New Year, Positive Me
2020 was not the year I thought it would be, to say the least. This past weekend I have been spending time reflecting on 2020 and what I want in 2021. The new year is an opportunity for us to reflect, start fresh and make choices that align with our values and goals.
Here is an idea to help start your New Year the way you want:
Consider making a Vision Board. What do you want in 2021? Seriously, what do you really want? Is there a new job that you have been thinking about for some time now? Do you have some looming debt that you want to pay off? Do you want to experience love? Do you have past hurts that have made it difficult to move forward in life and you want to figure out how to make changes? Is there a place you have wanted to travel to but haven't yet? Making a vision board is a great opportunity to reflect on the past and look forward to the present and future.
The idea of a vision board is to manifest things that you want to happen. Manifesting is having a clear vision and understanding for what you want. When you make a vision board, you are sending images to your brain of experiences and things you want to manifest or make happen. This empowers us to make the life we want through our own choices.
When you create a vision board, you are selecting images that represent things you want. Here is an example of my vision board from 2020. In my example, each image means something very specific to me. Let me explain a couple of my images to give you an idea: Hope is a mindset that I wanted to have this year (hope for the future and that things will get better), Savings represented having a $3000 emergency savings account and the LGBT Community was about building more relationships in the LGBTQ+ community. I create my vision board in Google Docs and then print/hang so it is visible each day. To manifest the things/experiences you want, your vision board needs to be visible so the images are constantly in front of you.
This practice of creating a vision board helps me make decisions based on my values and what I want for my life. By seeing my vision board daily, it causes me to think about what I have decided I want in life and how I am going to get those things and/or experiences. This is an activity I do in the first couple days of the New Year.
How to make a Vision Board:
1. Carve space to think about your goals and desires for the next year. What do you really want in 2021?
2. Notice themes/values across your goals and desires. Write them down! This allows you to focus your vision board on a couple ideas. Make a list of these goals and make sure they align with your values. For example: As I have been thinking about 2021 there have been two big ideas for me positivity and healthy choices (mentally, emotionally and physically). My images for what I want this year will be centered around these ideas.
3. Take your list and turn it into a visual board using something like google docs, art, word, a poster, etc. Be creative and make them your own!
4. Display somewhere you will see it daily to be inspired and centered. I have them framed in my workspace at home. I am proud of these and want them to be displayed in such a way that shows that.
5. Go after your manifestations with everything you got. Consistently think about them, daily look at them, and find practical ways to meet those goals or work towards them. The daily choices you make will impact your manifestations in a significant way, either positively or negatively. Remember the choice is yours!
6. Share your vision board with others. There is something to be said about sharing your goals and desires with others. It provides extra motivation to focus on them. Plus, if you have a great group of friends like I do, they will be there to support and encourage you to reach your goals/desires. The people around you play a powerful part in the future you want! Caution: there are always nay-sayers out there. Don’t let them impact you or distract you from the life you want. Haters gonna hate...thank you Taylor Swift! The nay-sayers and haters aren’t worth your time.
While I have not made my vision board yet for 2021, one idea I have is that I want to focus on making healthy choices. One way I am starting my year of healthy choices is by creating a Bingo: Home Workout Edition.
This is something I have created for myself to start the new year on a positive note that aligns to my values and vision for 2021. As it is getting colder, I am noticing it is harder for me to have motivation to stay healthy. I created this workout bingo with videos and ideas for working out at home with no equipment needed. I need a plan if I am going to get where I want, this is my plan to start the year. I have never done this before, so I will see how it goes. You will see there are a variety of different things to do...I mean who doesn’t want to Jazzercise and dance with Richard Simmons from the 80’s?!?! My goal is to blackout my board in January. Feel free to make a copy and use if you want, you can keep my squares or make your own! I am planning on taking pictures and some videos to document the fun this month!
Are you interested in making a vision board? Do you want to join the January Bingo Home Workout challenge with me? Follow me on instagram @dj.barks and let me know or join in on the fun! Let’s make 2021 the year we want!
