Usually, I start a creative DIY project and give it up 75% of the way through because I so much dislike what I’ve done. Once, I tried to make a mug rack with hooks and such. It was really cute in my head, and I hated it once it was done. In case you missed it, I am absolutely raving over Beautiful Uncertainty. In one of the first chapters of the book, Mandy Hale started talking about a vision board that she makes at the start of each year.
I brought it up with my friend, Kate. We became friends back in preschool. Through some moves and life changes, we lost touch a bit in our middle/high school years. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, we reconnected in college. She has been such a fantastic friend, even from afar. She’s killing it now in Chattanooga, and has been a huge help and inspiration when it comes to blogging. You should check her out! She’s on Facebook and, of course, A Thought and A Half is incredible. We’re both in a bit of an interim in our lives right now, so making vision boards only seemed fitting!
There are a bunch of different ways to go about making a vision board. The one thing that is absolute is to be sure your vision board is somewhere you look at it every day. For me, that’s my bedroom. I used to just have a calendar on my wall, but it got a bit of a face lift. You can make your vision board with poster board, on a white board, or even on a cork board. How you start it is entirely up to you. A lot of people include pictures or magazine clippings. For me, it was really important that I write anything that I included…quotes, goals, etc. The ultimate goal of your vision board is to bring what has been added to it to life. This may include intrinsic goals or even extrinsic goals.
Calendar: I like being able to view my upcoming events in a full month. My work calendar is by the week, but I prefer personal by the month. I’ve included upcoming blog posts, daily check ins for my challenges, upcoming appointments, and any travel plans.
Goals: Now, I treated goals different than my resolutions. For my goals, I wanted to do something a bit more tangible with a concrete goal…lose ten pounds, save $5,000…
Resolutions: Definitely connected to my goals but treated differently. I made these resolutions at the start of 2017 as general things to work toward to improve myself.
Weight Loss: Some people prefer to use stones to simulate the goal of weight to lose and weight lost so far. As mentioned, I love crossing things off. That’s when things feel completed.
Reading: I made a book bucket list, and wanted to have them all in one place. It’s extra satisfying checking something off of a list once it has been completed.
Savings: I’d like to save a lot more. I have a comfortable savings, but have some dreams that are contingent on some financial freedom.
Daily Check In: Sometimes, it’s hard to separate the good from the bad. I am going to take a moment to reflect on the FULL day. Was I productive? Happy? Overwhelmed?
I have some lovely quotes on the board too to motivate me.
“This is the year. I will be stronger, braver, kinder, & unstoppable. This year. I will be fierce.”
“Eventually, you’ll end up where you need to be, with who you’re meant to be with, & doing what you should be doing.”
“I give up freely what is no longer serving me. I release it to create space for what inspires me.”
“Only you can control your happiness.”
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.”
Here’s to hoping the visualization of my goals helps me achieve them! Now, go check out A Thought and a Half for Kate’s take on her vision board. It’s a great example of how personal and different each board is to whoever created it.
