It’s almost a little spooky.
Like… how is that even possible?
I created a vision board last year and was really very thoughtful with it. And no, I didn’t just slap a bunch of inspirational quotes and pretty travel pictures on it.
I made a list, thought it through, and truly visualized what I wanted my life and my goals to look like for last year.
And as I look back on that vision board, I am a little creeped out.
It is accurate. So much so, it’s almost scary.
I wanted to run a half marathon and the picture of the gal I pasted on the board to represent that – she’s wearing the exact same color leggings I bought this past year and trained nearly the entire spring in.
On the very top of my board I put the words BIG YEAR as I had some pretty lofty dreams that would require some major things to happen.
Well, just as the year was closing, a friend called me about a collaboration and said wow, girl, you have really had a “big year.” I was literally sitting at my office desk looking at this vision board when she said that.
So now, I’m staring at a blank board and flipping through magazines manifesting my dreams, and I’m going all out because if these boards hold the voodoo magic my last board had, I’m going to dream up a mansion with granite countertops and a spa room and 7 bedrooms and a butler. Because it seems like the universe provides!
Just kidding. Mostly.
Jokes aside, it was really uncanny how close to accurate my vision board was to my reality over the past year. But I don’t think it was any magic or voice from the universe or psychic premonitions.
It was me.
I stared at that vision board every day from my office desk.
The words “BIG YEAR” popped out at me multiple times a day.
I saw the goal of starting my own business every time I sat down at my computer.
I felt the excitement bubble up in me every time I saw the travel photo of the trip I was working to earn with my company.
And when you read and see and feel those things every day, it is really easy to align your actions to them.
Well, not really easy, but easier. You at least know where you are walking.
And that is just the thing they are meant for.
Putting your vision, your goals, and your dreams for the year into a visual that you see daily sets your path. It lights your way.
And when you have a path with a shiny golden dream sitting at the end of it, it makes it way easier to take the first step and continue taking the hard steps toward that dream every day.
If I wouldn’t have had that board, if I wouldn’t have sat down one evening in January and listed and thought through and manifested and cut out every dream I wanted for myself and my family…
My last year wouldn’t have been the BIG YEAR it ended up being.
So if you haven’t created your vision for this year yet, get started.
How to start
Here are some questions to help you begin to visualize and discover what you really want for this year:
1. When you think of yourself at your happiest, what are you doing? Where are you at? Who are you with?
2. You are on stage getting an award. What is it for?
3. What is that little secret whisper in your heart or head that you haven’t told anyone that you wanted to do/accomplish because you maybe are a little scared? Unsure? Not quite ready?
4. What things do you currently love to do? How could you take them one step further?
Tips for creating an effective vision board
1. Leave space. Your eyes need borders and boundaries to better process what it is looking at. So leave some white space around your images to help you better focus.
2. Use mostly images, less text. If I say “a horse with red lips” what do you see in your brain? I bet you laughed a little because you saw that silly image, right? You didn’t see the 17 letters that make up that sentence flash through your brain. Images are more powerful than words, so use them.
3. Make a list before you cut and paste. I start with a list of 50 of the goals I have. Some big, some small. Then narrow it down to your TOP 10. Focus on those and put those are your board.
4. A vision board is no good if you make it, take it home, then let it sit in your closet. Put it where you will see it every. single. day.
I’d love to see the boards you created for this year. Share a pic with us! Sharing with others makes those goals more real and holds you more accountable to making them happen. And I’d love to cheer you on as you work toward them!
Cheers to an new year! I’ll be over here searching magazines to find a picture of a million dollars and a mansion.
Again, just kidding. Mostly.
