A little more than a year ago I started this blog not knowing really what to expect but with the goal of it being not only a creative outlet but hopefully a tool that would help someone in every day life. I scrolled through my posts while writing this one and I’m pleased with what I produced in my first year, however there is room to grow and to make a bigger difference and to tell more of the story that I want tell. I intend on putting more work into it this year. My goals will mean consistent posting, promotion across platforms, striving to show up every day, planning ahead…. And I’ve got some helpful tools to use for that.
But first, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the events of the past week that have occurred in the U.S. To say that I am horrified, ashamed and frightened is an understatement. I do not condone, nor do I support, violence and the storming of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., as directed by the person that is the President of the United States is so morally, ethically and completely wrong. Let’s call it what it is: an assault on the very democracy and ideals that our country was founded on. The damage caused, the lies and hate that have spread, the intimidation, the loss of life, none of it is what I want for the future, or for my son’s future. I am hopeful that justice will be rightfully served and those responsible are held accountable, as I would hope for anyone that has broken a law.
Truthfully, I was disheartened to see that many bloggers that I follow on social media did not even acknowledge anything was happening and have stuck to their regular content. To be fair, that’s their prerogative, but if I can’t express my views, in a productive way, on my platform, then I wouldn’t be true to myself or anyone who is following me. I have become a news junky over the past week, which I know is becoming an unhealthy habit. There’s so much ‘noise’ that I need to practice tuning it out and diving back into the things that keep me going on a daily basis, and carving out time for self care and quieting my thoughts.
With that said, let’s talk about New Years resolutions and intention setting again - that was one of my first posts last year. We all want to eat better, drink more water, we all want to get more sleep, read more, be more present, have more time with family and all those are good resolutions… But I like to think of it as setting intentions instead. Setting intentions has longevity, whereas, I don’t know about you, but resolutions have only so much shelf life. And this year, seems like resolutions lasted maybe a week.
Skimming over my intentions last year - get more sleep, drink more water, be active every day, read a book a month, send a card or email, travel internationally (2020 certainly pumped the brakes on that one), practice an act of self-care once a week, pay off bad debt, practice more random acts of kindness… These are all things that I can carry over into 2021 and aspire to reach. This year, I decided to put my intentions out visually: by making a vision board - a direct representation of your goals that you can see every day.
Lists are great and definitely useful, but I’ve learned I’m more of a visual person. I need to see things in front of me. By making a vision board, it’s my creative way to hold myself more accountable and to give higher aspirations for my goals. To create one digitally, I jumped over to Canva and created one, pulling images that resonated with me, things that inspire me, things I want do and goals I want to accomplish. I enjoy doing arts and crafts projects and would normally have flipped through magazines and cut out pictures, words and ideas and put them on a page like a collage however I’m short on magazines so digital worked just fine.
Let’s talk about what’s in my 2021 vision board and what I did with it once it was finished. Some of the things you’ll see are pretty obvious - spend more time with family, become more financially savvy/pay off debt/save more, travel… Real talk: I have to be realistic and serious about the money part because being in debt is weighing me down. This part of my intention and my vision board represents what I need to accomplish this year - debt prohibits me from taking on things like home-improvement or travel or saving more for retirement or my son’s education or giving more to charities whose values I share. It’s like a cloud that hangs over me. I’m tired of it. I’m frustrated with it. It makes me angry that I haven’t paid it off yet. So no more. It’s time for me to take control of it and to be accountable to myself.
If 2020 has taught all of us anything, it’s that we are only given so much time on this earth and and we need to cherish every moment that we have. So I want to spend time with my family making more memories. Other things on my board include more self-care, being outdoors and growing my blog space. A new development is that I was accepted by LiketoKnow.it as an ‘influencer’. This is a great step for me and I’m excited to share products that I have used and have made a different for me on a platform that others can easily access.
So that’s my 2021 vision board. My first try at a visual representation of my goals. I have saved this as my phone wallpaper and printed out a copy for my desk area. Now it’s here for you to see. What are your goals and hopes for 2021? Have you created a vision board? Drop a line in the comments below! Here’s to a positive and healthy year this year - Happy 2021!
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