Vision Boards. Easily one of my FAVORITE things to work on every year.
I have always been a visual person, so when I sit down to write out my goals for the year ahead, I always love to make a picture collage to frame for my desk! This helps me be mindful of my goals on a daily basis and allows me to make sure my daily actions are inline with what I’m working towards.
But before you even get to the fun part of goal setting and clipping/collaging little clip art images, there are some things you need to do to prepare.
Here are 5 things you need to do before starting your vision board–>
REFLECT ON WHAT YOU’VE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR.
A lot of things happen over the course of 1 year. Take a moment to reflect on what has happened in your life in the past year. What did you accomplish? What did you try and fail at? What did you do that made you proud this year?
Taking account of your successes will help you understand what you need to build on.
THINK ABOUT THE DIRECTION YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR LIFE NEXT.
In 2017, I set a goal to take my state licensure exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. Once I accomplished that, I can now set a goal to completing my internship hours for it.
Each step that you will take can build on your past success as well, if you want it to. Once you’re clear on where you’ve been, you can be responsible for where you’re going and set goals that will help you get there.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE?
No matter who you are, where you are or how successful you are, everyone knows at least ONE THING they want to change about themselves. Maybe you want to lose weight. Maybe you have a successful business and a ton of money, but you want to build your family relationships more. Maybe life is mostly good but you really want to strengthen your marriage.
The things you are unhappy with are the key to determining where you want to go next. Once you understand exactly what you want to change, you can do the real work figuring out HOW you will change it.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY… IF THERE WAS NOTHING HOLDING YOU BACK?
I know what you’re thinking… what do you want to change and what would you do differently are pretty much the same thing! (I swear they are not! 😃)
Often, we find ourselves in an unusual position where we have something that we want to change, but there’s nothing we can really do about it.
For a quick example, I REALLY REALLY want to pay off my medical debt, but I also REALLY REALLY don’t have $10K to make it rain on them all. I do make a nice drizzle every month, but I’d certainly pay them off in full if I could.
Most people have at least one thing that ties them to something they don’t particularly want in their life… like your spouse’s job may keep you in a certain area or your children’s daycare costs may keep you from saving as much as you want.
Think about what you would do if none of those barriers were holding you back from living the life you want today.
BE CLEAR ON YOUR NEXT BSG (BIG SCARY GOAL).
Having a goal in mind BEFORE you start clipping cute quotes and pictures out of inspirational magazines is crucial to creating a vision board that serves your purpose.
Your goal could be…
• Taking a Chance To Build On Your Past Success
• Changing Something In Your Life That’s Making Your Unhappy Right Now
• Finding A Way To Eliminate (or get around) The Barriers Holding You Back From Living The Life You Want
ONLY when you have a clearly defined goal can you be strategic about finding the visuals to put on your vision board to serve that goal.
You vision board CAN transform your life, but it’s your job to build the transformation you want to see.
Here is my personal 2018 vision board! I make sure to check in on myself every month on how I’m doing and if my action are aligning with my goals, then about 1/2 way through the year (around June/July), I do a big assessment on my progress, what I have done well, and what I could do better the rest of the year to make sure I accomplish everything I wanted!
My word for 2018 is “grace”. Since becoming pregnant with baby #2, my anxiety and depression have been getting increasingly out of hand, both of which are closely tied with my struggle with perfectionism. When things aren’t “perfect”, I turn immediately to negative self-talk and get overwhelmed with anxiety about how to “fix” things, while also feeling hopeless about my ability to do so.
I am going to work on showing myself grace and accepting that life is far from perfect- but that’s what makes it so amazing.
I am going to show myself grace with becoming a working mommy of 2 and remind myself daily that I don’t have to be superwoman.
I am going to make self care a top priority because I have leraned that I cannot serve from an empty vessel, and taking care of myself makes me a drastically better mommy + wife.
I am going to have 2 date nights a month with my husband because I truly believe that our family’s future depends on our relationship remaining strong (and quality time with him is 100% my love language).
I am going to read 1 personal development book every 2 months and cut back on tv watching.
I am going to finally complete a few house projects I have had on my list for 2 years now because making DIY home deocr is a huge passion of mine.
I am going to complete 8 months of my LPC-Intern hours and allow myself to rest and recover during my maternity leave,
I am going to declutter and organize my house/office/car/life.
I am going to get back to practicing mindfulness and my coping skill every morning to help with my anxiety and depression.
I am going to complete 2-3 workout programs and get back on track with my meal planning once the baby is here. A healthy lifestyle and solid nutrition is what helped me nurse Harper for so long and always works as a great coping skill for me!)
I am going to RUN the 2018 Turkey Trot 5k while pusing my 2 sweet babies.
And we will be 100% debt free (besides mortgage and student loans) by the end of the year AND complete Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace University program.
What is YOUR word or vision for 2018? Share it below!