Giving my mind a direction.

I started making vision boards after watching The Secret. I was sceptical. Over time, I became sold on the practice.

My way of picturing the practice.

What do I want to work towards?

I put the things I want into pictures. Looking at the board gets me excited and brings those goals back into view.

What starts catching my attention?

I describe it as training my own algorithm. I begin looking for things connected with the direction I have chosen.

What will I do with what I notice?

The next step is an action: learn something, build something or solve a problem that moves me towards the goal.

What happened, and what comes next?

I return to the board, look at the progress and keep asking what I want to work towards. The picture gives me something to revisit.

I have been using vision boards for years. I keep making them, and I get excited looking at them. Each year I see things I pictured becoming part of my life.

My way of explaining it is that I am training my algorithm. I keep showing my mind what I want it to notice, and I give it problems I want to work on.

I experience my mind as a problem-solving tool. When I leave it without a useful problem, it can start inventing problems of its own. Giving it a direction feels useful to me.

That is my interpretation of why the practice helps. The board brings me back to what I want, and I still have to take action. I want to enjoy that work as I go.

What is the next action this picture points me towards?

“Training my algorithm” is my metaphor. This diagram illustrates my practice. Research on imagining desired futures gives a mixed picture: positive fantasies alone reduced energy in a set of experiments by Kappes and Oettingen. Their work supports distinguishing imagining an outcome from taking steps towards it. It does not establish a brain mechanism or guaranteed effect for vision boards.

Kappes & Oettingen (2011): Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy