“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~The Summer Day, by Mary Oliver
It’s December and ‘tis the season…to set intentions and envision your wild and precious year ahead with a vision board. There is power to it. I know first hand when I look at previous boards and see what has become: My first trip to Africa, hatching a new career, getting fit with a boot camp workout, finding joy on an electric bike, watching dawn break more often; breathing more life into life.
This annual ritual begins in December when I start collecting images and words that speak to me. I get a file folder and keep it handy so anytime I see a quote, an image or something that feels like it could be part of my future, it goes in one place for safe keeping. I collect magazines, quotes from books, old calendars, cool paper and even shells or artful stickers—anything that helps tell my unfolding story.
Think about areas in your life that you may want to focus on more in 2015: health, fitness, personal relationships, your children, career, finances, school, travel, leisure time, the arts, a hobby, volunteer opportunities, a spiritual quest, or perhaps something on that bucket list? The list is endless.
You can also prepare your board by creating a mind map with you as the center circle and then create orbital circles with intentions that spill out as you consider what you really want next. The beauty of this mapping is it’s not linear, so it allows more creative juices to flow without the structure of a to do list. A mind map prep and ultimately your vision board is more of a to be list. That’s what I love about it.
As I look back on this year’s board I see a few areas I didn’t get to. There was one that dogged me all year. I kept intended to go to live theatre and music more, but never seemed to get any momentum, despite the best of intentions. Recently a few of my kid’s friends mentioned how much they loved going to plays. I suggested the three of us make a date monthly to take in a show. Our first outing is to see Wicked this week. I guess I needed to find others to share my passion and when they mentioned the desire, it all fell into place. That’s part of the way vision boards work: the ideas mill around in your head until the right opportunity presents itself and then viola, it becomes a reality.
A few suggestions if you have a notion to make your own vision board:
- Go onto Groupon to find deals on almost anything related to experiences, self-care, hobbies, etc. It’s a low price point to give something new a try.
- Get a few friends together for this to share ideas, materials, etc. Make sure you set enough time aside to not only design a board but also share it with others. There is power to voicing our intentions aloud.
- Find a visible place to display your board to help you stay accountable.
