Happy Thought #2 – Vision Boards

It didn’t take me long to find today’s happy thought. I LOVE vision boards.

That’s it. That’s the whole thought. Yet there’s so much that goes into that thought and the reason behind it.

If you’ve ever found yourself floundering with what you really want from life, work, whatever, or if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by how large some of your goals might be, a vision board might help.

That’s because visualization is one of the most powerful exercises we can do in the pursuit of what’s important to us. Studies show that people who write down their goals are 50% more likely to achieve.

For me, vision boards:

• Help me keep a focused eye on both my short- and long-term goals.
• Help me break my goals into small, manageable pieces.
• Provide an almost meditative experience that helps me internalize what I want to work on.
• Provide a way to cheer myself on and celebrate my accomplishments.

You can do a Google search and find a million ideas for how to vision board and what a vision board should or could include. The beautiful thing is there really are no rules!

The best vision boards:

• Are personal to you, meaning you put them together wherever and however you want.
• Are easily visible and frequently checked.
• “Operate” in a way that speaks to your internal motivations.
• Are entirely for YOU.

The first time I remember actively vision boarding, it was with my bucket list. My husband I lived in a small apartment with not a lot of space and he (bless him!) was fine with me using one of the common walls between our living room and eating space. I simply wrote all my bucket list items on Post-It notes. As I accomplished something, I would remove the note.

Fast forward 5-6 years and now I have a wall in my office that’s more organized and spacious. In addition to using the wall to visualize my goals, I’ve also started using it to enjoy memories of bucket list items I’ve accomplished.

A few years ago I started doing an annual vision board every January, which is what spurred today’s happy thought. This vision board takes the form of a large coloring board where I break larger goals into small chunks and color each “chunk” in as I complete it. Then, at the end of the year, I get to look back and enjoy everything I accomplished.

This was my 2020 vision board.

I’ve yet to accomplish ALL of my annual goals in one year but I always feel like I’ve accomplished a ton. Anything that’s not complete is an opportunity for me to either re-evaluate it’s importance or my approach to completing it.

Or, in the case of 2020, to give myself a break. A lot of those incomplete spaces are items that simply couldn’t be completed due to the pandemic.

This is my vision board for 2021:

It includes goals like:

• Start a habit of doing a morning workout and meditation (represented by 3 spots because I’ll consider the habit to be established after 3 months).
• Explore 6 new parks (represented by 1 spot for each new park)
• Focus on our family’s saving strategy (represented by about 6 spots dedicated to things like researching different savings/investing strategies, reaching certain savings goals, etc.)
• Complete 3 bucket list items (represented by 1 spot for each bucket list item)

The point is, do your vision board by doing YOU. I love coloring as a stress reliever so a coloring-based vision board is very ME.

What would your ideal vision board be?