In order to really truly have a vision, there are two key components. You need to give yourself some TIME to really reflect on what your vision is . . . and then you need to SEE it . . . in real life. Real pictures. Out in the open. That you can touch and, well, see!
For the last few weeks I have been IMMERSED in creating something called a #futureboard. I am following a book written by Sarah Centrella to a T (#futureboards: learn how to create a vision board to get exactly the life you want) and have finally completed my finished product!
This is different than what you might think of as a “Vision Board.” This is (way) more than looking at random magazines and trying to find things that MIGHT spark your interest. As the author writes, #futureboards “are more than just a ‘vision’ or a ‘dream.’ They are actual visual pictures of what my life will look like in the next three to five years and beyond.” How does she do that? She leads us through a series of exercises. She makes us do some work on our past, the good and bad, and she makes us each ask ourselves . . . what do we want when it comes to:
- Relationships
- Career and Ambitions
- Mind and Body
- Passions and Joy
- Wealth and Abundance
- LIVE: what experiences do we want to see happen in our life?
From there . . . we explicitly search for specific images that 100% match what we see in our heads when we do the work outlined in the book. Therefore my board is not a random collage of things I have accidentally found. Instead, I have sought after each image that is personal to me. This is what makes it so incredibly purposeful. This is where the magic happens.
After completing this book and making my board, I realized two things:
1) My Future Goals are now palpable. When I close my eyes to go to sleep at night, I walk around in them. I envision the vacations I will spend with my family. I walk around the kitchen of my dreams. I gaze out across the ocean from my living room. I see the shifts in my career as I grow in new ways. I SEE my future 100%.
2) My life’s desires are fairly simple. At the forefront of every exercise, what made my happiest was when I envisioned my family of 4: traveling, cooking, laughing, spending quality time together. It is funny. When you really ask yourself what you would do with millions and millions of dollars, truly the number one thing for me was just more time with my family.
Ok, before you think I am too boring. I have some lavish dreams too. I dream of owning an oceanfront beach home like the ones my mom and I get to walk through when we go on the Bethany Beach, Delaware, Beach & Bay Cottage Tour. To be specific, a beach home designed by Marnie Custom Homes. I dream of owning an insane double refrigerator like the one on my board. I dream of taking a private chartered yacht through Croatia and the Greek Islands with my extended family. I dream of always flying first class. I dream of having a driver and a person to do all of my dishes and all of my laundry. And you know what? I have zero doubt that all of these things will come true. After going through the exercises, I FEEL these things happening. It is crazy to say out loud, but I do.
Here is what I realize I could care less about. I don’t give a hoot about fancy cars, purses, crazy fashion, or expensive shoes. That does not inspire me . . . at all. Give me the ocean, a fancy kitchen, amazing food, someone to do my chores, and time with my family, THAT gets me going.
Here is what I also LOVE about this book REAL TIME. As I was going through the exercises, I realized how much I just want to spend more time with my kids. How much I love cooking with them. How I want to play more games with them. How I REALLY want to be the one to get them off the bus. Funny thing. I was immersed in completing the exercises (AKA I was holed up in my office, door shut, and instructions to let me be!!!!) and the kiddos barged in and said “Mommy, can we bake something!?” I opened my mouth to say “Not now! Mommy is busy.”
Then, FULL STOP.
What the actual heck Wendy? You just wrote how you wanted to spend MORE time with the kiddos, why are you on your screen when you can be living the essence of your #futureboard RIGHT NOW? In that moment, I said, “YUP. Let’s do it. Let’s go through a recipe book and figure that out NOW!” As the kids cheered and bounced away like the yahoos they are, I stepped away from the screen and left my #futureboard work for my next free moment.
Already I am making a conscious effort to look at my dreams and live them. Already I am saying NO to the activities, events, and invitations that do not align with my #future and saying yes to all the things that do. Already I am LIVING the future I want to create for myself.
Simple and small steps. But simple and small steps in the right direction.
Here is my finished product – with room to GROW!
If you are doing this exercise too and want to see where all of my images came from. Click here to see my Pinterest Boards (crucial parts to making your #FutureBoard!)
If you are ready to hop on the vision bandwagon, this is the book I used! Have you made a Future Board or Vision Board? I would love to hear what dreams came true for you!
