Natalia Naman Temesgen: Entering the new year with a vision
This is my last column of 2015 and I'm looking to the New Year with a hopeful heart.
But just like last year and the year before, I am not making any resolutions. I will be trying something different that may be the perfect balance between a list of resolutions and a lack of strategic thought for the future: A vision board.
Vision boards are meant to harness the concept of "visualization." Visualization, in a nutshell, suggests that if you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it.
Professional athletes, influential artists and even the one and only Oprah have used visualization exercises successfully. While we may not be visualizing winning gold at the Olympics, any one of us can take advantage of the vision board exercise as we enter 2016.
Here's how to start: Get a "board." This can be a corkboard, poster board or even a big sheet of paper. You will want to have your vision board up in a location where you see it often, so choose a board you can display easily.
Once you have your board, you will begin to fill it with images that inspire, excite and/or attract you. Don't worry about looking for things that seem particularly practical. The board should be full of images that make you feel a certain way, not just images of things you want.
Where to find these images? The possibilities are limitless. If you're stuck, start with magazines you like. Maybe you'll see a beautiful beach or a gorgeously plated meal and it will make you feel good. Cut that out and stick it on your board.
You might also check your keepsake box, wallet or any place you might be holding on to special, seemingly trivial items.
Perhaps there is a movie ticket stub from a really wonderful night out with friends.
If it makes you feel good, put it on the board. It will remind you of how much you value sharing quality time with friends.
I want to include a postcard from one of my favorite national theaters. Remembering how much I love their shows makes me feel good, but I also hope to one day soon have one of my own plays produced on their stage. The postcard will trigger warm memories and activate my ambition.
Try to keep your board from getting too cluttered. You want it to charge your spirit, not overwhelm it.
Leave a fair amount of blank space and allow your mind the sense of possibility that comes from seeing it.
I will be making my very first vision board this week, and I'm hopeful that, if nothing else, it will be a creative way to spend an hour.
Maybe it will end up being far more and serve as a visual centerpiece to my 2016.
If you have friends who might be willing to make one alongside you, I think a vision board and wine New Year's Eve party with girlfriends is an awesome way to close out the year.
Happy New Year!
Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independent contractor. Contact her at nntemesgen@gmail.com.
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Natalia Naman Temesgen: Entering the new year with a vision ."