Those who have been around a while know I take my vision board(ing) very seriously!
In the past five years, I’ve had…
- A Vision line with tiny “clothespins” and lights that stretched from one end of a wall to the other
- A Vision Journal filled to the brim with my hopes, dreams, and plans
- Various quotes and sayings written in my own hand and pasted around the room – a kind of freestyle Vision Board
- And one year, a Vision WALL! Yep, an entire wall.
Some years, I found motivation and encouragement from my creation. Others, not so much.
Some years, I went for aesthetics. Pretty pictures from magazines, people I admired, a quote or two.
Others were a jumbled tangle of ideas.
Short Digression: The Featured Photo is a quote hanging from the line of lights from last year’s Vision Board. I loved it so much I saved it! So, the lights are still up on the wall with some quotes, photos, and drawings. Below that, I’ve put my Vision Board for 2023. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
As I planned for this year, I knew I needed to get specific about some… things.
Ever since my surgery last year – and the attendant side-effect of losing most of my health anxiety (and I mean this literally!) I have been thinking about how to get healthy in every sense of the word. I’ve always *wanted* to (of course!) but my fears got in the way of my doing the one thing I needed to do! It was the first thing I should have done, too! All the experts say so!
Here’s what I mean…
Sure, I could eat better and exercise (which I did off and on for years and years!) but when it came to going to an actual doctor and getting the tests I needed… nope, nada, NO WAY! There was one test in particular that I avoided doing for TEN YEARS. Every year my doctor asked. Every year I said I would but chickened out. (Side note: I did it this year! Can you believe it?)
Such is a life filled with health anxiety. It is real… and it is crippling. I don’t say that lightly AT ALL.
I used to appreciate (and giggle at) this scene from Hannah and Her Sisters, even though (at the same time) I felt totally embarrassed by the reality of it in my own life:
Now, I find *literally nothing* funny about it. Instead, it breaks my heart.
To a person with health anxiety or hypochondria, it feels… and I cannot reiterate this enough… utterly REAL.
Another quick note: This is not a essay on Health Anxiety vs. Hypochondria, and yes, they are different. I’m bringing up the subject(s) to say this:
I AM FREE! Something snapped in the hospital and while I am kinda fascinated and want to find out what happened in my brain (and gut – because that’s where I felt so much of the fear)… it’s not the point.
The point? Health is of vital importance to me now! Not in the way it was before, where I was scared to death of what might be found out if I did the dreaded tests.
Instead, I want to know!
So, a lot of my board this year surrounds health.
With that in mind…
I present my Vision Board 2023.
It’s imperfect. Some things are crooked. The glue was runny. There are lumps and bumps.
I LOVE IT!
Most of what’s on it is very specific — blood pressure, weight, and money goals in particular.
But up in the right-hand corner is something I found and read about in a magazine (can’t even remember which one). It’s overwhelmed by the sparkly blue tape (I tried to peel it off but it wouldn’t!! LOL So much for perfection!).
A person looking at the board might not even notice it that little blue thingy up there… but it’s one of the most important changes I want to make on this board!
It says, “Always Apologising? Swap ‘sorry’ for ‘thanks'”.
You’ll wonder what it means? I know I did when I read it! It was a life-changing realization for this people-pleaser who apolgizes for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
This is in my words and is paraphrased, obviously. But see what you think…
If you’re like me, you apologize for the big stuff (which absolutely DOES require a real apology!) and small, like forgetting to put a dish in the sink or replacing the empty TP roll. Instead of rushing to “I’m sorry,” say, “Thank you for reminding me,” or “Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ll work on that!”
This small reframe will help to break the “I’m sorry” habit.
Again, this is NOT about the actual harm you’ve caused… it’s about things that you DO NOT NEED to apologize about – even if you are sorry!
I hope I explained that okay! I’m kinda doubting myself. It was in a magazine I bought a couple of weeks ago. Maybe Woman’s World? I feel like it had a blue cover… if you happen to see it around and want to read more about this that’s the best I can do.
The point is that along with tangible things that can be quantified (like pounds lost) we can include some less obvious things on our boards… like changes in behavior, we want to make.
There is no right or wrong way to make your own Vision Board. Like I say, I’ve tried all sorts of things!
Have the boards been successful? Did I get the things I put on them?
Sometimes.
I still haven’t had a famous author write a forward in my best-selling book (I think that was on 2020’s Board) or received a check for a million dollars (I wrote it to myself and pasted it in that journal I mentioned above… I think in 2018)…
But my Vision Boards *have* absolutely done one VERY important thing! They’ve been a year-long reminder that I must never stop reaching and believing for the best.
This year, I put it eye level on the wall in front of my desk. I can see that by Jan 1, 2024 I plan to have $10,000 in my savings account. (I’d better get crackin’ on that one as there are only 10 months left. I may not be a mathy person but even I can figure out that I need $1,000 a month – or a windfall!) I can also see that I want my blood pressure to be consistently 120/80.
With this constant reminder, I hope to remember to take deep breaths, calm down, and maybe grab a hard-boiled egg instead of a slice of bread!
I can look at my board and see myself being healthy, strong, and prosperous. The possibilities are endless!
Will you be making a Vision Board this year? Let us know in the comments!
The Self-Help Whisperer® 
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