A Collage, a Vision Board, & Action
“It works if you work it”
Simple tried and true – it’s an adage heard often in 12 Step fellowships.
So what is a “Vision Board”?
It’s a tool for creating authentic outcomes in our own, ideal life. And yes, they work.
This Huffington Post article got my attention in early 2015: “The Reason Vision Boards Work and How to Make One“.
At the time, the term “Vision Board” was new to me and I was skeptical. Somehow I’d missed the years of evangelizing by Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, and other celebrities.
Intuitively, I knew they worked, it turns out I’d been doing them for years.
It Works…
Nearly 30 years ago, long before Vision Boards, I discovered a book called The Artist’s Way.
Its 12-chapters are designed to be covered over the course of 12 weeks - and each contains assignment.
During Week 7, a “collage” is assigned.
The first time I did one it opened the door to a career change and more lucrative work; five years later I revisited the process and a second collage inspired a major shift personally. Fifteen years ago, another group and a collage catalyzed a move from America to Ireland.
Twice a year now, I usher Artist’s Way groups through the process of making their own – and often, I join them.
Updating the images provides an insight into the effectiveness of our efforts.
It’s like the infernal voice emanating from a GPS after a wrong turn: “Recalculating“, a call to action.
Re-route and get focused on a new path.
Clarity about your destination keeps the chaos, distractions, and busy-ness of life at bay.
Consider this - Seeing is Believing: the Power of Visualization:
There’s ample science to support the fact that “Mental practice can get you closer to where you want to be in life, and it can prepare you for success!”
If you work it…
Doing a collage or a vision board just didn’t seem like work, so I was skeptical.
And thankfully it’s not! But occasionally, we need reminding: work isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!
Work is our linear, thinking, logical brain, in action.
Our logical brain is our “censor”. The Artist’s Way author, Julia Cameron advises: “Logic brain was and is our survival brain. It works on known principles. Anything unknown is perceived as wrong and possibly dangerous…the brain we usually listen to, especially when we are telling ourselves to be sensible.”
Creativity resides in our “Artist Brain”. It’s our inventor, it’s childlike, curious, and apt to take chances – collecting images, being present to possibilities while silencing the “censor”, is what’s unleashed while we’re creating the boards.
To quote Stephan Spencer’s article – Vision Boards, Because New Year’s Resolutions Were So Last Year
“Vision boards help make all of the jumbled, abstract feelings in your head into a foreseeable future. If you’re skeptical about making a vision board yourself, ask what you really have to lose by trying it. Not really much. But perhaps it makes you more in tune to the repercussions of your choices and how they align with getting what you want.”
Images are extremely powerful.
This photo was taken by Riley Robinson during a 2003 course we attended in Ireland.
I made it my screen saver.
Five years later, without having planned it - I was living in that very village.
Action
Aligning our intention with our values, staying tuned in to the repercussions of our choices, and focus, is what ultimately determines whether we can sustain the changes we “think” we want to make.
Let’s get back to that Logical Brain and the Artist Brain.
Creating the vision, imagining what is unknown, requires turning off the logical brain and tuning in to the associative and freewheeling nature of our ‘Artist Brain’.
Keep the vision board up – and return to its message frequently, because –
“It’s like selling our own ideas to ourselves.”*
To that end, consider attending one of our regularly scheduled Vision Board Workshops.
They provide a full-day immersive experience during which you can relax, imagine and focus on achieving clarity in the company of like-minded people.
Groups challenge each other.
On the day, you’ll find you dig deeper and are supported.
Later, should you find your enthusiasm is waning, your peers are there to reflect back the best of what they’ve heard you commit to.
