In January of 2019, I made my first vision board. I had, however, played around with law of attraction journals before and understood how vision and action worked together. There is a lot of superstition around this method of turning a dream into reality, but there is a logical explanation for the phenomena. Most people design their board in January but June, being at the halfway point, is a good time to check in with progress, readjust, perhaps let some things go, or just dial into others in a more specific way.
In January of 2020 SPWF hosted a vision board party on our Patreon platform. Ro coached in the beginning portion then we went through goals, ideas, and design options. I can’t lie, I didn’t end up making one because, well, I couldn’t get my old one off the wall (that adhesive was not playing around) and while inspecting it, I realized I had not yet achieved the things I had set out for. All were still important goals. They included a Subaru Outback, improving my credit enough to make that happen, pictures of me at a lighthouse because of my love of the ocean, trees because of my love of nature, veterans doing yoga because of my desire to take yoga into prisons, and many other yoga references because of my personal goals and development along with my goal of graduating teacher training. Upon completion of 2019 the only goal I had turned into a reality was the certification as a yoga instructor. Everything else loomed in the distance. 2020 was going to be my year…the year right? 2020 vision, when everything was going to come together, when mad advances were being made in terms of criminal justice. Everyone I know was racing full speed, open arms to embrace this magical, symbolic year and bam… face first into a concrete wall of political discord, a global pandemic, and the nation’s uprising against racism. 2020 is a year all right, we knew it would be epic…but seriously… and its only June!!!
So, for those bright and shiny new year’s resolutions, goals, or vision boards, how is everyone doing? Have you used down time to work on projects, dreams or goals? Have you lost motivation due to unrest and anxiety? Have you been overworked because you are an essential worker? How is your mental health? How are you really doing as a whole? There is a reason companies are broken into quarters for goals. Sometimes the year as a time construct can be harder to gauge than shorter periods and time blocks.
I hit all my 2019 goals during the lockdown period in my area. I just refused to give up. I am not special. Drive, hard work, and effort are rewarded with results if one is on the right path. My credit score rose, I got my outback, I connected with a yoga organization that goes into prisons, I am living in a new home surrounded by trees and am just an early morning drive away from spending the day in front of the Pacific Ocean. I put what I wanted out into the universe, or if that is weird for you, I made a visual. I made a picture of what I wanted my future to look like and kept chipping away at the things I had to do to make it happen, and happen they did!!!
The 2nd half of 2020, for me, is all going to self-care. Healthy eating, exercise, boundaries, forming more personal relationships, experiencing fun and joy. I haven’t forgotten my incarcerated loved one in this journey, though the memory of his face is fuzzy. There will be a year at least between the last time I saw his face and the next time I visit him. I miss him terribly, but I won’t let my sadness or the unrest of the climate around me, scare me into a statuesque state. By remaining focused and motivated and keeping our personal energies high, we will raise the energy around us too. Maybe it sounds woo woo but happiness attracts happiness, and so on. They say hindsight is 2020 and now that half a year is behind us, what will you do to continue that 2020 vision into your future?
