I Had A Vision

Have you ever heard of a vision board or a dream board? Essentially it's a board or piece of paper or card stock that you fill with visual reminders or pictures of your goals or dreams. Now, as much as I love to write, I am horrible about maintaining a journal. And I simply cannot abide New Year's resolutions because I never keep them and I don't like beginning the year by planning to fail. So last year I decided to make a vision board for myself.

It was an easy process. I simply found images and words that spoke to me and represented the ideas or things I wanted to try or focus on in the coming year. I didn't put pressure on myself to get it done by New Year's day either. I was mindful for a few weeks toward the end of December and the beginning of January about the things I wanted on the board. Then, one day in early January, I sat down with a stack of magazines and tore out pages with pictures and phrases on them that would represent my dreams and areas of focus. Then after arranging them in a way that was pleasing and made sense to me, I glued everything on and placed it in a place where I would see it everyday.

For me, the arranging and layout was purposeful. I grouped things together that I felt belonged together, like travel words and pictures went in one spot, art, music, books in another. But really, one of the things that I love about this is that there are no rules. What goes on the board and how it goes on the board is entirely up to you.

Did I try or accomplish everything on my board? No. But that's not really the point. The point is to keep your plans and dreams visible so that they don't fall by the wayside or get pushed to the back burner of your life. I found this remarkably helpful. I placed the board in my mudroom where I saw it several times a day. And as I looked it over the last few days, I realized that I had really accomplished alot more than I dreamed I would when I created the board. And those things that didn't get done? Well, I'll be taking a second look at those. Maybe they'll be on the board again. Maybe not. Maybe some of the things that did get done will go on the board again. Maybe not. We'll see.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen in 2010. Happy New Year!