Vision Boards and Creativity

Vision_Board_Sept_2010_inprogress (Photo credit: WiseWellWoman)

Children are naturally creative and naturally confident of their ability. Ask any class of kindergarteners if they can draw or sing or dance and every hand goes up. Ask a class of high school students and you may get a few hands in the air. As we get older we become much more critical of our abilities and much less willing to venture into experiences where we don't excel. Part of being creative is to continually be willing to try new things and to look at the world in different ways.

One new way that I have begun to combine creativity and goal setting is by creating a vision board.  I first began doing this with families  who were involved in a class on developing a family mission statement and then from that mission statement, creating a vision for their family.  At the end of the class, each family created a vision board that illustrated with pictures, photographs, and words, their family mission and vision.  It was really fun and eye-opening.  Because of this experience and the wise words of other bloggers, I have begun creating vision boards for each of the major goals in my life.  They are great fun to create and take me back to my high school days when I loved to create collages.  I especially like words and quotes as much as pictures taken from magazines.  Once I make the board, I display it in a prominent place where I can reflect on it each morning as I review my goals and determine what I plan to accomplish for the day.  It is surprisingly energizing and motivating to gaze at.  Visioning is of course a powerful tool for creating your future and this is one way to be creative and playful at the same time.  Even young children can create vision boards about what they want to accomplish in the next school year, over the summer, or when they grow up.  It is a fun way for families to interact over shared goals and becomes a visual reminder each day of what the individual or family is about.  What about you?  Have you ever created a vision board?  How do you use visualizing to achieve goals?

Some great books on visioning: