It's a brand new year... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
It's the time for goal setting and making plans. I'm big on setting myself goals, I'm a strong believer that goal setting is hugely important; to stay focused, to keep growing. It gives your brain direction.
I run 2 businesses, and a blog, and I'm a single Mum of 2 kids, so I have to be organised, there's no other option. I'm a big list maker. My daily to-do list is basically a list of goals I need to tick off each day, and I have weekly lists, sometimes monthly lists. My business and personal life would be a hot mess if I didn't organise myself in this way!!
Vision Boards, Goal Boards or Dream Boards, whatever you want to label them, are basically a collage of words and / or images that represent what you want out of life, the goals you want to achieve.
There is no right or wrong way to create a vision board, it's totally your choice.
You may wish to think about small, SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely goals) or you may wish to go all out and reach for the stars with some crazy 'Sky's the Limit' kinda goals, with your absolute dream house, living your millionaire lifestyle. These are YOUR dreams, what's stopping you from reaching them?
Now, the idea isn't to hit all these goals by the end of the year. You don't fail if your dreams don't come true. The idea is to give you a reason every single morning when you wake up and look at that board full of all your hopes, dreams and goals to get your ass up, make some plans and take action towards getting to where you want to be, living the life you want to live!
How you create it is totally down to you too.
Some people choose to create one digitally and have it as their laptop wallpaper, or you may prefer to use a pinboard, a foam board, a poster board, a cute wire display grid or even just a large piece of paper.
Likewise, what you use is your choice too; magazine cut-outs, Sharpies, glitter, washi tape, stickers, photos, etc. Some people like to get super creative while others like a more simple look, whatever works for you! If you're not sure how you'd like it to look, head over to Pinterest for some inspiration.
I used a foam board and armed with my printer, some scissors, glue and some gold stars I was ready to go!
I felt it was easiest for me to just print images out as I wanted them. I thought about using magazines, but they're not something I regularly buy and I wasn't going to go spend £4-5 on a magazine in the hope that I'd find some images that I resonated with or enough letters to create the word I was thinking of. (plus it reminds me of a creepy ransom note! ha!)
It's important to think about what your goals are in advance, so you know what you're looking for. What do you want to do this year? What would you like to achieve? Where do you want to go? What does the life you want to be living look like? Think about your family life, your career goals, your health and fitness, finances, your home, making memories and having fun, your relationships, education maybe, spirituality, personal development, self-care, emotional wellbeing... there is so much to think about, so decide what is important to you.
Get designing!
Once you know, get designing your board; write words, stick pictures, get your goals and dreams for 2020 stuck in place. You don't necessarily need to be specific at this point, you don't need to explain what each image means, nobody else needs to understand what anything stands for, or why, this is YOUR vision board, YOUR goals, as long as YOU know the goal and dream behind it all, that's fine.
However, if you'll be using the vision board to manifest, you're going to need to get a little more specific. (I'll explain more about that later...)
Google images was my best friend whilst creating my board, I simply searched for an image or word that linked to my goal, printed them out and stuck them down, alongside some of my own personal photos which I grabbed from my social media. I also used some positive affirmations and quotes I found on Pinterest that really spoke to me and I felt were words I needed to read, and most importantly, say, on a regular. It didn't take me long at all, but I was pretty specific and knew what I wanted. My vision board is very much designed like a collage and I threw a few gold stars on to make it look pretty. I'm very happy with it and I cannot wait to give it pride of place in the new desk area I'm planning for myself.
Manifest those Dreams
Once finished, you want to display your board somewhere you're going to see it and look at it every day. Now, I'm all for a bit of woo-woo and a big believer in the Universe having your back and always listening, and I LOVE the way the Law of Attraction works.
When you look at the things on your vision board, close your eyes and imagine that goal / dream is real and that you're living that life. This is where being specific about your goals comes in. If you have a picture of a car on your board, does this mean you want a new car, you want to go on more road trips, take some driving lessons or book your test? When you're manifesting your goals, you need to be specific about what you want. You want to lose weight? How much weight? What would you look like? You want more money? How much money? Enough to pay the bills? Enough to clear your debts? Enough to be able to go on numerous holidays this year? Make sure you're specific when you're putting it out there into the Universe!
I also think it a fantastic idea to get the kids involved.
I was chatting to my boys about what I was planning to do while we were out for lunch, and my 5 year old wanted to do one too! I think it's a great idea as it encourages them at an early age to dream, there's nothing wrong with young kids having goals and dreams. Not only does it teach them responsibility, it allows them to aim high and builds self-confidence. With Taylor, I asked him what did he want to do or achieve in 2020, then we printed pictures off and he got to work writing his sentences and decorating his board. It was super cute when he woke up the following morning saying, 'Mummy, I just looked at my Vision Board as soon as I woke up.' I hope that having this board reminds him of his goals this year and he feels joy and pride when he fulfills them, and I hope he continues to set himself goals throughout his life.
What are YOUR Goals and Dreams for 2020?
Have you made a Vision Board this year?
