Here’s How an Action Board Will Get You Closer to Your Goals

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Last week, I got to sit down in the studio with Dr Tara Swart Bieber , a neuroscientist, medical doctor, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management , and author of the best selling book, "The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, The Science of the Brain." To close Mental Health Awareness Month, I talked to Tara to explore ways to sustain mental resilience and emotional well-being.

One way to damage your own mental and emotional well-being is by ignoring what matters most to you both in what you do and how you choose to live. To make improvements, Dr. Swart recommends taking a look at your goals and deciding if they're truly yours and if they're current. These don't have to be big goals; they can simply be to regularly sign off of work early to enjoy family time or being more detail-oriented around daily projects. Do you have big goals? That's great too, as long as they're authentic.

Once you're clear on your goals, of course, you can write them down somewhere, but Dr. Swart says your brain prefers something else: a vision board, which Tara has updated to an "action board."

The phrase "vision board" might remind you of sitting on your bedroom floor as a teenager, snipping and gluing dreamy pictures from magazines, hoping your dreams would come true. Tara isn't a fan of this belief system, but she does recommend using images to bring goals to life. So the term 'action board' was developed as an update to vision boards. Dr. Swart says action boards work better than simply listing out your goals for a few reasons; one is this: images speak more effectively to your brain.

According to Dr. Swart, an action board is how anyone can "take agency, prime your brain to go out into the real world and notice and grasp opportunities to bring these things closer to you."

In her book, like in her neuroscience for business class, Tara divulges what most people don't understand about the brain and neuroscience principles to access more of its potential.

In her book, "The Source," Tara outlines how to create and use action boards. Remember, the board is an effective way to get your brain to look for opportunities that move you closer to your goals. On top of that, Dr. Swart implores us to realize that while this is a powerful part of achieving your goals, awareness when opportunities present themselves and taking action are even more important.

How to create and use an action board

1. Let your mind wander about your goals for the year ahead.
2. Gather together a stack of magazines and cut out anything that reminds you of any (or any combination of) your goals. The less literal the images, the better; symbols are harder to dismiss because they are abstract and metaphorical. So a lion might be used to represent having the courage to take on a challenge that scares you...
3. Put your most important goal at the center of your board. Constellate the other images around it, fanning them out in order of priority.
4. Put your board somewhere you will see it regularly, such as next to your bed. The ‘Tetris effect’ means the thing we look at last thing at night has a big impact on our brains.
5. Spend at least 10 minutes a day imagining yourself living the life you’ve created on your board.

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Book: The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, The Science of the Brain by Dr. Tara Swart

Article: How Making an Action Board Could Change Your Life by Dr. Tara Swart

Podcast: "Reinventing Yourself"

Instagram: Tara Swart on Instagram

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Everyday Better is LinkedIn News’ weekly personal development podcast hosted by Leah Smart , a LinkedIn News Editor. You’ll hear from some of the worlds brightest minds and bravest hearts about how to live with more clarity and intention every day, in and out of work. Subscribe to the show's newsletter.

Can we ask you for a favor? If you love the work we're doing, will you take 30 seconds follow our show and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? It helps other listeners like you find our show and get the same value out of our work that you've gotten. Thank you!

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