One of my favorite memories in 2025 was inviting my yoga students over and creating vision boards together for the new year. That simple process alone is enough to help visualize goals, but when you keep a vision board in a place where you can see it all year, you can continually reflect on what you want to achieve and remind yourself to go after your dreams.
If you use Pinterest, you’re already familiar with the vision board process. It’s collecting a set of images and words that represent your goals, and arranging them together into one space where they all can gather energy as you work toward your aspirations.
There’s research that reinforces the power of vision boards. Consider:
- A study published in the “Journal of Creativity in Mental Health” found vision boards help people define their identities “in positive and aspirational ways that build self-efficacy”.
- Vision boards help prime the brain to recognize opportunities you might otherwise not pay attention to, according to neuroscience research.
- One in five successful entrepreneurs uses a vision board when starting a business. More than three-quarters (76%) who do report their progress aligns with their vision, while 82% say they’ve accomplished more than half of their business goals since they created a vision board, “Forbes” reports.
- A study published by the American Psychological Association found there’s a positive link between optimism and goal achievement. Looking at a vision board can provide a dose of positivity as you work toward your goals.
Plus, creating a vision board is just plain fun! I’ve worked on vision boards with fellow students in my Yoga Teacher Training, as well as had vision board parties with networking groups and at friends’ houses.
If you want to set yourself up for success in 2026, a vision board could help you along the way. Here are some tips for creating your own vision board.
1. Select Your Base
You can indeed use Pinterest to create a digital vision board, or make a physical one you can store in a place you’ll see it throughout the year. Choose sturdy poster board or something even thicker that you can glue items onto.
If you have flat mementos that are otherwise forgotten in a box or closet, like a vinyl record holder or coffee table book that was passed down, you could even use that as your vision board base. The object already holds some special meaning, and it gives you a reason to pull it out and put it on display.
2. Choose Your Images
Reach out to friends who have old magazines they’re willing to donate to you. Cut out words and pictures that speak to your heart in the moment, and whittle down the final ones you’ll feature later. You can also buy themed magazines, like ones on health, wellness, cooking or fitness, and use those for good images for your vision board.
Another idea is to find images online and print them out. You can also use markers to draw or write what you’re envisioning on your vision board.
3. Use the Right Supplies
For a vision board on poster board, glue sticks are great, because they’ll adhere magazine and paper images down flatly on your vision board. If you are using decorative objects that are thicker in size, you can use squeeze glue to adhere them.
Stickers can also add something playful to your vision board. Glitter glue and puff paint are other tools you can use to easily add more sparkle to your vision board.
4. Choose a Home for Your Vision Board
If you made your vision board on Pinterest, you might bookmark the site and give yourself a reminder to look at it daily. I use a digital task calendar I create with Google Docs, where I write out every task I have for each day. That’s where I’d add a “Look at vision board” reminder.
For a physical vision board, place it in a spot where you’ll see it every day. For me, it’s in my home office. If you commute to work, you could place it in your cubicle. If you have nowhere to store it long-term, you could also set reminders for yourself to pull it out and look at it at least once a week.
5. View Your Vision Board Intentionally
As you look at your vision board, take some time to focus on at least one or two items every time you view the board. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes. Meditate on that item, either by visualizing how it would look, or using it as a mantra for your day.
For example, on my vision board, I have the word “Confidence” displayed. I might look at the word, close my eyes, and repeat to myself as I breathe deeply, “I am confident.” Just thinking about that mantra is enough to imbue a sense of confidence I can carry through the rest of my day.
I have an image of someone in workout clothes doing a weighted arm workout. Looking at that, I can check in – do I have time to lift weights with my arms today? If not today, when can I commit to doing that? How am I going to feel after that arm workout – stronger? More empowered? I can use the image to prime me for my workout and follow through on doing it.
Last year, I also placed images of a couple places I wanted to travel to that year: Greece and Puerto Rico. I used those images to envision what a vacation there would be like and put myself in those locales mentally. Doing so made me relaxed, and I did indeed go to both places last year!
Another image I included was one of music notes. I know what a positive influence music has on me. Making music a part of each day definitely enhances my mood. When I looked at the music notes, I reminded myself to either play music on my piano or listen to music while I was doing something, like taking a walk or cooking.
The point is, while creating a vision board in itself is powerful for identifying and gathering your goals in one place, the vision board becomes even more effective when you work with it. Take a few minutes to meditate with your vision board, so you can develop the image of your goal achievement in your mind and take the steps you need to get there.
What’s on Your 2026 Vision Board?
Now that we’ve entered a new year, it’s a great time to create your own vision board and work toward achieving your goals in 2026.
I’d love to hear what’s on your vision board for 2026! Share your goals in the comments. I’m cheering you on!
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