Now that 2022 is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead at what you want to accomplish. As with most New Year’s plans, your 2023 might be full of hopeful wishes and goals. Maybe you’ve made New Year resolutions every year, but most have fizzled out before January was done. You’ve tried to journal, be accountable to a friend, or placed sticky notes all over your house, but nothing has worked. If you’ve had trouble in the past pinning down your goals or following through, there is hope on the horizon. I’d like to talk with you about a Vision Board, and how creating one might help you visualize, and follow your goals to completion.
What is a Vision Board?
A vision board is exactly what it sounds like: a plan or vision of your future, your dreams and goals arranged on a board of your choosing. It’s a visual of what you hope to accomplish. Something you can physically create and look at daily to help motivate you and keep you traveling in the direction you’d like to go.
A Vision Board is YOU
Think about who you are, what you value, and what motivates you. These are all things you will pin or glue to your board. Images or letters you will take out of your head and get onto paper (any color you'd like), then place them on a bulletin board or construction board in a visually motivating manner.
So, who am I?
What is the theme or message you want the board to express every time you look at it? What is it about the board that identifies it as yours? Your dreams, your goals, your hopes and plans? Who are you and what would you like to accomplish?
Begin to think about
· Your values
· Goals
· What is important to you
· Quotes you live by
· Scriptures or favorite poems
· Favorite photos or scenery
Values
What do you live your life by? Values can be personal, work related, life values, character values, or religious values. These are ways in which you live your life by and the values that express who you are, your character. These are ways of being that you deem important and vital in living your life.
Examples of values could be, loyalty, compassion, ambition, a strong faith, strong work ethic. Identify your values and write them down.
Goals
Write down a list of short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Get everything down on paper that you would like to accomplish. Now relist these in order of importance and desire. Make sure your goals are doable, reachable, and realistic.
Spend a little time pondering on what is important to you. This might be spending more time with family, or quiet time writing or journaling. Maybe you’d like to exercise or bake more, learn to quilt or cross-stitch. Or you’d love to get back into attending church or join a book club. In this section, don’t worry about what pleases your partner, your relatives, or your best friend. Stop and think about what is important to you and get it down on paper. You only get one life, so you need to figure this one out.
Quotes to Live By
We all have our favorite quotes or memes. They can be found daily on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. A quick google will help you find a zillion or more beautiful quotes. Choose several of your favorites that help motivate and inspire you and outline who you are. These gems can be typed and printed from your computer in any font you’d like then glued to your board.
Scriptures or Favorite Poems
Is there a favorite scripture that gets you through the tough times? A scripture that pushes you forward and prevents you from stopping in your tracks? Find it or them and print it and cut it out.
Find your favorite poems or write a poem yourself for the board. Poetry has a way of reaching deep within us and getting to the core of who we are. Poems can express so much. Poems are great for your vision board and can help prod you in the direction you are desiring to go. Use this inspiration to push you forward. There are more poetic choices than time on the internet. Find that perfect poem today.
Photos or Scenery
Magazines may have images that describe what you can’t find words for. These landscapes or pictures, such as, a photo of flowers in a garden, a home, a field, a forest, a mountain, a family sitting by a fire. Choose one or many that fit your goals and values. Start cutting out photos and images that describe what is important to you. These can be glued to your vision board in any order you choose.
Getting Started
You’ve gotten quite a bit done by now. You've cut out pictures, printed your quotes and sayings, and packed everything in a small shoe box, and you’ve purchased your 50-cent construction board, or maybe you’ve gone all out and headed to Marshall’s or Ross for a cloth bulletin board. Even better, you’ve found some old material in a closet and made your own out of the bottom of a cardboard box. Wow! Now that’s really thinking out of the box.
Get some glue or pins and start creating your journey with short term goals at the beginning, mid-term a little farther in, and finally your long-term goals at the end. Maybe you would like to create a road or pathway on the board. You might want it to look like a giant collage. Whatever works for you in creating your motivational vision board is acceptable.
It’s yours, so feel free to be as creative as you would like.
Visualization
You’ve taken your time cutting, printing, gluing and pinning. You’ve pulled pictures and images from old scrapbooks, photo albums, internet memes, newspapers, Pinterest, flyers, and now you are done.
This board represents who you are and where you would like to go. Put this board where you will see it every day. If you’re really feeling it, take it to a frame shop, sign it, and have it framed. You might even find a large frame at a garage sale. Now hang it on the wall.
If you have no room on your wall, take a photo of your board and have it put on a mug or make a puzzle out of it. All this can be done quickly through online companies like Vistaprint and even local drug stores. Use the photo on your social media home page. Be creative in how you display your board. You don't need a lot of space.
Allow this visual Vision Board to speak to you. Let it call to you and draw you out of complacency and into action. Let your board be a friendly whisper that inspires you, not one that guilts you. You have created it. This board speaks of who you are and where you want to go.
Enjoy it. Let it water you and help you grow toward your goals.
I’d love to hear about how you accomplish your goals and what works to get you motivated and inspired.
May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! Psalm 20:4 (ESV).
Blessings,
Lori
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