What drives you to achieve your goals? Is it an inspirational figure? A quote? An image? What makes you want to be successful? What does any of this have to do with a dream board? The answer is literally everything.

A dream board is a compilation of ideas, words, phrases, quotes, images, public figures, and anything else that reminds you of what you want to achieve. It brings everything that motivates you together, so you can visualize it.

If I already know what motivates me, why do I have to turn it into an arts and crafts project?

I’m SO happy you asked. A dream board serves as a visual representation of your dreams, your ideal life, and your ultimate goals for the future. It is commonly referred to as a vision board, so you can conceptualize what you want in life. It bridges your thoughts and ambitions in a way that allows you to see them working together. For those of you who have a difficult time following through with decisions, this is a physical reminder of your personal goals, so that you won’t forget or ignore them.

Where would I ever put such a dream board?

You would typically place it somewhere near your workspace in an easily viewable position. As a student, this could be near your desk or bedroom. When you’re losing steam and begin doubting yourself, you can simply glance at your dream board and see your goals staring down at you, waiting to be achieved. It’s a reminder of what you will accomplish if you keep going, so place your dream board somewhere you will see it most often.

Why should I create a dream board?

Passion

Don’t settle for thinking, “that will never happen to me.” Make it happen and strive for it. Things in life aren’t handed to you, so put in the effort if it’s something you strongly believe in or have a passion for.

Planning

If you have no idea where to start in order to make your goal a reality, creating a dream board may help you find the answer. You need to fully understand your goals in order to achieve them, so ask yourself the right questions. What are my goals? What steps do I need to take to get there? And what will I look like once I’ve achieved them?

Organization

If you suffer from cluttered thoughts like me, a dream board allows you to write them all down and get them out of your head. They may seem completely random and unrelated to one another at first, but after a while, they will begin to connect. Here, you can prioritize what you want to focus on immediately and what can wait until later. It’s a lot less overwhelming once you start connecting the dots.

Forward Thinking

These goals you’re setting won’t be achieved overnight, so prepare yourself to work hard for them. I’m a visual person, so it’s helpful to look up and see my favourite quotes, influential people, places I want to travel, and future goals acting as a layout of my future. Think of your dream board as a “personal goal map.”

Visualization

It sounds simplistic, but sometimes writing a list of your goals is not enough. We can misplace that list or even forget about it, unless you have it pinned to your wall in plain sight. Bring that list to life, visually. A dream board allows you to place images and prominent words on it, making it a motivational marker near your work space that you can’t miss.

Visualize what your goals are and make them happen. A dream board may be the first step in seeing them accomplished.