Vision Boards: Process & Manifestations

There is Great Power in Visualization”

both a Sister Scholar and Huffington Post stressed in their discussions on Vision Boards.

Over the past three years, I have been writing a vision statement. I reflect upon the previous year as a part of writing the current year’s vision statement. However, this will be the first year that I create a vision board. Gratefully I know Sister Scholars who are avid users of vision boards, so I asked them about their process, and how their vision boards have manifested in their lives.

The Process: Based upon on our conversations, I have learned a great deal about the process of creating and using vision boards.

1. First write down your vision statement

2. Have a Title for your Vision

3. For example–Ask yourself what is this my season for? What is this my year of? Or What does my statement reveal?

4. Have pictures, quotes, scriptures, and affirmations that support specific aspects of your vision

5. Have tasks to help you break down your goals into attainable steps

6. Some goals take longer to accomplish than others, so carrying some over into a new board establishes the diversity of completion

7. Some divide their boards into sections, whereas others have specific boards for specific goals

The Manifestation: In regards to the manifestation of the visions:

1. Many of what is on the board have been accomplished

2. The effectiveness of their vision boards shows how what we visualize shifts our mindset. We begin to act and make decisions based upon our expectations, in other words–bringing our futures into our present.

3. Some aspects of our visions don’t come true for a range of reasons:

a. We need to reprioritize in order to make it happen

b. It was not meant to be. As one sister told me, I had to learn that some goals are not what God wants for me.

Two key words that I gleaned from our conversations were goals and affirmations.

Goals: In regards to goals, I read an article, Sister Circles as a Culturally Relevant Intervention for Anxious African American Women, by Angela Neal-Barnett et al., which includes a very helpful and simple action plan for accomplishing goals. Although, the article specifically addresses anxiety, this action plan can be used for other goals.

See end of post for Neal-Barnett’s et. al (2011) “Action Plan for Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks.”

Affirmations:

I am currently reading an anthology, My soul is a witness: African-American women’s spirituality, edited by Gloria Wade-Gayles, which includes a short essay, The Power of Affirmations by Marita Golden. Golden provides an overview of her definitions of affirmations, how she has used them in her life, and some of her affirmations. Golden defines affirmations as a form of prayer, and her examples on how she has used them establishes that they aid in the navigation of life, and character development. Additionally, Golden emphasizes that simply uttering an affirmation does not make something instantly change, but rather it can be a guide for changing a behavior, accomplishing a goal, and adopting a new mindset. Importantly, affirmations are a reminder of the Christian Proverb 18: 21- The tongue has the power of life and death.

Neal-Barnett et al. (2011) “Action Plan for Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks.”

Figure Source: Neal-Barnett, A., Stadulis, R., Murray, M., Payne, M.R., Thomas, A., & Salley , B.B. (2011). Sister Circles as a Culturally Relevant Intervention for Anxious Black Women. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(3), 266-273.

#visionboards #affirmations #career #life #scholar #goals