals, hopes, dreams and desires. However, there’s one catch. You need to take action. Have fun creating a vision board to help you design a healthy home and life. 

Vision Board = Bliss Board

A vision board is also known as a dream board, however I like to call a vision board a “bliss board” because when you look at it should bring you bliss. When you’re designing your vision board ask yourself these two important questions:

  1. Does it spark bliss? 
  2. What actionable steps do I need to take in order to obtain my goals and dreams?

Your bliss board is a foundation to help guide you to design the life you desire, and the home you adore. Collecting and displaying images to signify your ideal life can be fun. However, this can’t be said, you need to take action. For each image, draw up a simple plan highlighting the steps you need to take to get there.

Bliss Board in action

Vision Board | Bliss Board barbaraficarra.com

[Photo: Wellness & Health Designer™, Barbara Ficarra’s client creating and designing a bliss board for her new kitchen]

Vision Boards/Bliss Boards aren’t magical

Vision boards/bliss boards aren’t magical, mystical and instantaneous. Vision boards/bliss boards aren’t going to magically change your life. You are the only one that can take action to help change your life. Visualizing empowering and motivating images and words on a board can give you the fuel you need to take actionable steps to reach your goals and dreams.

Remember, small steps can have a huge impact. 

It appears that research is lacking on the effectiveness and direct benefits of vision boards, however there are benefits. According to Psychology Today, “the components of vision boarding have potential benefits for our well-being and success.” Furthermore, it states that vision boards may help you gain self-awareness and self-reflecting on what’s important to you.

Idea of manifestation

Manifest your ideas, hopes and desires. Psychology Today, defines manifestation as the “means to turn an idea into a reality.” Furthermore it states that “there actually is science behind the idea of manifestation—that is, turning an idea into a real thing.”

Caveats 

[Author’s note: Sources aren’t included in the Psychology Today post. The link shared about the science didn’t link to a scholarly journal article, but instead to a page for readers to sign up for a masterclass that costs a fee. While there are experts who believe in vision boards, and others who don’t––the main thing to remember is that in order to achieve your goals, you’re going to need to develop a plan, and take action. So, why not have your goals, dreams, and desires portrayed in images that you can see and relate to? Seeing those images may spark a little bliss. Remember, wishful thinking isn’t enough, you need to put your plan into action.]

Take action: The act of creating a vision board can bring joy and delight

Your bliss board can help you envision what you truly desire. Take action to help you achieve your goals, hopes and dreams. 

Additionally, the act of creating boards with inspiring and motivating images, photos and words, may bring you the bliss you desire. Visualizing your boards may motivate you to take action to achieve the life and home you desire. Visualize what you desire. Furthermore, the act of creating your vision board may bring you delight and joy.

 

How to create a bliss board in 5 steps

ONE

As a wellness & health designer™— First, I like to begin by asking clients to answer some simple questions to get them started.

  • How do you want to feel?
  • What do you love?
  • What inspires you?
  • What motivates you?
  • What empowers you?
  • What excites you?
  • Who do you want to be?
  • What do you want to experience?
  • What are your personal values?
  • What’s most important to you?
  • What does your dream job look like?
  • Is there a job that you think about all the time and envision yourself doing?
  • What does a happy and healthy life look like?
  • What does a happy and healthy home look like?
  • What does your ideal home look like?
  • What does your personal life look like?
  • What does your ideal life look life?
  • What do you want to achieve—personally, professionally and at home? 

While I love the idea of one bliss board with a culmination of all things you love, want and desire—I also love the idea of breaking down your visions into smaller nuggets. For example, instead of only having one bliss board, you can design multiple bliss boards based on your interests and goals. (See examples below.)

TWO

Secondly, find images, words, clip art etc. that highlights your visions. You can scour magazines, newspapers, brochures, postcards etc. and use them on your bliss board. You can also create digital versions.

THREE

Thirdly, place your images, words, texts, clip art on a cork board, canvas board or frame. (See below.)

FOUR

Fourth, create your action plan to achieve your goals.

FIVE

Lastly, display it where you can see it.

Examples of bliss boards

These bliss boards are unique to me. When I look at them, I know exactly what they mean. (They are in no particular order.) For example, there’s a bliss board for home, career, adventure, fitness, travel, beauty, nature, personal, self-care etc. To clarify, create your bliss boards in a way that is unique to you. We’re all going to have different goals and dreams. What’s blissful for one person, isn’t necessarily blissful for another. Choose what you love!

Pro Tip

First, when creating your vision board/bliss board, the most important thing to remember is that your board is unique to you. Secondly, when you look at your bliss board––every image, every word should be recognizable to you. It should bring you bliss, delight, joy and spark you into action. Thirdly, someone else that looks at it––may not have the same reaction as you. Lastly, the only thing that matters is that your bliss board is important to you.

 

5 Examples of Bliss Board Categories

1. PERSONAL

Health, Wellness, Fitness, Food, Love, Family, Relationships, Self-Care, Awareness, Gratitude, Kindness, Integrity, Social etc.: How do you see yourself? What do you want in your personal life? Who do you want to be? Do you want to spend more time with family and friends? Perhaps you want your relationships to sparkle? Maybe you want to become more active? Learn new things? Train for a marathon? Run a 5K? Learn boxing? Do you want to sleep better? Eat better? Communicate better? Do you want to be more assertive? More confident? Maybe you want to practice more self-care.

Perhaps you want to start a new hobby or finish a project that you started long ago. Maybe you want to focus on productivity? Do you want to become better organized at work and at home? Whatever your personal goals are––look for images, text, quotes etc. that represent your values and what you want. What steps are you going to take to achieve your personal dreams, goals and desires?

2. HOME

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”––Jane Austen

Home is life. What’s the overall look and feel of a home you desire? Create a bliss board for your home and then create a bliss board for each room in your home. Remember each bliss board should spark delight and joy. Choose images of homes you love. Find images for each room in your home. Notice the colors that you’re attracted to, notice the textures, notice the flow, light, air and space. Take notice the furniture placement, the decor. Is it minimal and nordic inspired? Or is it eclectic? Bohemian or traditional? Perhaps it’s a modern farmhouse, a Parisian inspired apartment or an ultra-modern luxury space.

Whatever speaks to you––use images, texts, quotes to inspire you into action to create a home you love. In addition, you can include paint and fabric swatches. What steps are you going to take to achieve your dream home?

  • Kitchen
  • Living Room
  • Dining Room
  • Bedroom(s)
  • Office
  • Fitness Space
  • Self-Care Space for reading, meditating, yoga etc.
  • Bathroom(s)
  • Other

3. CAREER

What do you want to be? What career do you think about all the time? Why do you want it? How do you want to feel when you’re at work? What are your work goals? Who do you admire in your profession? How do you want to elevate your career? Do you want to change careers? Perhaps you want to create your own business. When creating your bliss board, include anything related to the career you want, love and desire.

Maybe you want to write a book or create a blog or move up your organizational chain. Perhaps you want to write a novel and a screenplay. Maybe you want to become a partner in a law firm, a managing director on Wall Street? Or you want to start selling the jewelry you’ve been making or the pottery that started as a hobby. Do you want to be a reporter? Journalist? Whatever delights you––include it on your bliss board. Remember, to take action.

For the most part, your dream job isn’t going to come knocking at your door––take action and go get it. Now that you see your dream job on your bliss board, write out the steps to achieving it. What steps are you going to take to achieve your dream job?

4. TRAVEL

Where do you want to go?

“To travel is to live.” —Hans Christian Anderson

Where do you want to travel to? Where do you want to go for the first time or fifth? Seeing beautiful images of places you want to travel on your bliss board is a great idea because seeing beautiful images can absolutely spark delight. Remember, take action. What steps are you going to take to achieve your travel dreams?

5. BEAUTY

How do you want to look and feel? When it comes to beauty, what’s important to you? How do you envision beauty? What does ideal beauty mean to you? What does healthy beauty mean to you? What’s beautiful to you? Include it on your bliss board. Remember, beauty isn’t only physical––beauty is everywhere. Nature is beautiful. Moreover, spending time in nature can be very soothing, spark delight and calm your mood. Furthermore, nature can inspire your home decor. What steps are you going to take to achieve beauty, calm and delight?

Other ideas for your board

There are other areas that you can include in your bliss board. For instance, financial, education etc. However, you can also include those in your personal bliss board.

Cork Board, Canvas Board, Poster Board, Notebook, Digital Tool, Picture Frame

What material do you use to create your bliss board? You can choose anything you like. One person may love a cork board, another may love a poster board. Choose what works best for you.

My favorite is a painter’s canvas board because they come in many sizes and are relatively inexpensive. However, I also love a digital version which can be printed. Additionally, I love the look of a frame too.

Visualizing your idea of health and happiness—and a life and home you desire is key to achieving it. Another key point, make sure the board feels good when you look at it.

 

When creating your vision board/bliss board, the most important thing to remember is that your board is unique to you. When you look at your bliss board––every image, every word should be recognizable to you. It should bring you bliss, delight, joy and spark you into action. Someone else that looks at it––may not have the same reaction as you. The only thing that matters is that your bliss board is important to you.

 

––––Barbara Ficarra, RN,BSN, MPA | Lifestyle & Health Designer™––––

Conclusion

In conclusion––designing and creating a bliss board can be fun and it can help visualize what you want to achieve. However, remember––images, text, quotes, clip art placed on a board isn’t going to automatically and magically transform your life and home. Above all, you need to take action to make it happen. Small steps can have a huge impact. Finally, have fun!

––

Design your healthy life + home with passion and purpose. ––bf

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Sources

The Use of Vision Boards as a Therapeutic Intervention

What Is Manifestation? Science-Based Ways to Manifest

What is a Vision Board and Why Make One?

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