You manifested your vision, and now you’re living your deepest calling. Or, at least, that’s what you tell yourself. But you don’t sleep well. Your body feels sluggish and unsteady. Your appetite is nearly non-existent, as are your self-care routines. Worst of all, the intense workload is creating physical or attentive distance between you and the people and activities you love.

Still, the thought of leaving is inconceivable. After all, this was your vision; how could it have led you astray? And how could there possibly be a greater calling for you than this?

This scenario played out in my life years ago, when I followed a vision to open up a yoga studio. It is only now, having left that world to become an author and freelance writer, can I see how my vision prevented me from discovering my true calling for far too long.

Heeding a Calling

“There is no greater gift to give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive.” – Oprah

You’ve got a great vision for yourself. You picture yourself doing this far into the future. But is it a vision that is in support of your greater calling? Or is it merely a shiny ball, keeping you distracted and too busy to fulfill something richer? Here are four questions to ask yourself to find out:

1. Where did the vision originate?

A true calling is often so unusual and unique, it will make your ego—which is more comfortable with conformity and mix-and-match creations— quake in its boots. True callings originate far beyond an ego’s temporary hungers for validity and approval. If the vision originated to soothe your ego’s lack of confidence or as a way to gain desired acceptance, it’s likely not a true calling but a temporary vision. On the other hand, if your vision scares you (and your ego), it might well be the real deal.

2. Who is the vision trying to please?

A vision can be born out of other people’s opinions and expectations for us without us actually knowing it. For example, you envision yourself becoming a doctor because your parents were doctors. You plan to go into theater or sports because that’s what the people around you enjoy. You might be a natural at something, even if it would be better as a hobby.

A calling, on the other hand, is pure and untouchable. It doesn’t try to please anyone but merely seeks expression. And that’s okay, because when you find your calling, it won’t matter to you what anyone thinks. One hint: A powerful calling is often more in line with what society needs rather than what it wants.

3. How far can you trace the vision back?

Our calling is an innate part of us; it was born when we were. But, as we grow older and get inundated with societal influences, our early loves and passions can get buried or silenced. 

Then, moving through life, we might become infatuated with some new thing, and immediately determine that that’s our vision for the future. But like many doomed love affairs, an infatuation often cools and interest wanes. 

Not so with a calling. You’ll know something is a true calling if it never goes away, no matter what we might cover it up with temporarily. Try thinking back to what you loved most as a child. Were you a natural peacemaker? Did you love organizational or strategic games? Did you take diligent notes? Your childhood loves and innate talents can give you a clue as to what your true calling is.

4. What kind of payment/sacrifice is your vision asking for?

Both a temporary vision and a deeper calling will demand certain sacrifices from us to bring them to fruition. But what, exactly, are they demanding? Are they demanding you walk away from people and activities you love? Are they overshadowing your needs for leisure, travel, or other personal desires? If your vision forces you to choose between the other activities and people you love, it might not be a true calling.

True callings magically and seamlessly weave all the parts of ourselves together into a cohesive sense of rightness. Keep in mind this simple wisdom: Temporary visions can swallow us whole. True callings make us whole.

Finding your calling can provide a sense of wholeness and rightness that breathes life into the deepest, truest voice within you. When in the throws of following a vision, it can be easy to assume you’ve found your calling. But even the most potent vision is not necessarily a reflection of our calling. So, look closely at where your vision originated, who it is pleasing, how far you can trace it back, and what kind of payment it is demanding. Then and only then can you gain the clarity you need and, if necessary, ditch your vision to make space for your calling.

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Vision boards can be a lot of fun to make once you’ve got all the materials gathered up and you know exactly what to focus on — whether that’s your best life, your goals for the year, or your lifetime bucket list. 

That said, you’re not alone if you could use a little help knowing where to begin.

The variety of vision boards keeps growing.

That’s where the vision board templates in this post come in. 

What is a Vision Board Template? 

A vision board template — or dream board template — is an artful arrangement of words and images representing some aspect of the life you want to live. 

It can also provide a visible tribute to that life in its totality. It’s up to you how complex or how focused you want your vision board to be. 

The point is to get clear on what you want and to create something you can put on display. Because keeping your dreams visible is part of what makes these boards so effective. 

Why Use a Dream Board Template? 

Here are just a few benefits to using a template for your physical or digital vision board: 

• Questions and prompts are often included. 
• With some, the design and colors are already in place. 
• Many have options for customization of text, colors, and design. 

You know better than anyone what you want to see on your finished dream board. 

Vision Board Template: 31 Unique Ideas to Consider 

Whether you’re looking for a free online vision board template or a vision board maker (physical or digital), you’ll find plenty of compelling options in the list below. Make a note of those that stand out for you. 

1. Free Canva Photo Collage Templates

Canva’s photo collage template is versatile and makes it easy to drop in the images you want, whether you upload them from your machine or choose them from Canva’s own image library. Click and drag images to different spaces until you’re happy with the layout.

2. Free Canva Desktop Wallpaper Templates

If you’re looking for something you can easily turn into your desktop wallpaper, Canva has a template for that. Add a picture grid if you’re looking to assemble digital images in a particular arrangement. Otherwise, you can upload and arrange them just as you like. 

3. Free Canva Phone Wallpaper Templates

Pair the template with a photo grid and fill each window with the image of your choice before downloading it and setting it as your phone’s wallpaper. If you’re not creating it using Canva’s phone app, you can send a copy to the email client you use on your phone. 

4. Free Canva Vision Board Template (via Best Self Mom)

Your vision board is your own creation, but using a template like this free downloadable one from BestSelfMom.com can get you started more quickly. In any case, there’s no harm in checking it out to see whether it fits your preferred approach to vision boards. 

5. Free Vision Board Templates (via Life with Rach)

Choose from four themed styles and fill in the spaces with images that correspond to the category for each. There’s also a link to download a digital vision board template, which takes you right to Canva so you can easily edit the text and add images.

6. Printable Vision Board Template (via Carrie Elle)

Here’s another free download from a blogger with a passion for vision boards. Print a copy of the empty template and assemble it offline to hang on the wall or add to your planner. The same post also has a link to downloadable vision board quote cards. 

7. Mood Board Template (via Laurel Harrison)

Editable and customizable, these four free templates take the stress out of designing the perfect mood board. Follow the instructions provided to create something you can print and display. The links take you right to Canva, so you can add your own images and customize the fonts and colors. 

8. Three-Panel Layout (via Eisenhower)

This one splits the vision board into three main categories of your choice. Here’s an example of three popular categories: 

• Self — Fitness, Food & Lifestyle
• Social — Family, Friends & Community
• Security — Career, Freedom & Financial 

9. Vision Board Kit (via Making Life Blissful)

This board kit ivides your goals into six categories: self-care, talents, relationships, just-for-fun, education, and health. The kit comes with supplies for creating a vision board, making this project as easy to begin and as enjoyable to work on as possible. 

10. Canva’s “Adventure Awaits” Template (via A Subtle Revelry)

Download the free PDF template and print it to add your own words and images. Or use it as a guide for designing your own on a separate background. If you don’t like the color scheme, you can choose your own and create something similar on Canva. 

11. Vision Board Template (via Kapwing)

Click on the link to access the free template and edit the images and placement right in your browser using the Kapwing studio editor. Edit the text, fonts, and colors. Click on “Images” to do a search using online photo libraries like Pexel, Unsplash, and Pixabay. 

12. “The Best Year” Printable Worksheet (via Moritz Fine Designs)

Presented as the “best year reflection and goal setting worksheet for kids and adults,” this download makes it easier to assess where you are and visualize where you want to be and what you want to accomplish this year. 

13. “This Year I Will” Template (via Sage Grayson)

This is a printable template with overlapping circles — each focused on something you want to add to or remove from your life this year. The blog post explains how to make the best use of it, outlining five steps of a Life Editing Process. 

14. Big Dreams + Goal Inspiration (via Busy Blog Life)

This one is designed to be filled and modified online using PicMonkey. Access the templates using the downloadable vision board ebook. Once finished, you can download and publish it on your own website or blog or share it on social media. 

15. Feng Shui Layout Template (via La Pulia) 

The creator of this template has included a helpful FAQ section to address common questions. At the bottom, you’ll see the link to the free template with the Feng Shui grid. Use it to guide you in your selection of images and words for your vision board. 

16. Big Ideas Template (PicMonkey)

Like Canva, PicMonkey has a selection of editable, ready-made templates you can use to create a digital vision board. Follow the link to see a helpful guide on how to use PicMonkey to create a digital vision board with one of its pre-made templates.

17. Kid’s Vision Board Template (via With Love From Freddie)

Use the downloadable PDFto give your kids a visual guide to creating their first (or latest) vision boards. You don’t have to know “who you want to be when you grow up.” Better to start just where they are than to wait for inspiration.

18. Goal Digger Template (via House Mix)

This one works well for New Year’s Resolutions or for any time you want to get clear on your goals for every area of your life. Click on the worksheet to download a high-resolution JPEG image. 

19. “Your Best Self” Template (via The Happiness Planner)

For only $1.50, you can download “30 Days of Self-Awareness” — a printable best self worksheet from TheHappinessPlanner.com. For the next 30 days, you’ll write one word that describes you or is related to you. Then give it a score based on how strongly it resonates with you.

20. “I Promise Myself” (via Amazer)

This one comes already decorated. Fill in the empty shapes with the images of your choice to complete the board. For more options, Amazer.com has a digital vision board tool that allows you to create a polished, high-resolution board. You can then pay to download it or order a printed version — either on photo paper or as a premium canvas print or painting. 

21. The “Nomadic Dream” Template (via Desygner)

Desynger creates a variety of vision board templates with different themes. Click on “Use Template” to share it on social media and gain access to it. Once you share it, Desynger invites you to create an account before taking you to its own studio editor. There you’ll modify the design and download it for online publication or for printing. 

22. Growth Mindset Vision Board (via Desygner)

Here’s another template by Desygner.com, this one using the color green to symbolize growth and refreshment. If you’re already a member, all you need to do to gain access is to share a link, sign in, and make your edits in the Desygner editor. 

23. What Is and What Could Be (via Christie Zimmer)

With this template, you’ll take stock of where you are now and get clear on where you want to be. For only one Canadian dollar, you can download the journal page and get started filling it in. 

Sometimes you don’t know what you want until you start writing about it. 

24. Financial Vision Board (via Making Your Money Matter)

Put your financial goals into words with this colorful template by MakingYourMoneyMatter.com. Support them with images representing the life you’ll be living as you work toward them and when you reach them. 

While you’re at it, encourage your older kids to do the same and create their own.

25. Free Vision Board Worksheet / Template by HeyAlexi.com (Download)

Sign up to get the free download, which includes a filled-out example to get you thinking of how you picture your best self and the life you want to live. The blogger responsible for its design created it on Canva (free) and is happy to share the result of her labors. 

26. Etsy Vision Board Templates 

Check out various options — from planners to printable vision board kids to quotes, clip-art, and other materials for your DIY vision board.

Etsy creators are motivated to stand out with top-notch quality and customer service (the competition on this platform is fierce), so it isn’t hard to find products you’ll enjoy using. 

27. PicMonkey Vision Board Maker Templates

PicMonkey has its own guide to creating vision boards, using its own templates and online editor.

Choose a color palette or design that appeals to you, add images and customizable text, and download a digital copy for printing or posting online. 

28. PowerSlides Vision Board Templates 

If one page just isn’t enough to contain and organize all your ideas, why not create a PowerPoint slideshow. Or, if you prefer using Google Suite, use any of the pre-made templates on Google Slides — like the “Big Idea,” “Photo Album,” or “Lookbook.”  Check out the template gallery for either option and start with one that appeals to you. 

29. Vision Board Templates for Students (MoneyProdigy.com)

Get your students hooked on creating their own dream boards for their present and future. Encourage them to dream big, visualize the life they want, and find the words and images to support it. Choose from seven downloadable PDF worksheets to jumpstart their creativity and get them thinking about their future selves. 

30. Free Printable Vision Board Template (via Healthy Happy Impactful)

Here’s another free downloadable vision board template you can print and fill out with words, stickers, and image clippings. Click on the link to download and save the template. You can even add text using a PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat Reader DC if you’d rather fill it out before printing it. 

31. Barely Keeping It Together Templates 

Sign up, and they’ll send you six free Canva vision board templates to work with. Add the images of your choice and edit the text to make it more personal. One link gives you templates for your phone’s lock screen and home screen. The other link gives you a template for your desktop wallpaper. 

Now that you have 31 thoughtfully designed vision board templates to choose from, which one will you try first? 

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Creating a vision of the future is a process that begins with your identifying what’s most important to you. 

It begins with describing the life you want without sparing the details.

To create a vision in words, you first need to see one in your mind.

And to do that, you need to know exactly what you want to see in every area of your life. 

The nine steps described below can help you overcome your hesitation and finally articulate a vision that’s 100% yours. 

What Is a Vision for Life? 

Your vision for the future has to do with every area of your life. Describe what you want for each of those areas, and you can then sum up your vision in a brief vision statement.

It’s similar to a mission statement but with a crucial difference: mission statements focus on the present — what you’re doing now to realize your personal or professional mission.

Your vision focuses on the future. 

Start by listing each of the categories and brainstorming what you want for each: 

• Relationships — a loving and compatible partner; good relationships with your children; close friends who are always there for you (and vice-versa).
• Health — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health; an enjoyable and effective fitness routine; optimal nutrition; an empathetic/challenging therapist.
• Self-Care — taking time every day to meet your own needs.
• Career — getting started, building your brand, advancing in your chosen field.
• Finances — paying off debt, saving for retirement, setting aside money for travel.
• Home — buying a house, making DIY home repairs, finding an apartment you love.
• Education — college degree, reading, online courses, certifications, internships.
• Recreation — travel and adventure, hobbies, new challenges, vacation plans.
• Community — volunteering; supporting causes you believe in; joining protests.

Think of the categories you could expand on for a whole life vision board or a series of boards focusing on specific areas of your life. Expand on every one of them. 

9 Steps to Create A Vision for the Future 

With all the categories to consider for your overall vision, the prospect of summing it all up in one statement can seem impossible or reductive.

The following nine steps can help you work through the process and create a statement covering all the bases. 

1. Deepen Your Self-Knowledge

Get to know yourself and your deepest desires better. Otherwise, you’re likely to repeat the visions you’ve heard others express and adopt them as your own. 

They sound admirable enough, after all. Maybe that’s what you (should) want, too. 

As you grow, your vision will likely change — partly because you have a better grasp of who you are and what you want and partly because you’ve learned to think for yourself. You’ve decided to stop basing your life on other people’s values and priorities.

Your identity, your life, and your vision are yours and no one else’s. 

2. Ask Yourself the Right Questions

Make a list of questions related to the categories listed above, using the following examples as a starting point: 

• Relationships — How do you see your closest relationships? What changes do you want to see? What seems impossible right now but still highly desirable?
• Health —What health challenges are you facing? Who will help you face them? What progress do you want to see?
• Career — What is your dream career, and why? Where do you want to be with your career 3/5/10 years from now? What do you need to get there?

Ask yourself each question and answer it truthfully. 

3. Review Your Past

What can you learn from your past and your present to help you build your vision for the future? 

What opportunities have you passed up because you feared the consequences of failure or because you knew it didn’t match your life or habits, and you feared the cost? 

What choices have you made that have taken you in directions you didn’t want to go? And what have you learned from your experiences? 

You can take responsibility for your choices without torturing yourself for them. How do past decisions relate to your habits? And what will you do differently from now on? 

4. Let Your Imagination Run Wild (and Take Notes)

Give yourself permission to daydream and imagine your life as you want it to be. 

Even if some parts of it seem impossible or out of your reach, there’s no telling what solutions you might think of if you’ll just allow yourself to dream. If you still ache for something lacking in your life, giving up on it won’t make the ache fade away. 

If anything, it just goes deeper and affects more of your life until you decide to do something about it. Daydreaming about what you want gets your mind working on how to get there. Don’t forget to take notes. 

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5. Plan Backwards

Once you know what you want your future to look like, you can plan for the present by asking yourself what needs to change and how you’ll change them. 

List the things in your present that you don’t want to see in your future. List the things in your future that you don’t see in your present. Then outline the changes you need to make and the habits you’ll need to build to make those changes stick. 

6. Choose New Habits

Decide what new habits you want to build to replace those holding you back and keeping your mind in a perpetual fog. 

With those new habits come new thoughts — ideas you haven’t thought of before. This is the power of good habits; what you do influences how you think. Your patterns of acting influence your habits of thinking. 

Choose those that will get you closer to your vision.  

7. Create a Vision Board

You can create a large one to hang up in your home or workspace or use a journal or scrapbook to create something more portable. The point is to make a physical and visible representation of what you want to see in your future (as well as your present). 

Every vision board should reflect what you want, not what you think you should want. 

If you’d rather create something you can access on your phone or tablet, you can also create a vision board on a website or using an app. 

8. Find Inspiration in the Visions of Others

Look to examples of other’s visions and pay attention to your internal responses to each. Retain what resonates; disregard what doesn’t. 

And don’t forget to talk to the people you want to keep in your life to get their insights on your life in the present and what they’d like to see in your future. 

Ask them about their own personal visions, too. What could you do to help them create their own visions for the future?

While drawing inspiration from them, you might also inspire them to take more consistent action toward their own goals. 

9. Sum Up Your Vision

Take what you’ve written so far about your vision for the future, and sum it up in a brief but powerful statement. 

If you write stories, think about how you put yourself in your main characters’ heads and write dialogue by essentially taking dictation for the voices you hear. 

Imagine one of your characters is having an epiphany and finally articulating what they genuinely want — with a few well-chosen words. 

Sample Statement of a Vision of the Future

If you’re not sure how to sum up the results of the steps described above, reading some examples of personal vision statements, like the ones in this post, can bring it all together. 

Here’s one example to get you started: 

“ Although I value my introverted nature, I intend to experience more human connections in my life. I recognize the value of stretching myself and interacting with more people.

To this end, I am setting the goals of joining a book club and hosting dinner parties twice a year.” 

Ready to Create Your Life Vision?

Now that you know how to create a vision for the future, what will you do today to get closer to articulating your own? What will you do to get closer to it?

You are responsible for the path you’re on right now. Take a hard look at where that path is leading you and ask yourself if that’s where you want to be. 

If it’s not, look at where you do want to be, and find out what it will take to get there. 

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What supplies do you need for a vision board?

You’ve heard so much about the benefits of creating one.

Maybe you’ve even searched Pinterest for ideas. 

And now that you’re ready to make one of your own, you want to know more about the materials you’ll need.

With this post, you’ll finally be able to create your vision board supply list. 

You can’t simply buy a vision board ready-made, after all.

Each one is deeply personal, and buying the materials for it is half the fun. 

7 Vision Board Supplies 

Welcome to our simple but comprehensive list of vision board materials — simple because we want this process to be as enjoyable and straightforward for you as possible. 

The comprehensive bit is there because you deserve a generous helping of high-quality, affordable options.

We want your favorite vision boards to last for years — whether you make several and store the old ones or make a few you update as you go. 

Look through the main supply categories for ideas, and make a list of your own. 

1. Your Vision Board Background

Posterboard is a popular option for vision boards because it’s inexpensive and easy to hang on the wall or store in an art folder for future reference. 

If you’d rather not use poster board, you can also create your vision board using any of the following durable options: 

Corkboards, like this one, offer the following advantages over posterboard: 

• More durable and higher quality
• Pushpins allow you to update your board to reflect changing goals
• Availability in a variety of sizes, colors, and frame options

If you’d like to dress up your board’s background a bit more, you can use patterned scrapbook paper, fabric, or kraft paper. Use whatever you’d like to see peeking out behind your arrangement of images, words, and phrases. 

Or you use stencils and ink to decorate a plain cork background. 

If you’re looking for something more portable, consider a hardbound sketchbook or a spiral-bound sketch pad. If you enjoy drawing, you can even design your own artistic background or border for each page. 

2. Scissors

If you’re using magazines or other print media, you’ll need something to cut out the images, words, and phrases you’ll want for your vision board.

And depending on how fancy you want your edges to be, you have two choices: 

A basic pair of craft scissors is probably all you’ll need for this project, and you’ll want something comfortable to hold and to use repeatedly. 

This pair has soft grip handles and works well for both right-handed and left-handed use. The titanium-fused blades stay sharp for over 100,000 cuts. 

Aside from scissors, you might find other scrapbooking tools useful or fun to use when decorating your vision board. 

3. Fasteners 

Your choice of fasteners will depend on your background. For posterboard, go with double-sided tape or glue sticks rather than messy bottles of school glue. Double-sided tape or foam squares make it easier to attach your pictures without tape showing. 

You can also use washi tape in a variety of colors and patterns. 

For corkboards, you can use decorative push pins or thumbtacks in a variety of colors and sizes. You can even find push pins with tiny clips if you’d like to add images without putting holes in them. 

Or find push pins or thumbtacks representing something you love, whether that’s butterflies, owls, bees, or something else. 

For whiteboards, use magnets or magnet clips. Washi tape also works. And don’t forget to pick up some fresh dry erase markers in a variety of colors. 

4. Markers

Use markers with tips bold enough you’ll be able to read your writing from across the room. Think Sharpie markers and calligraphy or brush pens in all the colors you’re likely to use. For extra sparkle, try these glitter brush pens. 

Depending on the look you’re going for, you might stick with a mix of metallic colors (gold, silver, and bronze) and shiny black. Or maybe this will be a more colorful display. 

Go with your leanings and create something that complements your home or workspace. 

5. Clippings of Pictures, Words, and Phrases

Pick out a stack of magazines or other print media with images and text that relate to your goals: 

• Health and Fitness
• Home improvement
• Career
• Finances
• Travel

Carefully cut out your favorites and set them aside until you’re ready to arrange them on your board. If you have a practice space handy, you can arrange the images in various ways before affixing them to your vision board. 

If you’d rather not buy a pile of magazines, try this Vision Board Clipart Book, which has over 400 pictures, words, and phrases to look through and either add to this board or save for future projects. 

6. Stickers 

These can be fun to pick out, whether you’re shopping for them on Amazon or browsing in a craft or office supply store. You can either choose stickers that fit a preplanned color scheme or let your choice of stickers guide the design of the whole project. 

Depending on your mood or the overall aesthetic you’re going for, you have a wide variety of options to consider, including the following: 

You can even create stickers of your own with this machine. Or buy sheets of adhesive-backed vinyl sheets and use scrapbooking tools to create the shapes you want before decorating them with markers, glitter, or both. 

7. Inspirational Quotes

You can find plenty of these online, some of which you can print out and attach to your board. You can also find stickers and postcards with quotes on them. 

When you have neither of those available, use a brush pen or chisel-tip Sharpie marker to carefully write the quotes you want on your board before you arrange the pictures. 

If you’re using a corkboard, an added backing of kraft paper or construction paper in lighter colors can make your quotes easier to see. 

If you’re looking for inspirational quotes, you’ll find plenty here as well as on sites like BrainyQuotes and GoodReads. 

8. Optional Supplies

Now that you know the basics and have a better idea of what you’d like to collect for your vision board, think about what you’d like to have on hand to make the process more enjoyable for you and your co-creators. 

Some of these you’ll likely have on hand already: 

• Snacks or beverages 
• Music to set the mood 
• A tablecloth to protect your work surface 
• Containers to save spare clippings
• Fresh flowers to brighten your space

If you’d rather have company for this, you can even throw a vision board party and invite family or friends to join in the fun. 

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Time to put your vision board supplies to use.

Now that you know what you’ll need for your vision board check out this guide to get started making it. And if you’re not sure what to focus on for this project, this post has you covered. 

Looking at your vision board should bring a smile to your face. If it doesn’t, be honest about what isn’t working. It’s not unusual to think you want something and later realize it does nothing for you. 

Take the time to really connect with yourself. Then try again. 

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