A Vision Board is a Game Changer 

These past few weeks have been rough. It may just be a phase (I don’t think it is but people tell me it is) or it could be my scattered thoughts throwing my mind in a million directions OR perhaps it’s just me really digging inside myself to figure out what the heck I want to do with my life. I think that’s what it is.

Whichever one it is, I have been going a little crazy. I know these type of freak outs in your early 20’s are quite common? This is kind of a question because maybe it’s not as common as I think. Either way, this holy moly I am going to die soon thought and life is too short for me to work a day job that has me sticking around Boston when ALL I WANT TO DO IS TRAVEL ON A DOLLAR A DAY thoughts, are eating my insides.

The good thing is that when these thoughts are eating away at me I know I am in no way comfortable with my life as is which I believe is a very good thing. In my opinion, being comfortable is not necessarily bad but you are basically telling yourself and others that you know you have not and probably won’t reach your highest potential and that you are okay with it. To each his own but who wants to drift aimlessly through life, wondering why their life lacks purpose or significance? Not I.

Now I always set both short and long term goals for myself but am never great or consistent in committing my goals to writing which I know will only help motivate me to take action. So, the other day I knew it was time as my scattered thoughts continued to take over my mind. I need to get back on track and start organizing my thoughts so I can see clearly OR I am going to go cuckoo and just run around with my head chopped off trying to accomplish everything without accomplishing anything. No thank you.

So….I ran home to create a vision board. If you google what a vision board is, you will quickly understand that it’s quite literally a board or in my case a wall drape that you place note cards on with ideas and goals or images that represent whatever you want to be, do, or have in this life. I am a firm believer that when you create a sacred space that displays what you actually want in this life it will come to fruition.

So, I lit a candle. I grabbed a sharpie, a pad of sticky notes, and a handful of safety pins, put on some Vance Joy and started my display.

First thoughts: What words, phrases or sentences do I want to stare at every day to affirm my intentions? What goals do I want so badly to accomplish? What am I passionate about? What will make me the happiest person alive?

I wrote down everything I could think of and cut out every magazine picture I thought represented a feeling I want to feel. Don’t get me wrong, I included the material stuff, too. Like a log cabin in Denver Colorado and a sticker that says “THAILAND” in big bold letters. BUT, even though they are materialistic desires, they both tie to how I want to feel. My THAILAND sticker symbolizes my love for exploration and travel while the log cabin, my dream home, in Denver’s Rocky Mountains represents success, independence and peace of mind. I have made it. I am on my own. Nothing makes me feel more at ease than the mountains. These are the thoughts and feelings I want to have. Some of my other sticky notes included:

• Fuel your body with all things healthy
• Have faith
• Take an entire year for yourself and travel
• Stop worrying so much
• Create residual income doing something I enjoy
• A stressful life is a wasted life. BREATHE.

It doesn’t matter whether your goals are specific to areas of your life like relationships, career, personal growth, travel, or health. You don’t need to document them in the same way or any way for that matter because each one will mean something different to you. Each goal has its own importance and only you know what that is and why that is. As long as we are taking a mental inventory of what we want each of those areas to look like and write them down, we are closer to making each and every one of them a reality. What we focus on expands. I am a firm believer of that. So, if you are looking for a tool that will help you focus and re-identify your vision, which will also help provide clarity to your thoughts and intentions… Try making a vision board. It’s a really relaxing and fun exercise. And a true eye-opener to what’s really important to you.