Engage the Law of Attraction by Creating A Vision Board
In December people naturally look ahead and start thinking about new year's resolutions, goals and desires. Empowered Coaching's upcoming Vision Board Workshop is the perfect time to create a vision board and engage the Law of Attraction so you can accomplish success in the new year.
WHAT IS THE LAW OF ATTRACTION?
The Law of Attraction is the idea that what a person thinks or focuses on can become a person's reality, whether positive or negative. The idea is that our thoughts are a source of energy and that energy attracts energy of similar vibration. Advocates of the Law of Attraction believe that if we reframe our negative thought processes to create positive ones, we can ultimately change the reality of our relationships, health, and life.
"To think is to create."~Friedrich Nietzsche
WHAT IS A VISION BOARD?
A vision board is simply an inspirational collage often times created from pictures. Supporters say a vision board is a powerful way to engage the subconscious mind and Law of Attraction to make your goals and desires attainable. They suggest that by creating a vision board, you're telling your subconscious mind what you want to focus on. In his famous book "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill said, “Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.”
WHY CREATE A VISION BOARD?
For a moment, pretend that you are going to go on vacation. Before you know what to pack, or what you'll do while you're on your vacation, you'll first need to know where you're going. That's what a vision board does. It provides direction! Just like planning a vacation, once we know where we are going, we can then make decisions that will support us in getting to our desired destination. A vision board, when used correctly, helps us keep our goals and desires top of mind so that we can go through our days taking action that moves us closer to them. Additionally, when we know what we want, taking action and setting boundaries that align with these become easier.
If you don't know what you want, you'll probably get what somebody else wants!" ~Susan Collins
The second thing that a vision board provides is inspiration. When we keep our goals and desires in front of us, it can be motivation in itself to help us persevere when the journey become difficult. Of course, this means that our goals and desire have to be inspirational. They have to be so inspiring that we'll WANT to take action to achieve them!
DO VISION BOARDS REALLY WORK?
Before I share with you how to make a vision board work, let me share a few of the success stories I found while cruising the internet.
1) As a struggling comedian, Jim Carey got booed off the stage at an LA comedy club. In spite of this humiliating experience, he decided to pursue his dream. He wrote himself a check for $10 million, adding “for acting services rendered” on the memo line. He carried this check in his pocket for years. When he finally got a lead role in the movie "Dumber and Dumber", can you guess how much he was paid?
2) Ellen DeGeneres successfully used a vision board to realize her dream of appearing on the cover of “O!” magazine.
3) In 4th grade, Katy Perry made a vision board. On her vision board, she placed a photo of Selena accepting her Grammy award. While Katy has not yet won a Grammy, she's been nominated numerous times and has won many other awards.
4) The movie “The Secret" tells John Assaraf's success story.
5) On the morning of November 4, 2008, Oprah Winfrey called a New York City radio station and shared the following:
I was speaking with Michelle [Obama] and Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver – we were all doing a big rally out in California. At the end of the rally Michelle Obama said something powerful: ‘…I want you to leave here and envision Barack Obama taking the oath of office’. I created a vision board. I had never had a vision board before. I came home, I got me a board and put Barack Obama’s picture on it, and I put a picture of my dress I want to wear to the inauguration.”
I, too, have had success with making my dreams come true through the use of a vision board. When I quit my job in September 2017, in my final email to my team, titled "Time to Climb", I talked about being on a mountain top with a large group of people. I spoke of what it felt like to be there. I could see myself on that mountain with my eyes closed, head tilted back as I stretch out my arms as wide I could. I recall feeling the sun's heat radiating on my face, the wind blowing through my hair and smelling the cool air as I created the vision as I wrote that email.
A few weeks later while at a women's retreat, I created a vision board. On that board was an image of a mountain and phrases like "Opening Act", "Ultimate Challenge, Ultimate Experience", "Start Every New Day From The Top", "Welcome to the Club", "A Shot Worth Taking", "Little did I know that one year and one week later I would be at the Grand Canyon to do a three day retreat for the freshmen class of Mount Marty College!
HOW DO I MAKE A VISION BOARD WORK FOR ME?
While I do believe that vision boards are a valuable tool in creating success; thinking and dreaming is NOT what creates success. Intentional, purposeful action is! It does not matter how much I pray, think and wish to win the lottery, I won't ever win if I don't take the action of purchasing a lottery ticket.
Below I've listed action I've taken in order to make the goals and desires captured on my vision board top of mind and eventually a reality.
1. Look, hold, feel and sense my vision board every night. I even add affirmation statements to the process as reinforcement. There is scientific evidence that the thoughts we have in the 45 minutes before we sleep are the thoughts that replay in our subconscious minds while we sleep.
2. Wake up early to do "The Miracle Morning" routine. This keeps my goals and desires top of mind and sets the tone for the day.
3. Set a picture of my vision board as a screen saver on my phone and computer.
4. Carry a recipe card with words that describe who I want to be, how I want to engage with others, and my success markers.
5. Set an alarm to go off every day as a reminder to "check in" with my vision, affirmations, and intentions. Am I thinking, speaking, and behaving in a way that supports my vision and the person that has the things I've set as goals or desires?
6. During the hard times of life, I look at the things I've accomplished and celebrate them. I keep the images of those items on my vision board as a reminder that I am making progress.
Something that I haven't done with past vision boards, that I will for the one I create at Empowered Coaching's upcoming Vision Board workshop, is placing a picture of myself in the center of my vision board. By placing my headshot in the center and looking at my vision board every morning and evening, I will begin to get used to seeing myself with the things I desire.
In summary, creating a vision board is a simple way to engage the Law of Attraction because it give the subconscious mind clarity of what to focus on. Thinking alone will not create success so a vision board acts a compass, giving us direction and reminding us to take purposeful action that moves us in the direction of our goals and desires. It also serves as inspiration to persevere when times are tough.
If you're inspired to create a vision board, please purchase your ticket to Empowered Coaching's upcoming vision board workshop.
Mother-Daughter Workshop, December 30 at 6:30pm:
https://www.facebook.com/events/462351937744984/
Resources
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
“21 Ways to Make Your Vision Board More Powerful” by Jack Canfield
https://www.makeavisionboard.com/vision-board-success/