The frustration of inconsistent manifesting with vision boards

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why isn’t my vision board working?” I have!

I’ve been doing vision boards for years, but for a long time the results I got were pretty sketchy. Sometimes loads of things that I’d put on my board manifested, and other times it seemed like virtually nothing showed up.

It frustrated me that results weren’t CONSISTENT, so maybe they didn’t really work.

But I was still intrigued and I loved making them, because it was time carved out just for me to focus on my dreams, hopes and desires, and to get creative with colour, inspiring images and glue.

And after all, so many other people swore by them and got consistent results…

So what was I doing wrong?

Here are a few things I’ve learned in the meantime that make manifesting with vision boards more successful, and some reasons why your vision boarding doesn’t manifest what you want in a consistent way…

 What NOT to do…

A quick recap on vision boarding no-nos that mess up your manifesting 

• Don’t put things on your vision board when you’re coming from a place of lack – ie putting something on the board because you don’t want to feel the current absence of a thing or experience in your life. Focus on what you DO want that fires up your passion.
• Don’t put things on your board that you THINK you SHOULD want, simply because that’s what everyone wants – money, relationship, success, etc... That will be coming from your head, not your heart, and if you’re vague with asking the universe, you’ll get vague and unsatisfying results, so be specific in what you’re calling into your life.
• Don’t put things on your board that are really other people’s ideas of success rather than TRUE, AUTHENTIC desires that are ALIGNED with your soul and purpose. To recognise authentic juicy dreams and goals, you will probably feel a sense of expansion, upliftment, joy and some anticipation at being stretched, because you will be called to grow into who you need to be in order to become an energetic match for what you’re wanting to manifest.
• Let go of expectations on how and when things will show up. There are so many things that need to line up when there’s something big that you want to manifest. The real value of experimenting with manifesting is not to get what you want too easily, but to grow. It’s the journey which is important because it changes you into a bigger, more confident version of yourself with greater self-belief, and that spurs you onto the next milestone in your soul’s evolution. If you fall into self-doubt and give up too quickly because things aren’t manifesting fast enough, then you’ll miss this valuable lesson. And while the universe doesn’t necessarily bring you exactly what you want, it will bring you exactly what you need in every moment to help you evolve, even if that’s a challenging experience.

Tips to get the best results from a vision boarding session at home

Prepare sacred space.

Do what’s necessary to ring fence this precious time for yourself without distractions and set it up energetically by smudging with sage, palo santo or similar. You might like to do your own special cacao ceremony or other ritual to focus your energy and connect within to your Higher Self/Universe.

Have all you need on hand to feel relaxed, nurtured, comfortable and inspired: your favourite music, some herbal tea, treats, incense or essential oils in a diffuser.

Get your materials ready: magazines, paints, brushes and other art materials, scissors, glue, paper, card, a big art journal like the one I’m using, or a canvas.

Meditate and connect to your vision

Ground and centre yourself, and connect with the joyful energy of your desires, connecting to your heart and specifically with the feelings of how it will be when you have what you desire – step into that future version of you.

The purpose is to drop out of your thinking mind and into your body and your heart’s true intentions; those that are aligned with your soul’s potential – your own unique blueprint. 

When you get this bit right and choose images, words and colours from this vibration to put on your board, when you see your board, this energy will help to pull you through any bumps in the road that might distract or derail you. It helps you keep going as you grow into who you need to become in order to manifest what you want.

Staying tuned into the energy of your heart’s vision, with soft focus, scan quickly through magazines and pull out whole pages that touch you in some way. Don’t overthink this or get specific yet. Just create a pile from which to choose your final images from your board.

You probably won’t be able to fit everything on your board, so this choosing process is important. It gets you to prioritise what’s most important to you by feeling the energy of the words and images, and then you can let go of anything else. 

Get creative

So now you can get your scissors and glue out and start getting creative, placing the pieces in such a way that they feel good to look at. You can add any other embellishments with paint and colour, and if you don’t find the exact images to fit part of your vision, something non-negotiable, then you can paint, draw or write something to represent it and stick it on.

When you’re happy with what you’ve created, spend some minutes reflecting on what you’ve created. Make any amendments to make it feel absolutely how you want it to be. Then sit with it. Take it in. Absorb it. Feel it. Notice how it touches you and reconnect with your vision that seeded this creation.

Prepare your mindset for success

This is a good time to journal any thoughts, impressions or insights about what you experienced, how it will be when you have what you want, why it’s possible for you to have this and also any potential obstacles that you can anticipate, with potential creative solutions, positive affirmation statements and empowering beliefs that will help you move through them.

You can find a few more journal prompts for supercharging your manifesting in this blog I wrote a few years ago.

So that should help you create a vision board that is a pleasure to make and a joy to look at – one that actually WORKS!

Let me know how you get on!

If you’d like to join me in person at my vision boarding workshop in a beautiful country venue in Cheshire, all the details are below.