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Vision boards are nothing new. Yet, why make a vision board is still a question many of us come across. Especially during times of personal struggle, we feel lost as we look out there for answers. I’m currently standing at another crossroads in my life, and searching for guidance and advice has brought me again to the vision board. Is it a mere coincidence?
I began thinking about writing this post back in August 2020. Back then, my struggle was that I felt stuck; stuck at home, stuck in life. Life suddenly paused. A great feeling of dread and uncertainty permeated my everyday. Without a clear vision, I couldn’t see the path forward anymore.
The Prodigal Post…
Other things got in the way of me completing that post. It stayed collecting dust for almost two years, just like the blog and the rest of my personal creative endeavors. Allowing that was a mistake. But after a year of being home, bored and empty of meaning, I wanted to get out there and find my purpose.
Actually, I wanted to be given a purpose and a meaning by finding an external meaning and purpose to follow. I wanted to find a beacon, somewhere, that might alight in my soul the passion and help me push unnerving uncertainty with work, with activity, with a commitment to a greater cause.
I succeeded. There was no longer time to create a vision board for self-discovery and self-affirmation and follow the vision home. There was plenty of creativity going around though. I was finally a teacher, I finally had students I could care for and nurture, inspire and challenge. But I did not have a vision.
Now, I’m facing the second half of 2022, and the vision thing is getting in my way again. popped unexpectedly as I was reading Tara Schuster’s “Buy Yourself The F*cking Lilies“.
In the book, the author advocates for the power of the vision board but offers another alternative that resonated with me; mapping your own self, visually, in a way you can connect with the ever-evolving nature of your being, as you go through the process of creating your own life.
I liked this evolution of the vision board as a map of your true self. In that sense, it’s less about a visual collection of “stuff” and experiences you want to manifest and more about your inner world. It made total sense, using the innate curiosity of our mind to discover, explore, nurture and love our inner world, first.
Before we can jump on the path and start moving, we need to know who’s the person jumping. We need to know what her values are, and the thoughts, words, and actions that align with those values.
To dive into this self-exploration, the author asks three (3) key questions:
- Where do you feel and find the source of your self-esteem?
- What are your principles? the foundation upon which you built and measure everything?
- What are the thighs about yourself you want to be true? your life-affirming, self-affirming statements?
My intention for today is to grab a couple of index cards and go through these questions with a curious, open mind, and an open heart. With a better, more authentic knowledge of myself, with an actual map of myself to guide me, I will have a better idea of where I’m starting with.
Then, only then can I try to see beyond me into what I wish to experience and the possible paths opening up before me. As I said above, clarity of self must come first.
So, to wrap this long-over-due post up, the “why” of making a vision board is clarity of purpose, meaning, and overall direction. However, a wonderful, exciting vision board will be moot, nothing but a colorful craft, if you don’t start by getting to know yourself.
It might be a cliché, but wiser words were never spoken (or written down?), Know Thyself.
Gaba G.
