Yeah I made a vision board and... IT WORKS SO FAR.

In the beginning days of the pandemic, specifically a month into sitting at home quarantined and watching “Love Island” obsessively, motivation finally struck. “I’m going to make a vision board,” I declared enthusiastically to my mom and sister, and ran into the garage to retrieve a box full of old magazines. Thanks to my OCD, I decided I wouldn’t begin without a plan and I scribbled -Venn diagram style - what I was hoping to highlight in my board. I was looking to get my health back on track (A.K.A. to me - lose weight), get my finances in order, become more career focused, and above all, be more positive. I clipped pictures from the magazines that spoke to me at the time. That day was the last time I thought about the board all year.

I forgot to mention above that the idea of a vision board was given to me by none other than my therapist at the time, almost 4 years ago. Clearly my timing was off. However, after the tumultuous reign of 2020 over my life and everyone else’s ended, I wanted to start the new year fresh. I decided to stop staring at the corner of the black poster board that I never used and was peaking from behind my dresser and do something about it.

Back in the garage, in the same box I procured the first time around filled with magazines, I found my Venn diagram of goals and clippings. To my surprise, although quite a few of my goals were not accomplished on the list (due to…you guessed it, the pandemic) a few actually were. This already coaxed the small flame that was burning within me to start this project to grow drastically. I wrote up a new list of goals I had for this year, but I decided to break them down.

Unlike my previous attempt, I came up with five categories I wanted to focus on: Relations, Health, Life-long Learning, Career, and Finances. Within those categories I came up with more specific goals to break them down. I know myself, and although making deadlines doesn’t typically work for me, making a more direct goal does. With my new goals in hand and a super motivating playlist, I began clipping out of the magazines again. After going through so many magazines, I also realized that there were a few things I most likely wouldn’t find. With the aid of Pinterest I found a few more quotes/pictures I thought may help.

Being a person who loves crafts, I definitely think the most fun was putting my board together. Arranging everything was a blast, but definitely required patience. In order to be happy I first laid out a rough draft of sorts. Without gluing anything I arranged the clippings as I liked, and then took a quick picture to remember the set up. Then I glued down all of my background pictures. After that dried, I tackled the quotes and blurbs I decided to add. With the flourish of a paint pen, I added my category titles, and voilà! I was done.

To say I was beaming would be an understatement, as I immediately curated the perfect spot on the wall in my bedroom to hang my creation. I wanted to ensure that the board was visible to me anytime I was in my room, so that I could keep a clearer picture of my goals if things seemed a bit foggy that particular day. I found it almost rewarding when my mom pointed to a particular image and asked, “What does this stand for?”. I explained to her that it was something important to me that I didn’t want to share.

Overall, this whole experience was very eye-opening to me for a few reasons:

One: For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have something to look forward to and push me throughout the year. We all have been through the new year’s resolution promises that we never keep to ourselves, and so I wanted this to be different. By choosing certain images and quotes that mean something to me and only me, I am able to hold myself accountable and keep more of a personal score on what I am achieving.

Two: The whole process cannot be done right or wrong. Yes you’ve heard that before, and I’ve never believed in it either, but it’s true! You have to do what works for you. If you want to make a vision board with glitter or with pop out pictures, you can! It’s important to do what works for you, what will inspire you, and what will cultivate the deepest meaning for yourself. For me, this was a profound discovery.

Three: I already, a month in to this year, have made good use of my board. Every morning, I wake up and glimpse at my board. I’ve already been through a few stressful days, and have reminded myself of what my purpose and intentions are with the aide at my vision board. With a visual representation of my intent, I have been able to cultivate more decisions only to benefit myself.

So the real moral of all of the above is that this is my fresh start! Now, I never said it would be the same for you, or that it’s a guaranteed fix to all problems, but don’t knock it until you try it. If posting a thousand sticky notes on your wall, or making an abstract collage in your bathroom, or getting daily massages is something you think will help you, do it. As said by Ray Bradbury, “Life is trying things to see if they work,” and for me making a vision board has worked. Perhaps it will for you too.