How to Create a Vision Board

Vision boards are great tools for creating new realities and attracting opportunities into our lives. The vision board works by activating the unconscious and helping us recognize opportunities when they cross our paths.  Many of us attract opportunities daily, but not all of us take action nor recognize them as they appear in our lives.  Many of us are fixated on specific results and overlook the subtle opportunities that present themselves.

 A vision board can serve as a focal tool that trains us to recognize opportunities as they present themselves. You can create any reality you desire to use a vision board. Granted, you cannot generate height if you are short, nor can you make a castle out of thin air.  But you can train yourself to think in positive ways that allow you to open doors to endless possibilities.

When creating your vision board, allow yourself to use your imagination freely. Do not worry about how nice it looks or what is correct or not since it is your vision board to do whatever it is you desire. Some folks may have their options based on what has worked for them, and this cool; however, it is your vision and yours alone.

In creating your board, include anything that visually will remind you of your goals or desires.  For instance, if you wish to travel, use pictures of the places you want to visit.  If you’re going to finish your education, add elements that symbolize your educational goal, such as words or pictures of objects related to your field. For example, you want a degree in journalism, add a photo of your favorite journalist or if your degree is in science, add a photograph of your favorite scientist, etc. Images, words, affirmations, or even poetry, can be used to decorate your board, as well as little objects or trinkets.

Think of your vision board as your road map that allows your unconscious mind to create new navigation patterns. With a vision board, you are doing more than just laying down the foundation for attracting new possibilities; you are also relearning how to think and reprogram your thinking. A vision board can be seen as something for attracting new options and a tool for breaking old patterns and beliefs.

To create a dream board, you will need to do the following:

• Get a physical board – where you can pin all the images, words, trinkets, and affirmations related to your desires
• Select the specific area(s) you wish to manifest – Be detailed and generous in your desires. You can select one or several areas you want to manifest: a house, business, educational goal, physical change, financial goals, etc. Go all out
• Gather your visual objects: You can use downloaded pictures, draw or add photos representing what you wish to obtain.
• Write a paragraph or sentence: Express what you desire on a piece of paper and can attach it to the correlating visual object on your board
• Run free with your imagination: You can be minimalistic as you like or over the top with your decorations. There are no real rules on the decorative elements.
• Feel free to use color or keep it monochromatic:  Remember this is your board, and it represents your desires and wishes

Once you feel satisfied with your creation, place the board someplace where you can sit at least once a month for a. brief 5-minute meditation.  Never overdo your visualization practice since overdoing it will increase your expectations and overthinking.  The key is to meditate and let go. Manifestation works best when it is easy going and not infused with stress or overthinking. A vision board, not a wishing well, so you are not creating an object for making wishes, but rather an item to help guide your unconscious mind into a healthy and proactive direction.

Our minds are influential, and when we overthink, we create stress and doubts, which translates into worry.  Nothing gets manifested when we worry since our focus is now on negative patterns and not positive opportunities.

Whatever you do, enjoy your board and the creative process.

Copywrite ©2020 R. Castro

Goal Planning through Journaling

There are a lot of benefits to using journals as a self-help tool. Journaling is an excellent tool for helping us release emotional issues, clarify thoughts and organizing our goals. The beauty of a journal is that it gives you a concrete way of keeping track of changes and improvements.

Aside from helping us document events, journaling is useful for brainstorming and coming up with a variety of ways to resolve all types of situations.  You can use journaling as a platform for creating a roadmap that allows you to develop problem –solving strategies.  You can also use your journal to write down goals to help you resolve your problems, by helping you focus on specific steps and objectives.  Here is a simple sample of how to tackle a problem using strategic goals.

1. Problem: Once you identify the problem you can then commit to a plan of action.
2. Goal: What do you hope to achieve as your desired outcome.
3. Objective: Consider your objective the reason behind your goal.  Think of the objective as the reason behind engaging in your goal to begin with.
4. Steps: list at least 3 to 4 specific steps you can do as often as possible. You may find yourself only doing one step and sometimes more than 5, depending on your energy levels
5. Frequency: Time devoted to achieving your goals.
6. Timeframe: The amount of time to complete each step 

To help develop your goals, we can use an easy sample problem which consists of the following scenario:

Problem:
You struggle to keep up with journaling because you find it boring. (I am sure many of you do), lack the discipline or simply do not know how to begin.

Goal:
For your desired outcome, you would like to maintain an active journal

Objective:
The reason you want to maintain a journal It’s because you document ideas, brainstorm, problem-solve and keep a recording of progress in different personal areas.

Steps:

Take time to organize the steps to help you achieve your goal.  It is important that you do a minimum of two steps from the selection below.  Keep in mind you can create additional steps and exchange them for the ones mentioned.  The idea is to get you into the habit of putting in effort towards getting your goal completed

1. Buy a really nice book that inspires you to write
2. Begin by writing one to two sentences to either summarize or start your day
3. Write at least once in the day, it can be first thing in the morning or late at night
4. Look up journaling ideas on YouTube or Google in order to stay motivated
5. Be creative with your journal, in other words, you can draw pictures, write poems, add inspirational quotes, anything that comes to mind
6. You can combine your journal writing with meditation or visualization practice
7. You can document any dream you recall
8. You can write down your to-do list for the day or a list of things accomplished
9. The journal can also be useful in documenting progress

Frequency:
Commit to a regular plan of action which consist of writing daily for 5 minutes to help you develop a lifetime habit

Timeframe:
Commit to a timeframe that will allow you to develop the habit of writing in 21 or 30 days. This can be updated as needed

Keep in mind goals are not the endpoint, but often the beginning of a new chapter.  Many people believe that the minute they achieve a goal, there is no more work to be done.  The truth is life is a process with many different steps and each step takes us to another level. The key to overall success is not just in the completion of a goal, but also the ongoing maintenance which converts the goal into a lifestyle.

When creating your goals, view them as lifestyle choices, since it will keep you motivated and committed.

Copyright© 2020 R. Castro

 

 

 

Goals and Habits

To avoid incomplete goals, you must learn to adjust your thinking and develop a routine that feeds your goals. However, it’s easier to write down a list of goals, then it is to accomplish them. There are many reasons people fail in obtaining results when they are trying to succeed in completing their goals.

Goals get created out of a desperate need to change. However, what sparks the desperation is often a moment of emotional disappointment, that typically vanishes when we start on the idea of a goal or shift the focus.  Wanting to change is not enough to get a goal going or obtaining outcomes. Needing to change is also not enough to get results with any goals. Though having desires to change is the beginning of change, there need to be some concrete plans and ongoing activity. Keep in mind plans can be designed and developed with all types of apps and guides, but the core of making anything happen is the activity.

You are aware that you need to change, and often initiate change oriented goals and only after a few days or weeks, you find yourself slipping back and forgetting your routine. Failing to maintain commitments towards a goal often occurs and is the key behind why many individuals quit and fail to continue.  Your views on goals need to change and become infused into your lifestyle. Your goal activities need to become a fluid and natural element in your life. They need to become part of your identity and something you do without negative self-talk or emotional conflicts. When you start second-guessing your actions, negotiation a new routine or feeling uninspired, typically you create excuses to bail out or stop pursuing your goals. The ending and interruptions of goals tend to be fueled by emotional disconnect, doubts and sometimes boredom. Keep in mind when we start new projects, our excitement and initial motivation produce surges that send signals to our brain which produces dopamine surges. The upsurge of neurotransmitters, help create a stage of drive that gets us going, however, the levels of dopamine production return to normal, which may even contribute to boredom and reduce motivation.

To successfully achieve your goals, you need to develop them like you would a habit. Constant engagement needs to occur, allowing the activities to turn into a lifestyle habit.  By engaging in consistent routines, you are training your brain to develop behavior. The constant action also becomes a rewarding event that turns into a stable pattern once it’s learned and incorporated into your brain’s mapping system. The more you do an activity, the more your brain becomes accustomed to the chemical reactions produced by the activity, thus creating a chemical anchor that tells the brain, the behavior is rewarding and one that needs to be sustained and repeated. According to a neuroscientist, many behavioral habits are linked to the section of the brain called the basal ganglia, a component in the development of emotions and pattern recognition. Basically, the more we repeat specific behaviors, the more we help our brains become wired for repetitive patterns that create habits.

To help you develop good habits that enable you to meet your goals, you do need to do some of the following:

1. Create a schedule – Repetitive and consistent behavior will allow the brain to develop desired patterns
2. Maintain commitment for over 30 days – The consistency will enable new habits to form.
3. Keep things simple – less is more and easier to obtain
4. Keep a journal to document emotional encounters
5. Recognize that new habits can keep up all types of emotions
6. Get support – join a group that shares similar values and will help you bounce back whenever you feel stuck or emotionally frustrated
7. Avoid negative rewards – anything that reinforces negative patterns should be avoided as rewards. For instance, if you are trying to lose weight don’t use food as a “treat”; buy something when trying to improve your budget or a glass of wine when stopping substance abuse.
8. Do mini-goals for each stage of your goal – rather than create one big goal, divide your goal into mini-goals
9. Create a deadline and then revise your goals with new challenges that will strengthen your results

The more you engage your daily routine, the easier it will become. Initially, specific goals can be challenging and create doubts and concerns. Keep in mind change is never comfortable nor easy. It is entirely natural to expect periods of self-doubt when you encounter rough patches your process of transformation. The key is to maintain your focus and continue to move forward with your goals regardless of how your doubts and tendencies to entertain negative beliefs. Remember when you encounter negative emotions or thoughts write them down or call a someone from your support system.

Copyright©2017 Rosa Castro

Resolutions and Why They Fail

There are some problems with making resolutions, which is the idea of keeping them going beyond January and if you are a bit more serious you even go beyond February. Many of you are sincere when it comes to creating goals because you want to change.  But the problem after you get started on your goal, you tend to stop just before completion. Most folks when they think of obtaining a goal, they think of a to-do list. Few forget the steps, the physical process and the commitment required to making a goal happen.

It’s admirable to want to change, but you need a real game plan. Take for instance some of the most common new year’s resolutions, losing weight or changing jobs. Both of these goals are good ones, but both are ones in which most folks tend to bail out because their game plan is missing vital steps.

For example, take the weight loss goal. Most goals include joining the gym and a diet. Though it sounds simple, it lacks a few components such as: how much do you wish to lose, and loss by what date? Also how long do you intend to work out? Will you only work out until you lose weight and achieve your goal? Or do you intend to make it a lifestyle?  Do you notice a theme?

Resolutions for change require a long-term lifestyle component. If achieving something for the long haul is your goal, then your goal has to be part of a lifestyle makeover. For instance, take diet goals, you could embark on a short-term workout and diet plan, but the problem is that once you stop going to the gym and eating the diet foods, you will regain every pound back. The fact is, anyone can complete a goal, but to create a permanent change you need a lifestyle-oriented goal.

So now how do you start a resolution?

1. Identify the problems that need changing
2. Create 1-2 simple goals you can complete within the year
3. When possible use steps that can cover more than one goal
4. Break each goal down into simple 2-3 steps.
5. Commit to doing a step at least 2 to 3 times a week for at least 15 minutes to start
6. Give each stage a realistic time frame of 30 days to complete.
7. Revise each stage as you complete the 30-day mark.
8. Use a journal to document and review your progress
9. Get inspirational tools, magazines with pictures that represent what you want to achieve.
10. Avoid trying to complete every single goal in a day, week or year.
11. Prioritize your goals by getting to them first before anything else.
12. Remember, there are days you will feel less connected or motivated to maintain your goals. It’s normal, but do not allow your feelings to dictate your motivation.

Now the key to obtaining your goals will also be in your attitude and how well you remain motivated. You have your goals and steps written and have committed to doing something at least 30 days to begin. You will review and update every 30 days as needed. If you find yourself getting bored or impatient, that means you merely need to revise your steps, by either making it harder or more comfortable, but it does not mean you get to quit. Whenever you feel like stopping read your journal and remind yourself why you created your goals.

Copyright ©2017 Rosa Castro