Vision boards are a great way to have a visual representation of the life you want on and off the bjj mats. Here's how to create yours!
Look towards the next year of possibility
The end of the decade is coming and I’m sure everyone has many things they want to achieve in the upcoming new year. I’m sure many people have their new years resolutions of deciding either to lose weight, save money, etc. etc.
I personally do themes for the year and base many of my decisions on that theme. My theme for 2019 was “Self-Love” and for 2020 it will be “Response” in connection with human design ( More on that later). But the one thing that many of us do when it comes to resolutions is that we follow it for maybe 2 weeks and then after that, it’s over and we’re back to living the way that’s most comfortable to us. Living our best lives comes with focus. I noticed that when I actually sit down and really think about the things I want and focus on it, I get it, even if it's something little.
I want to achieve the big things in 2020 and I think that taking focused steps to do so will help. With a vision board, something I can see will help with that focus. I had the opportunity to attend a Vision Board event, where attendees got an opportunity to create their own vision board.
The finish product was all my hopes, dreams, and goals in the form of words, stickers, and magazine cutouts framed for me to look at for the whole of 2020 to remind of me of what the year is about.
Vision Board Event Review
Meals, mindset, and meditation
After a delicious meal from Sugahai, a catering company focused on desserts and other meals, the host TaVanni of LiveTV, an event company hosting all types of online and offline events all over the world, lead us through some questions that we needed to think about before actually starting the vision board making process. Some of these questions included:
What do you want to achieve in the new year?
What are some limiting believes that have been preventing you from achieving certain goals?
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I think this was a great way to start because it gets you in the mindset of the things that you want to achieve, what things you think are stopping you, and helps you hop over that mental block. With all these things, you get somewhat of an idea of the things you want to put on your vision board. After the questions, we all sat down for a meditation session. Meditation is always difficult for me because I am quite fidgety and can’t sit for such a long time (mind you it was only 10 minutes). But, during the meditation I tried to stay focused on the things I wanted for the upcoming year and thinking about the words and images that encompassed the things I wanted.
Picture from Pexels by @prasanthinturi
Time for Arts and Crafts
After the meditation, it was time to get to work! We were provided with magazines, stickers, picture frames, stock paper, all kinds of things that got everyone into the mood of creating their perfect vision. Everyone’s motivations and style was different and it was cool to see what people were going for. After putting the boards together, everyone shared what they put on their boards, why they chose the colors they did, and what they expected for the upcoming year. It was a great opportunity to hear people’s stories and get to meet more people.
My vision boards: Past and Present
Now, I have made a vision board before. But, in this case, I’ve put everything I’ve ever wanted on it. Dogs, shoes, vacations, money, etc. and I noticed that again even the small things have come to fruition (my dog, this specific pair of boots I wanted, an iPhone, and multiple vacations! Still waiting on the large influx of money though :P). I bought a huge poster board and FILLED it with everything and that board is currently sitting in my childhood home. But, since the space on the paper we were given at the event was limited, adding to the focus of the visions on the board.
So I decided to focus on three aspects: fitness, business, and creativity. These represent my jiu-jitsu and fitness aspirations, my business aspirations, and the creativity to put it together. So in the magazines provided at the event, I looked for a lot of words with “entrepreneurship, creativity, business, wealth, as well as any picture that had to do with fitness. I didn’t get to finish at the event but here’s my finished product of all the things:
I wanted to include. Also to keep in the theme of a year of focus, I put in the center of the vision board “1 year = 365 possibilities” to remind myself I can achieve a little something every day.
As I said my problem is focus, so now my vision board is hung up on my wall so I see it first thing when I wake up in the morning. Plus everything on my vision board means something to me and I don't have to explain or justify it for anyone
Creating a vision board might be a great way to get you to see and materialize the things you want within the year, next year or even the next decade. It also gives you an opportunity to stretch those creative muscles to create something awesome that represents what you want for the year.
You can create your own vision board event with your friends or create a thoughtful vision board experience by yourself . Just talk about what your vision is for the next few months to a year, medidate and visualize it with some affirmations, create and share your designs!
I have created a Vision Board Checklist to help you get the right materials and have a focus when you're creating your board or event. I have made it available for free!
You can get the list and keep yourself organized and get all the materials you need here. Also, I can send you your free checklist if you put in your email below:
Any way you like to design it, it’s your vision. It just has to resonate with you and be something that gives you drive to live towards your dreams. And, with this new decade right around the corner, what better way to start. Make 2020 the start of you achieving your dreams!
Have you ever made a vision board? What are some of the things you’ve put on it? Has any of your visions came true? Share some of yours with me in the comments or on Instagram