As the calendar flips to a new year, the promise of fresh starts and potential fills the air. Using a vision board can help to focus on what lies ahead and guide meaningful change. 

According to University of North Carolina Greensboro, researchers found that vision boards help counselors and students explore identity. They discovered that vision boards can help with goal-setting because the boards help people see what they want and encourage them to work toward it. 

“I think people prefer to make vision boards because it’s easier to visualize how you want your life to look long-term and short-term,” senior Noja Mirhosseini said. “Visually, it’s easier to actually envision what you want to be and how you want to get there.”

According to Very Well Mind, a vision board, also known as a mood or action board, is a collage of images, quotes and visuals that reflect a person’s dreams and aspirations. It serves as a visual reminder of their intentions and provides ongoing inspiration and motivation. 

“Making a vision board helped me realize what I actually want for my future,” sophomore Kelsey Zrenda said. “It’s not just about cutting out pretty pictures,it’s about keeping my goals, like getting better grades and planning for college, right in front of me and reminding myself why I’m working so hard everyday.”

Better Up suggests taking time to journal or reflect before choosing images, which will help clarify one’s goals first. From dream jobs to personal values, the content is completely customizable. The goal is to create something that visually inspires a person every time they look at it, keeping New Year motivation strong long after January ends. 

“It’s hard to work at something if you don’t know exactly what you want or if you’re not sure about it,” junior Aditya Dhungel said. “I think if you are able to see and visualize it, it’s easier to put yourself in so you can achieve that goal. For me, I put a lot of doctor-related pictures and words of affirmation, such as ‘Never give up’.”

When it comes to crafting a vision board, there’s no single “right” way. As stated by Better Up, some go digital with tools like Canva or Pinterest, while others go hands-on with poster boards and magazine clippings. 

“I like it digitally so that I can edit them faster than if they were on paper,” junior Macie Brooks said. “It’s easier to make them digitally because I’m not the best [artist]. I usually put academic focused goals on my vision boards, nursing stuff because I want to be going into medicine and just the manifestation of good grades.” 

Beginning a new year with a vision board can also be a therapeutic and empowering practice for individuals as they begin the new year, according to Life Catalyst. It promotes stress reduction, enhances self-efficacy and reinforces positive beliefs in their ability to achieve goals. By engaging with their boards, they get motivation, resilience and overall emotional well-being.

“Creating a vision board at the start of the year really helped me clear my mind and focus on what I want to achieve,” Zrenda said. “It made me feel more confident in myself and reminded me that I can actually reach my goals.”