How to Envision and Create What You Desire
Oh My Goodness. You are about to have so much fun!
An important factor in changing your life is envisioning your new life… And what better way to do that than a “vision board”?
The term “vision board” conjures thoughts of magazine cutting and scrapbooking, and I detest scrapbooking and messes so…. we’re going to save money, mess, and space by doing this on Pinterest! Also, Pinterest has ALL the choices, not just the ones from the magazines you happened to buy… it has ALL OF THE CHOICES IN THE WORLD.
NO EXCUSES
Before you haul out your excuses, such as:
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- I don’t go on Pinterest
- I don’t understand Pinterest
- I never use Pinterest
- I get sucked into it so I stay off of it
Let me explain why you don’t need to worry:
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- It’s the best way to organize without extra mess
- I will give you a quick tutorial. CLICK HERE FOR TUTORIAL
- You can use it for this alone, if you like.
- Maybe you can create a second account with ONLY your vision board so you don’t go too far down the rabbit hole
But most importantly:
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- It’s a visual platform with gorgeous, plentiful choices that will help you “see” most clearly what it is you’re seeking for your second half of your life.
*This article may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps support my blog and you get a nice, curated list of lovely things to choose from. Thank you for the support!*
LET'S BEGIN!
This is your meditation time, envisioning what you want for yourself. Now what is it that you want? No one will see this board except you so don’t edit your thoughts to seem “acceptable”. Go ahead and pin seemingly random things if they mean something to you, because they don’t have to mean anything to anyone else.
WHAT GOES IN YOUR VISION BOARD
Here’s a list of ideas to get you started:
Where you’d love to live
Places you’d love to visit
Clothes you want to wear
The kind of relationship you desire
The kind of friendships you want
Foods you’d love to prepare
Hobbies you’d love to explore
Adventures you have always wanted to try
Simple workouts that sound fun
Pets you’d love to have
Careers you’d love to work in
MY SAMPLE PINTEREST VISION BOARD
I started with a general thought of something I want to do more often and then I let that direct me to ask myself a question that leads me to the next item in my board. Here are some questions you can ask yourself…
AN ACTIVITY YOU DEEPLY DESIRE
My first thought was, “I would like to have more small dinner parties with friends and interesting people” so I typed in, “small dinner party” and picked out a few of my favorite, casual dinner party scenes.
I found plenty of picture with larger parties, or fancier food, and people dressed up, but that’s not actually what I’m looking for. I want low-key, thoughtfully prepared meals with lots of human-connection time. Sorting through this distinction allowed me to really hone in on what it was I was truly looking for.
INSIDE WHAT KIND OF SPACE?
What do you imagine your home to look like? What brings you peace or fills up your heart. It should be something that delifhts you rather than what you think will impress others. This is about your needs.
How is it decorated? What kind of windows? How big are the rooms? What’s your overall style?
IF NOT INSIDE, WHERE?
Then I went a step further and thought about an outdoor space I’d like to spend time in. After searching through many backyard photos, nothing was connecting for me. It all felt like too much and truthfully, a little stressful. I realized that I’m much more excited about the idea of balconies. A balcony! That overlooks my city! A small space that doesn’t require a lot of upkeep! I actually never realized that this is what I preferred. Now I’m excited. You can keep your acres that need to be mowed every week. I’ll take wine and cheese on my balcony with my best friend thankyouverymuch.
TRAVEL
I definitely want more traveling, eating, drinking, and sightseeing through Europe.
ACTIVITIES
There is hardly anything more I love than riding bikes, shopping for fresh food at markets and even possibly picking some myself, and then of course, cooking it.
BUT WITH WHOM?
You’ve got to get yourself some older role models. Looking at too many pictures of young people will have you doubting whether you can see yourself in these visuals.
Try searching: “aging gracefully”, “advanced style”, and “mature active woman” for a place to start.
What do you imagine yourself to look like? What kinds of friends do you hope to have?
Personally, I want to dress artfully and have friends who do too. I want them to be fun and vibrant. I find these ladies, who appear healthy and happy, to be a huge inspiration.
AN ANIMAL FRIEND?
I also want a dog because I know that the constant love and affection a pet brings is so important. Plus, there’s no better way to force yourself outside every day and actually get to know your neighbors!
With each topic, ask yourself about the details. For instance, How big should this dog be? What kind of fur? What level of activity would you like?
OK NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH MY VISION BOARD?
Once a day, pick a regular time. For me it would be while I’m having my morning coffee. Open your Pinterest page, and let your eye wander over the images you’ve carefully chosen. Imagine what it would feel like to be in these images. Feel what it would be like to have all that you desire. Don’t go down any Pinterest wormholes, you’re here to meditate on your goals and desires. Spend only 3-10 minutes. Say Thank You and close it all up.
THAT CAN'T BE ALL...
No, that’s not all. It’s time for a dose of positivity. Before you roll your eyes and call me “toxic”, wait, read on…
POSITIVITY IS MORE THAN A SMILE
It’s not about putting on a fake smile when you feel otherwise. It’s about believing you can have what you want, and that you feel worthy of what you want, and that it can actually happen.
Positivity is a touchy subject. You may have heard of “toxic positivity”, which is pretty much telling people to ignore their feelings and put on a happy face.
That is not what I’m suggesting you do here. I am recommending that you practice staying in a sense of gratitude for what you have, and practice a sense of satisfaction with how your life will evolve. It’s all about practicing staying in a vibe where you’re feeling great, hopeful, satisfied, lucky, and thankful. When you can easily stay in that feeling for minutes, you’ll soon find you can stay there for hours, and then you soon find you can stay there for days because it feels amazing. When you get really good at staying in a feeling of gratitude, you will find that things start to come to you easily, people are friendlier, you have somehow become luckier, and life is more exciting.
It may sound crazy. You don’t have to understand how it works to see that it works. Once you see that it works, then simply be thankful for it, over and over again.
VISION BOARDS AND POSITIVITY ALONE WON'T BRING YOU WHAT YOU DESIRE
This positive mindset will help bring you the things you desire on your vision board by keeping you focused on making the choices that will take you there. See what I said there? CHOICES. Choices are actions that you take that change your life. Nothing new will happen without choices and action directed toward your goals.
Every day do something toward goals -making small changes (Maybe this article below can help you with that?
Small changes are easier to make than large ones. Once you succeed with a few small changes, you’ll see the results and eventually want to aim for a bigger change. It’s all about creating momentum. If you start with attempting the bigger change right away, you may become discouraged. If you start with a couple of easy wins, and the feeling that brings, that big change might not look so intimidating.
And if you don’t believe this could possibly work, then you’re right. The surest way to get nowhere, all while being in a crabby mood is to project negativity and believe that things aren’t possible. So, why not give it a try? What’s the worst that could happen? Nothing? You might feel a good feeling? That just doesn’t sound so bad.
START THE CLOCK, EYES ON THE HORIZON
You shouldn’t focus on only results you can immediately see, because companies don’t grow big overnight, people don’t lose 50 pounds in 3 days. There were so many small steps in between, some weren’t even visible, but they added up. It took effort and it took time.
In order to get through the amount of time it takes, both the person who started the company and the person who lost 50 pounds HAD TO SIMPLY START. They had to start the clock by beginning. Your goals do take time but they don’t take FOREVER.
But one thing is for sure: If you don’t start, you can’t get there. So, start the clock, keep moving, and keep your eyes on the goal no matter what your immediate results say.
Best of luck to you. I’d love to hear about your journey. Feel free to drop me a comment!