Oprah is all about vision boards. At least her writers are.
Vision boards mean different things to different people. Some believe that the mere act of making them and looking at them in a mindful way actually bring the things you want into your life. Others take a more psychological approach, explaining that if you’re looking right at the life you want to have you’ll do things to make it possible and be more aware of the opportunities that come your way. I guess I’m about 90% psychological and 10% magical.
I shared one of my vision boards with you a LONG time ago. I made it not too long before Drew and I got married. The thought of whether I would be able to have a baby or not was weighing heavily on my mind. My seemingly neverending battle with anxiety was up there too. This was my second vision board. I remember how cool it was to make it because I got to remove some of the items from my first vision board because they already happened. I love checking things off of a list!
The last vision board that I made was not too long after I had Nathaniel, while I was on maternity leave. My doula wanted to make one too, so she came over one day and we sat on my bed ripping pictures from magazines and talking about the images. We shared some of the things that we wanted out of life, and showed our images related to them. This was definitely one of the few bright spots during my period of postpartum depression.
Looking back at that day and remembering how much better I felt, I can see that it was because of two things: I was focusing on myself and what I wanted for my life rather than being consumed with the duties of motherhood and the doubts I had about my abilities to be a good mother. Also, at that moment I believed there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I believed that I wouldn’t always feel as bad as I felt then.
I haven’t updated my vision board since then, but when I look it it I see things that have come into my life that I wanted for myself back in the fall of 2010. It’s due for a facelift soon.
What do you guys think about vision boards? Do you “believe” in them? Do you think they’re interesting? If you’ve never made one before, would you want to? What if you could meet up with a group of women in your city, talk about your dreams, and make them together?
EDIT: See Images for My Next Vision Board if you want to know what else I intended to include in this post. Note to self: Increase coffee intake before blogging.