One year ago, just before Christmas, I attended an event that I learned about through Facebook. It was a "manifest your vision for the new year" type of end-of-year event, hosted by a local women's group. Being that I was on this journey of self-growth and self-discovery and that I had a friend attending whom I hadn't seen in about four years, I was eager to attend.
Our instructions were to think of one word as an intention to set for the new year and to create our vision board around that by adding pictures from magazines and words that inspired us as aligning with our intentions for the new year. At the time, the first word that came to my mind was "consistency," which is definitely something I worked on this year, although I never did include this word in my vision board. However, looking back at my vision board now, I think that the term "self-care" can be used to sum up my intentions for 2020. Take a look at my board below.
Looking at this a year later, I'm realizing just how much this intention has played out in the year. In fact, this board showcases my main message and journey that I'm communicating through this blog: that of self-care and self-growth as I pursue my journey to become a mom and build my business as a freelance writer and editor, one that will allow me the freedom I desire for a better work-life balance.
In the middle, I placed a baby girl. Surrounding this are images of self-growth, such as the growing tree. The picture of a desk, which I thought of as a home office, was placed underneath, as another goal of mine was to establish and decorate my home office (which I did!). I find it interesting that I placed it directly underneath and actually overlapping with the baby picture, emphasizing my knowledge and belief that my work life is closely tied to my personal life and goals; being happier and less stressed with work would, in turn, have a positive effect on both my mind and body.
To the right of the baby image is the statement "How Should I Spend My Saturday?" with a wheel of activities above. This definitely showed my vision to be more intentional about how I spend my time.
Above the image of the baby is a picture of a cozy log cabin; I don't really have some deep reflection or insight for this one. I just happen to have a thing for log cabins!
Sprinkled in are words, phrases, and images that "spoke" to me:
- the phrase "Better for You" along with an image of a diffuser with the word "spa" since it invokes feelings of rest, relaxation, and self-care, and I had begun my journey using essential oils a year before;
- the word "organize" since organization has been a consistent goal of mine in recent years and is an area in which I make some progress in each year;
- the phrase "What You Can Do Now to Prep for Your Future," a phrase that has always been meaningful to me since I tend to think a lot about the future, and this was a big focus of mine this year;
- the phrase "How to Sell Your Stuff Online" since I began selling online consistently for the first time the end of 2019 and into this year, through Facebook Marketplace and as a Poshmark seller;
- the phrase "Something New" and that I definitely did as I embarked on launching a doTERRA business and doing direct sales, something I had always shied away from, for the first time;
- the phrase "Make It Happen" because, duh, this is a vision board after all and "income" because, after all, we all do need money, even if it was not my main focus this year;
- and a few others that just speak to who I am as a creative: "Stand out" (because I don't make choices just based on what is popular), "Great Stories," "Power of a Book," "Bright Ideas" and "Design" (just starting this blog was a manifestation of those goals!).
Interestingly, near the bottom of the page is the phrase "At-Home," which really took on a whole new meaning this year. I was not psychic in my prediction that I would be spending a lot of time at home this year; my intention was just to spend more time at home for a good work-life balance and to have time for myself as I embarked on beginning my IVF journey. And with all of the appointments and medication involved, I figured that I would be spending a lot of time at home, including working from home. Coincidentally, the rest of the world did this as well!
On the bottom right is an image of two female friends having a conversation in what appears to be a suburban setting. Since I moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, this reflected my goal to make friends. Though I have gotten to know several of my neighbors better, I feel like the friend that I most connected with this year is the one I got to reconnect with at this very event! Shortly into the new year, we met up at a Starbucks for coffee (just before the Covid shutdown) and chatted for over three hours!
Near the top I placed the word "happy," most likely subconsciously in that location, because, above all, isn't that the goal?
Just now, I'm realizing that I need to create a new vision board for 2021, to build on what I've accomplished this year, except this time, instead of in-person, I'll probably be doing it via Zoom.
Although I am just as glad as we all are to say goodbye to 2020, I have to say that, in reflecting back, at least it was a year that I stuck to my intentions, and I tried my best to stay positive and look for the silver linings. Let's bring on 2021!
Have you ever created a vision board? If you have, what are some reflections of yours? If not, I hope this post inspires you to do so!