If you ever suffer from a bad case of the “blahs” when life is okay, but you’re not really where you want to be, College Gloss has the perfect pick-me-up. Ponder this -- the law of attraction states that the tone of an individual’s thoughts can significantly affect the tone of their everyday life. Simply put, focusing on positive thoughts can bring about positive results while dwelling on negative or unpleasant thoughts can invite negativity.

Enter: the vision board. A vision board is a tool that helps illuminate and specify a person’s goals. It’s a visual compilation of anything you hope to accomplish. It can be as simple as a picture of an A+ on an assignment or as intricate as a precise floor model of your future dream home (right down to the two-car garage and the walk-in closet with a rotating shoe rack). Follow our advice to make a vision board, and your life can go from drab to fab by the time you turn in to bed tonight.

Why should I make one? 
Having a visual reminder of goals helps you stay motivated. Looking at your VB right before you leave for your first class in the morning is a great way to jump-start your day, reminding you to put effort into everything you do. The images that you’ve put together will be in the back of your mind throughout the remainder of the day, subconsciously pushing you to work harder and be more efficient. A vision board also can bring you to some stark realizations. One can create a vision board with everything they think they’ve ever wanted only to feel as though it’s still incomplete when finished. Having all of your hopes and dreams physically displayed can help you determine what’s “missing,” thus encouraging you to realize other dreams, some of which you might not have even known you had.

How should I make one?
A project like this can be overwhelming initially, with confusion as to where and how to begin. The easiest way to do this is to split your life into its three broadest categories like school, professional and personal. Hone in more specifically from there. For example, an academic or school-related vision board might include an image of an A+ transcript or an honors cord to wear with your cap and gown on graduation day. You could also include tips and tricks involving time management and how to be more organized. A work/internship vision board could include the position you hope to have acquired five to 10 years from now. A personal vision board can include the city you hope to ultimately live in, a picture of a wedding cake if you see yourself someday getting married or your dream car (black-on-black Range Rover, anyone?).

How can I keep it going?
It’s important to remember that nothing on your vision board is set in stone. Your dreams and aspirations will change the more you grow into the person you’re meant to be. You might realize certain things you once wanted are no longer as important to you. A great way to keep your board going is to constantly update it. For example, when you successfully turn your undergraduate internship into a post-graduate full-time job, you can remove the image of an office chair from your board. Similar to crossing a task off of a to-do list, removing an image from your board will provide you with the validation that you are proactively working to accomplish your goals. Remembering to add new images to your VB as you remove the old ones will remind you to never be complacent, as there will always be new challenges to overcome and new dreams to achieve.