A vision board can be quite abstract if you have only heard about it from a surface level. If you have only heard of a vision board but not used one, it may not seem practical or just seem like something that only dreamers use. I want to use this opportunity to dispel this myth and tell you that a vision board is probably one of the best tools that you can use when you are pursuing goals.
A vision board is just simply a visual representation of the goals that you wish to achieve. It is seeing, in image form, the goals that you want to attain. We cannot underestimate the power of seeing goals in image/picture form. There is a saying that: “If you can perceive it, then you can achieve it” – something Oprah Winfrey has been quoted as saying. Speaking of Oprah Winfrey, it has been mentioned that she used a picture on her vision board back when she wanted Barack Obama to become the 44th President of the USA. Look how that turned out. The talk show host, Steve Harvey, regularly professes to using vision boards. Beyoncé, world-class entertainer, spoke to Steve Kroft from CBS, and made reference to the fact that vision boards motivate and lift her focus. These are undeniably successful people who have recognised the role that vision boards have played in helping them achieve their goals.
In order to see it you need to visualise it, visualisation means holding the mental image of something. Visualisation has been proven to provoke action; it has been said that it can help to reduce stress. Some athletes use visualisation as a training tool. The keeping of a mental image in your mind and staying focused on it is visualization; therefore, a vision board helps in this process of holding a mental image. At the very least, it serves as a foundation for deciding which goals to pursue.
If you have never created a vision board before, then follow the eight simple steps I have come up with to help guide you. I have split the eight steps into two parts, this week, we will look at steps one to four, and in weeks to come I will follow with steps five to eight. Let me also issue a disclaimer at this point and let you know that steps one to five actually look more at the mentality of the process then the practicality. The practical steps will be covered after as mentioned.
- Pray – In the book of Hosea (in the Bible) in chapter four verse six, it says: “Without a vision, the people perish”. The bible lets us know that we are supposed to have a vision for our lives. Therefore, doesn’t it seem reasonable enough to connect and pray to the creator of life, God, to let him guide you as to which purpose and goals you should pursue?
- Be Disciplined – If you really want to see your goals come to fruition, then this is critical – you need to be disciplined! Staying focused is key, especially since obstacles can meet you along your path and try to derail you. Just like an athlete, who stays focused on running his or her race, so must you be when you are following your goals.
- Speak Positively – You cannot speak negatively and then expect to experience positive results. That indeed is a conflict. You need to speak in alignment with the results you are desiring. The Bible says that death and life is in the power of the tongue, so go ahead and speak life into your situation.
- Gratitude – There is a saying that your gratitude can determine your altitude. In other words, the more grateful you are, the higher you can climb. Being grateful positions you for more. You may not be where you want to be but you are also not where you could be; there are those who would wish to be in your shoes. Do not live at deferment mode, where you are waiting until such and such happens before you are happy, don’t only be happy when you get, be happy for what you have gotten. Learn to be grateful.
Look out for steps five to eight in subsequent weeks.
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