It's the beginning of the new year, time for fresh starts and fresh goals. This year I am more determined than ever to break out of my comfort zone and work hard towards the life I want. I bought myself a new planner and got myself organized for the month of January with all the pretty stickers and pens my heart desired because there's something about seeing my goals come to life in color that really inspires me. I wrote my 2017 Goals post and January Goals post for the blog then I wrote those goals in the side column of my planner. You'd think at this point they'd be drilled into my head, right? Well, yeah but we all know the more you write, repeat and visualize your goals the more likely you are to achieve them plus one key factor was missing; actually seeing my goals in pictures.
Vision boards have become my new obsession. I'm a visual person. You can talk to me all day long, I can take as many notes as I'd like but until I actually see things i'll struggle with grasping it fully. That's why vision boards are amazing to me. They help me keep my goals in mind and help keep me on track. They're becoming a power house method to visualizing my goals and chasing my dreams. I never realized how powerful they are until I made this one. Some of the images might not make any sense to anyone but me and that's okay because these are my visions for this new year.
This vision board is the story of the life I strive to create. It's a glimpse into my heart and my head. It's actually very therapeutic to get it all out of my head and on to a canvas I can look at time and time again. It's motivation to keep working hard to get where I want to be.
If you are a visual person like me then I want to help you create a vision board of your own. I want to help you create the story of the life you want to build and the live the happiest life you can.
How To Create a Vision Board:
1. Set Goals
Create a time line for the goals you want to set then sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and brainstorm all the things you wish to accomplish in that time frame. Be realistic with your goals and understand the big picture. If you want to open a boutique, make that your end goal but think of all the smaller goals you'll need to accomplish to make that happen and make those your focus.
2. Visual Representation
This is the fun part! You get to start putting pictures with your goals.
Your pictures don't have to make sense to anyone but you.
Some of mine are my own personal pictures, others came from Pinterest but they all represent a goal I want to achieve.
{The farm house because we are building our house this year, Prioritize because that's my word of the year, Instagram and Bloglovin because I want to grow those two platforms, confetti because I want to spend more time living it up with my friends and family, a photo of me sitting in bed drinking coffee as a reminder to be still, and a stack of books that I plan to read this year.}
Have fun with this part because this is the part you'll keep coming back to for inspiration. It really is up to you to decide how you'd like to do your board. Do you want it with no real rhyme or reason (like mine?) or do you want to organize it by the order in which you'd like to achieve those goals or organize it by category? There's no wrong way to do this, just follow your heart and make it as fun and motivational as possible.
3. Learning How To Use Your Vision Board
For some people just making the board itself will be enough. For others, keeping it in a place where you can see it often is best. Either way is fine, as long as you remember to pull it out and see if you are on track every once in a while. Maybe set a reminder in your phone at the beginning of every month to check in with your vision board.
4. Keeping Yourself On Track
Create a plan of action for each of those goals. This is where keeping the end goal in mind but working towards those smaller goals really comes into play. For every goal you have on your vision board, break it down into smaller more manageable goals and make those your focus. If you put all your focus on the end goal, you'll get overwhelmed and end up breaking down at some point.
Since my vision board is for the entire year, it's easy for me to break down each of these goals and focus on the smaller goals a month at a time. You have to gauge how much time you have and how much time each goal will take in order to make your vision board successful for you.
If you find you are off track sit down with that paper and pen again and re-visit those goals. Has something changed to get you off track? If so write down ideas to help get you back on track.
5. Keep Moving Forward
Make your vision board a part of your everyday. Take a picture of it and use it as a background on your phone. Print out pictures of the things you hope to accomplish and put them in a cute basket on your coffee table and look through them periodically. Cut out pictures and use them in your day planner.
Become so familiar with your vision board that you dream about it at night and can't wait to get up in the morning and chase those goals. When you reach one of your goals treat yourself with something nice. I know, some of you reading this are thinking "I'm not a dog, don't treat yourself like one" but human nature is wanting to be acknowledged for the good things we do so I think treating yourself every once in a while is so okay. Do whatever it takes to keep your vision board in your mind and keep focusing on those goals.
I hope you take the time to make a vision board. If you know what your goals are it's easy. I created mine last night while watching The Big Bang Theory with my husband and son because I already knew the goals I wanted to accomplish this year. The hardest part is creating goals, I promise. Once you make the board you'll be so excited to chase your dreams!
If you do make a vision board be sure to share it with me on:
Ladies, let's cheer each other on! Share with us one goal you wish to accomplish in 2017.
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