What are your goals? I bet you’ve set some for January. And of course, they’re important. But on their own, they won’t motivate you.
For instance, I have a goal to grow The Jewellery Spot blog readership in 2020, so I can spread the joy of jewellery to even more people, and tell even more amazing stories. But does growing my readership numbers really motivate me enough to go through all the long hours putting content together, networking at events and managing my website?
Well, to be honest, no. Blogging (and running a business) is hard work. Numbers (whether they represent readership or money), just don’t motivate you to go that extra mile you need to make your business stand out.
No, what you need is a VISION. You need to be able to visualise what your life could look like if you achieve these goals.
This vision isn’t just about how successful you are, but the LIFESTYLE you live too. Maybe your vision is all about being able to be your own boss and work at home in your pyjamas. Or maybe it’s to be selling jewellery at all the biggest trade fairs. Maybe it’s to be able to work flexibly, so you can spend more time with your kids. Or maybe it’s all of those things.
Your ideal lifestyle is completely personal to you, and will probably be different from someone else’s. But if you want to succeed, then it’s important to know what your perfect vision is.
And as ever, the best way to commit yourself to it is to put it down on paper! Whether it’s virtual or an old fashioned pad of paper and pen, there’s something magical about writing your dreams down. And doing it with pictures is even more motivational. The fact is we respond emotionally to photos and it’s the passion they evoke that keeps you going an extra few hours to finish off a piece of work. And that also gives you the confidence to put yourself out there when you’re feeling scared.
Creating a VISION BOARD can help you visualise that dream life. It’s a constant, visual reminder of what you’re aiming for. And it can keep you going, during those moments when you’re so tired you forget why you started all this in the first place. The moments when most people give up. And not giving up during those dark days? Well that can be the difference between failure and success.
How to create your perfect vision board:
Well you can either do this on paper or digitally – Pinterest works well. However if you do create a digital version, I strongly suggest you print out your vision board, and hang it somewhere you will see every day – like inside a cupboard, or in your study. This way it will be much more effective.
1.Think about how you want your lifestyle and work life to look – it’s important you don’t hold back. This is your DREAM lifestyle, remember. So go for it and write down at least five statements about your dream lifestyle.
And remember details are important, they help you visualise yourself living this dream life more easily. My dream is to be able to wear jeans every day for work – so I actually put this on my vision board!
Here are some examples of things you could write: I want to work from home; I want to have flexibility at work / I want to travel lots / I want to create income from my passion / I want to go for a run every lunchtime / I want to be able to have home cooked food for lunch / I want to work near a deli so I can buy delicious food to eat at lunchtime / I want to wear jeans to work every day.
2.Take 30 mins to go through magazines, cut out whatever images appeal to you, and help illustrate your dream life you’ve described above. Then stick them onto a large sheet of paper (I use a page of an A2 sketchbook).
Or you can do this on Pinterest, or by finding images on Google and cutting and pasting them into an open document.
Focus on how the images make you feel, they don’t necessarily have to represent exactly what your vision is. For example, if you want to open a shop, you could use a photo of any shop to represent it. It doesn’t have to be exactly how you’d like your shop to look.
3.Next, think about some words to go with your vision. Add them to your board. As before, focus on words (or phrases) that make you feel empowered and excited about going for your dreams.
Here’s some examples of words you could add: Happy, family time, strong, creatively fulfilled, financial freedom, healthy, relaxed, confident.
Then put the board up somewhere you will see it every day. (If it’s a digital version, then print it out).
Well done you! Looking at your vision board every day (especially those days when you want to throw your laptop out of the window), really can help you get to your dreams.
And what if your dreams change? Well, the fact is they probably will. But having a vision board will give you a direction to aim towards. If that goal changes, well then just adapt the vision board, or create a new one. But the fact is, that original vision board is the one that started you on the journey. You’ve got nothing to lose!
Have you ever created a vision board? Did it help you focus on (and achieve) your goals? What did you put on it?
All photos (except first one) by Pexels