New Year, New Vision: Why a Vision Board Is More Powerful Than a New Year’s Resolution

Last year I attended one of Terri Gasparich’s Vision Board workshops, and I was amazed by how powerfully the process helps you clarify what matters, uncover your purpose, and spark real action. Two participants were returning for a second time, and I was surprised by how many goals from their previous boards had already come to life. For this week’s blog, we’ve invited Terri to share her insights on Vision Boards and why they’re so effective. So, I will let Terri take it from here.

January always has a certain energy about it.
The calendar flips over, diaries are fresh, and we start hearing words like goals, intentions, and resolutions everywhere.

Maybe you’ve promised yourself that this is the year you’ll finally make a change – in your career, your health, your relationships, your creativity, your finances. But somewhere between ‘back to work’ and ‘back to normal’, the clarity fades and the day-to-day routine takes over again.

That’s where a Vision Board can make all the difference.

Instead of a list of shoulds that quietly gets forgotten, a Vision Board becomes a visual anchor for what you truly want in your life – and a daily reminder to keep moving in that direction.

What is a Vision Board?

A Vision Board is a visual representation of the life you want to create.

It’s usually a collection of images, words and symbols that speak to your goals, values and desires. You might include:

• Places you want to visit
• Ways you want to feel - calm, confident, creative, free
• Work or career aspirations
• The kind of home or lifestyle you’re calling in
• Health, wellbeing and relationships
• Creative dreams, hobbies, or personal projects

It’s not about creating a perfect Pinterest-worthy collage.
It’s about choosing images and words that resonate – the ones that give you a little spark inside and feel like a ‘yes, that’s for me’.

How Vision Boards work - it’s more than just glue and magazines

Vision Boards work on a few different levels:

1. Clarity
Most of us carry a vague sense of ‘I want more’ – more time, more freedom, more joy – without being very clear on what that actually looks like.
When you create a Vision Board, you slow down and ask, What do I really want?
Choosing images forces you to make decisions: this, not that. And that clarity is powerful.

2. Focus
Our brains are wired to notice what we focus on.
When you see your Vision Board regularly, your mind starts to filter opportunities, ideas and decisions through that lens. Suddenly you’re more aware of what aligns with your goals – and what doesn’t.

3. Feeling
Goals on paper are mostly logical. A Vision Board taps into emotion.
The images you choose should make you feel something: excited, peaceful, inspired, hopeful.
That emotional connection is what keeps you moving when life gets busy or uncomfortable.

4. Gentle Accountability
Your Vision Board quietly asks, Is this choice taking me closer to what you said you wanted?
Not in a harsh or ‘all-or-nothing’ way – but as a kind, visual reminder of what matters to you.

Why make a Vision Board at the start of the year?

You can create a Vision Board at any time, but January is a beautiful moment to pause and reset.

You’re naturally reflecting on:

• What worked well last year
• What drained you
• What you’d like more or less of
• What’s been sitting on the back burner for far too long

A Vision Board turns that reflection into something tangible.

Instead of vague ‘I shoulds’, you get:

• A clearer picture of what you want this year to feel like
• A visual reminder of the bigger picture when you’re caught up in the small stuff
• A gentle guide for decisions about your time, energy, money and focus

It’s less about chasing perfection and more about choosing direction.

How a Vision Board helps you stay focused

Once the novelty of January wears off, it’s easy to slip back into old patterns.

A Vision Board helps you stay connected to your goals by:

• Being visible – You can place it where you see it often: office, bedroom, inside a wardrobe door, or as a photo on your phone.
• Acting as a filter – When opportunities, invitations, or decisions come up, you can ask: Does this support the life I’ve put on my board?
• Reminding you of your ‘why’ – On the days you feel tired, discouraged or off-track, those images help you reconnect to why you started.
• Prompting small steps – You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight. Seeing your board might nudge you to make one small choice today that aligns with your future self.

Why make one at all? Isn’t it just wishful thinking?

This is a common question.

A Vision Board is not about cutting out pictures and hoping the universe does the rest while we sit back and wait.

It’s about:

• Giving yourself permission to want what you truly want
• Choosing a direction instead of drifting
• Keeping your goals front-of-mind so you take aligned action
• Staying encouraged when progress is slow or messy, because it often is

Think of it as a compass rather than a magic wand.
Your Vision Board doesn’t do the work for you – but it makes it easier to remember where you’re heading and why it matters.

How to start your own Vision Board

If you’re feeling the pull to create one this January, here’s a simple way to begin:

1. Create some space
   Set aside an hour or two where you won’t be rushed. Put on some music, make a cuppa, and allow yourself to slow down.
2. Reflect on your life areas
   Think about work, health, relationships, home, creativity, fun, finances, personal growth.
   Ask yourself: What would I love to feel and experience in each area this year?
3. Gather images and words
   Use magazines, printouts, or images/words you’ve collected. Don’t overthink it. If something ‘speaks’ to you, set it aside.
4. Let intuition lead
   Start arranging and gluing without needing it to make perfect sense. Often your deeper desires appear in ways your logical mind wouldn’t have planned – and that’s the magic.
5. Place it somewhere you’ll see it
   This isn’t meant to be hidden in a drawer. Put it where you can connect with it regularly.
6. Check in regularly
   Take a moment every so often to sit with your board. Ask: What’s one small step I can take this week that aligns with this vision?

Ready to create your vision for the year ahead?

If you’d like guidance, support and a calm, creative space to do this, I run Intuitive Vision Board Workshops where we walk through this process together.

My next workshop is being held on Saturday 14 March 2026 9am-3pm at the Rutherford Community College – you can book here or if this date does not work for you, email Terri here terri@visionboards.co.nz for the next available date.

You don’t need to be artistic. You just need a willingness to pause, listen to that quiet inner voice, and allow yourself to dream a little bigger for your life.

Here’s to a year that’s shaped by intention, not just habit – and to a vision you can actually see every day.