By: Ashley Oliver, M.S.
Around this time last year, I attended my first ever vision board party. Food, Wine, and Arts & Crafts…Count me in! The room was filled with poster boards, magazines, scissors, and glue. We were instructed to make a collage representing things you would like to “attract” to your career, love life, or goals for the year. Or, you can make a board that encompasses general life desires. I spent the majority of the time flipping through magazines at lightning speed and attempting to find the perfect images and phrases to place on my board. This of course left me with little time remaining and a half empty board. So, in the interest of time, I ended up just cutting out what piqued my interest at first glance. Maybe it was in line with what I wanted for the year, maybe it wasn’t? Who knows? After that night, I went home and placed my board in the corner of my room as a sign of a fun evening and a subtle reminder of my desires for the future.
Fast forward to today. My vision board is still in the same spot in my room and I haven’t accomplished any of the goals from the magazine cutouts. I went in with the awareness that the vision board was not going to change my life for me. After all it is just a poster board. The truth is that I had all these expectations in my mind of what I wanted to have in the future (a bigger apartment, relaxing beach vacation, more spa days to pamper myself, etc.), yet I was doing nothing to work towards achieving those goals. I was basically expecting the exact thing that was on my board to fall out of the sky and onto my lap. Sounds silly right? What I was missing was action. I had to choose to be action-oriented.
It’s not the vision board that works. Rather, it was having an attainable goal/vision for myself AND doing things to make my vision a reality by being action-oriented. The best way to accomplish a goal is to simply begin.
Want to take a vacation? Open up a savings account specifically as a vacation fund and set up a recurring direct deposit from your checking account. Look up vacation destinations based on what you want and what is in your budget.
Want to move into a new apartment? Make a list of what you what you are looking for and begin to sign up to receive notifications on apartment rentals throughout the city based on what you are looking for.
Want to be healthier? Throw out all the junk food from your cabinets. Start making lists before grocery shopping with mostly healthy options. Then go grocery shopping and buy those foods. Or sign up for a gym membership.
The possibilities are endless! Whatever you do, try and choose to be action-oriented. As I reflect back over the year, I did not meet several of my goals on my vision board. And now I understand why. Will I attend another vision board party? Maybe…But if I do I will also leave space on my board for action steps. What are some steps that you can begin to take today to work towards your personal goals?
