By: Joanna Dixon, LMFT
Alright look, y’all.
We are encroaching on the start of a New Year.
2023!!
It’s the time of year when many of us make BOLD statements-- about BIG changes-- that deep down in our bellies--we anticipate the FLOP of failure.
-----> wait a minute….what’s a less aggressive word for that…..Disappointment? No, Botch? No, LET-DOWN! Yes.
We anticipate the inevitable, LET-DOWN of defeat.
And yet again, year after year, we strive to make the same changes or achieve the same goals, and can’t seem to figure out why we can’t make it happen. And, alas, we start over again.
I gave up resolution making several years ago.
For the last 5-6 years, I have been creating vision boards during this time after the buzz of Christmas and through the start of the New Year. Now, I think about here and there through the fall for sure, but this is the time of year I set it out on paper. LITERALLY.
WRITE. IT. DOWN.
I have put it on big ole poster boards, moderate sized boards, copy paper, and even a napkin on an occasion or 2 with friends.
The point is, when we write things down…. It gets it out from inside of us, and while I don’t consider myself a “new age” or “post-modern” therapist, I do think there is something to the “Law of Attraction” and the things that we put into the world begin to manifest!
I believe that for the good things we put out there, and the negative things.
Creating a vision board is less about the things we are resolved NOT to do, and more about the things we are resolved TO do! The things we hope to accomplish.
Think of it like a big SHIFT, from the negative and PROBLEM focused part of the brain (the part that resolves what we won’t do or what we will quit, etc..) to the more STRENGTH focused part of our brain, (what we CAN do and CAN achieve, what we are capable of).
There are clinical studies that prove that the those who focus on what they CAN do verses what they CAN’T do have greater success in not only achieving their goals, but also a higher sense of satisfaction in their lives.
According to Psychology Today, mental practices (like visualization) can increase motivation, confidence, and even motor performance. In fact, in one study, researchers found that, in athletes, visualization was almost as effective as physical practice.
SO…. WHAT DO YOU DO?
GOOD NEWS!!
There’s like a million different ways that you can go about creating a vision board.
For those of you who like some specific steps for how to begin… Here is what I do, and what I recommend for my clients who want to focus on achieving new goals…
1) Spend some time dreaming!
· Put your phone away…. Run away and lock the door from your kids.. and try to focus on YOU and your dreams for the year…. Seriously, 10 minutes with a pen and paper.
· Renovation
· Travel
· Savings goal
· Splurging on one thing you save towards
· Taking a course on something you want to learn
· Exploring new career options, etc.
2) Gather up some magazines from your office, your dental office, your friends, etc to clip out some inspiring articles, pictures, or words that speak to you.
· You can also look at Pintrest and use that to help develop your vision or ideas. I have often had client’s explore and create an inspiration board for a task, and it is an option. The downfall of pintrest as a source is
· It’s virtual and not tangible or able to be held
· It’s easier to get lost down a rabbit hole…. SQUIRREL!
· Often it is where idea development and dreaming STOP.
3) Narrow down your top, most achievable goals for the year….
4) Develop a few small steps to help break down the process along the way..
· Think, BIG GOAL, SMALL steps to get there…
5) PUT IT TOGETHER!!
· Get a board out…. Glue the pictures and words to it and put it somewhere you will
see it.
· If you use a computerized version, clip the pix together on one document (horizontal
scape) and set it as your computer screen’s backdrop!
· Glue the pix on paper and tape up the paper on the inside of your closet somewhere
or on the side of your night stand.
· Open your journal and modge-podge your clipped pix and words into a page for
inspiration
· Order a vision board kit on Amazon if creativity evades you…
6) Display it somewhere that you can see it often. You don’t have to spend time on it after, or look at it all day… just keep it around… let it continue to seep in a little every time you see it…
NOW…. Don’t just sit there…
START by looking at your calendar this week or so, and CARVE out time to sit down with your thoughts and begin the process.
Or connect with a friend (accountability is amazing) and set a time to get together and manifest and go through magazines!
Ideas are great.
Putting them on paper is better.
Creating a vision and seeing what you hope to achieve is even BETTERER!! (That is a word now)
So, NO EXCUSES.
Go after it!
You can always do nothing.... And complain about life and feeling stuck.
We are here for that.
Or, you can try something new!
Let's go!! Give it a try.
And by all means...
Share pix!!!
Xoxo-
Jo
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