goalsetting – Rachel MacDonald

Goals Before 2013: Weeks 5 + 6

19 November, 2012

Holy jubilation, I’m riding the biggest, shimmery-est wave of excitement this morning!

Why, you ask? Because it’s ma 30th birthday week and you know I love a momentous occasion and a good ol’ shindig!

I worked out recently it’s been 19 months since my gorgeous husband and I have had a proper holiday. Sure, there’s been the odd 3-day weekend in Melbourne or Sydney, but as far as a break that we can actually relax into goes, it’s been a while.

Howevah! That’s all about to change when, this Wednesday, we head off for 5 nights in Byron Bay – and while (of course) there’s a super fun Mexican party planned for Saturday – we’re dubbing this time away together our Spirit Retreat. Replenishment time. A vacation for the soul.

So what does a Spirit Retreat entail exactly?

Amongst other things, time offline, a coaching sesh with a beautiful coach on Thursday, lots of reading (I’m bringing 8 books with me!), exercise, meditation, long lunches and energising eats and a whole world of journalling. I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear that in stepping out of the day to day, real creativity starts to flow, unhinged, unencumbered. I seriously can’t wait for that.

A vital component of my Spirit Retreat – importantly, the part where all the good juju and deeply-felt relaxation continues after the fact – is that I’ll be taking next week off the blog (plus a few more days if I feel like I need it).

Self-care for energy renewal is such an important undertaking – especially at the moment, when there are 4502756 events happening all at once. Give yourself the gift of some down time if you’re feeling called to. You’ll know.

And now, over to you angel: I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

How are your goals going? We’re inching ever closer to the end of 2012 – what’s left to tackle on your ‘love to do’ list?

Image: Katie’s Pencil Box

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A Goal a Week Before 2013: Vitality

12 November, 2012

Morning gorgeous souls! I hope everyone’s feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another magical week!

First off, a confession: I didn’t completely stick to my ‘dreamin’ + schemin’ goal. An unexpectedly large week at work, a super social weekend (I didn’t do any work in fact) and the burning desire to craft – create, create, create! – meant I didn’t make as much progress with developing new vision boards and planning out my blog redesign as intended.

I mentioned a while back that I’m really committed to focusing on how I feel and working back from there and I’ve been absolutely revelling in the feeling of flow that comes when I’m making/ painting bits and bobs for our house or to gift. Music on, sitting on the floor of our balcony surrounded with paint tubes, thread, sun-bleached sticks I’ve collected from the beach and a drill (my new favourite tool – zzzzzzzzzz!), I groove into this almost trance-like state. Some of my fondest childhood memories are those in which I’m creating and I’m finding it’s beyond therapeutic to go back there and give the work-y sides of my personality a leave pass.

Regarding my goal, I did do some dream doodling but there’s definitely more to come next week when Ramai and I go on our ‘Spirit Retreat,’ so consider that intention “momentarily paused, soon to be resumed.”

{WEEK 4: 12 – 18 Nov}

This week my aim is to support my body by feeding it the cleanest freaking food possible and exercising with intention (as in, being really present, really focused, challenging myself). I want: vitality. Vigour. Verve. Va Va VOOM!

I’ve let my sweet tooth take the reins far too often lately and it’s time to make meal planning and awesome food choices my top priority. I’m also really missing my long runs – I’ve been craving a 15km run – so I’m definitely going to schedule one of those in this week.

What about you? Are you feeling a bit sluggish at the moment? Could you do with a week where the whole focus is on energy-giving tucker and breaking a sweat?

Join me in the comments and let me know what you’ll be committing to goal-wise this week, my loves!

Image: Aubrey Road

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A Goal a Week Before 2013: Dreamin’ + Schemin’

5 November, 2012

{WEEK 3: 5 – 11 Nov}

This “scaled back” approach to my goals is really working for me. Like, really working. A magnificent sense of calm has washed over me and I feel centred, energised – and funnily enough – jazzed to go over and above (in a good way, not one that impinges on my happiness).

In the past little while I’ve uncovered something I’ve always believed at my very core, but have often layered with blankets of busyness: simplifying is incredibly powerful. In establishing laser-sharp, uncomplicated goals, I’ve suddenly gotten very clear about A Lot of Things, a lot of really exciting things in fact. In simplifying my life – just a little, not too much – two opportunities have presented themselves to me in the past week, shimmering with promise and delight… and the best part is, there’s been enough space in my life to accept them.

I’ve said it a bajillion times before but it’s worth repeating: big shifts happen when we set intentions and meet those intentions halfway with action.

Last week my focus was creativity. I spent the week visualising the words “creative flow” on waking each day – my morning ritual – and I had fun crafting decorations for my birthday (sneak peeks above).

Ramai and I went stick hunting, I marvelled at the grandness of nature in all its divine beauty, I wrote love-soaked observations in my Moleskine and I felt more creative all week. I became it, letting it sit gently on my skin.

This week, the spotlight’s on DREAMIN’ + SCHEMIN.’ New vision boards, new affirmations, moodboards for my blog redesign, mind mapping and a kinesiology sesh thrown in for good measure!

I’D LOVE TO KNOW: how are you going with your goals so far? What will you focus on this week? Share away in the comments below!

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A Goal a Week: Making Things Happen – Easily, Stress-Free – Before 2013!

29 October, 2012

{My brand spankin’ new goals wall}

UPDATE:

I just had a question on Facebook about how my planning wall works so I thought I better explain!

I’m very visual and love having things organised by colour, as you can see. The week’s – not all of them at this stage – are laid out starting with the current week at the bottom, reading upwards, because I like having current tasks in my line of sight as I’m sitting at the computer.

When a task is completed, the Post It comes off the wall. Similarly, if anything needs to be added, it’s easy to do so. To the left are my goals and ‘Things to Remember’ (events, Skype calls), and to the right are my blog posts.

Hope that makes sense!

Imagine this:

Instead of defaulting to “Why’s the end of the year always so friggen crazy (gaaaah!)” you embraced something a little softer, a little more like this “I’m all about tying up loose ends, adding more white space to the calendar (refer to Friday’s newsletter), time with my important peeps. The rest? It can wait.”

I know which one I prefer.

I’m going to be honest here – in years gone by, the first sentence above has fallen out of my mouth as often as bad canapes and Christmas “treats” have gone in. The temptation is always there to get caught up in the collective franticness that ensues when it dawns on us that the year is marching to a close.

“Oh my god! Only 9 weeks ’til Christmas – are you KIDDING?!”
“How the hell are we going to smash this target before December?”
“I don’t have a free weekend in, like, ever!”

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. It’s become so deeply engrained that, despite spending the whole year achieving/ doing/ smashing targets/ kicking goals, we need to do even more in the final two months before the break to feel like we’ve really squeezed every last drop o’ juice out of ourselves and our days. As if, by dragging our work-weary bodies towards the finish line that is Christmas Day and the holidays, we’ll truly be able to relax, content that we’ve finally reached the summit of that very large mountain.

I’m here to tell you things can be different. I’m also here to tell you there will never be a time where you reach the top of the mountain. You’ll probably never have ABSOLUTELY. NOTHING. to do in this lifetime. Let’s agree to be cool with that, okay? It unshackles discomfort.

In flipping outmoded ideals on their head, I’m putting it to you that instead of overwhelming yourself with unrealistic and exhausting goals, you choose just a few tasks that you’d love to have wrapped up before 2013 rolls around, and you go about completing them because you know doing so will leave you gloriously fulfilled – not just because you feel you “should.”

We’ve got 8 weeks (and a coupla days) up our sleeves, and I’d love to you join me in choosing one goal to tackle each week. Some weeks your goal might be bigger, some weeks teensier. It doesn’t really matter – just measure them up against these questions:

1. Do I actually want to do this?

2. Will it make me feel happier/ joyful/ proud/ the best kind of satisfied?

I started my list a week ago so I’ll share what I’ve already been up to, along with what I’ll be focusing on for the coming week. Every Monday I’ll post a new one on the blog.

WEEK 1: Getting my house in order

{22 – 28 Oct}

My goal last week was to “get my house in order.” I’m not actually referring to spring cleaning our abode here – although that happened on a very small scale as well – I’m talking about decluttering my online life and getting a couple of “roll over” tasks (you know the ones that pop up on to-do list after to-do list) sorted out once and for all.

I got organised by:

+ Sending the handwritten thank you notes that I’d been meaning to send fo-evah.
+ Whittling my inbox down to two emails.
+ Embarking on a Power Day at work on Friday, whipping through must-do’s without letting distractions take hold.
+ Clearing out my Evernote (bye bye wedding-related notes, hello some semblance of order!)
+ Cleaning out my old Hotmail account and unsubscribing from the newsletters I always delete (Living Social, I’m lookin’ at you).
+ Creating my goals wall, shown in the photo above, and booking in a bunch of appointments for November in one fell swoop so I don’t have to keep reminding myself to do so.

All super easy tasks that have been taking up a tonne of mental real estate. The lesson: just do it.

WEEK 2: Embracing creativity

{29 Oct – 4 Nov}

This week’s focus is creativity. Since our wedding, I’ve been missing the sense of fulfillment that comes with making something beautiful by hand, and since my 30th birthday shindig is just a few weeks away, I’ve decided to make a couple of simple – and colourful! – decorations this week.

Again, simple stuff – but importantly, simple stuff that contributes significantly to my happiness.

Your turn gorgeous!

What do you think about this idea of focusing on easy, achievable, un-stress-out-able goals for the next 8 weeks? Sound like a plan?

I’d love you to join in the festivities and share your goals – a list of everything you want to nail, or simply the one you’ll make happen this week – in the comments below. Let’s drum up some positive, can-do energy and cheer each other on for the final leg of 2012!

Images: Etsy | Fellow Fellow | Poppytalk

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A Shiny Space for Declaring Your Goals!

16 January, 2012

There’s a lot to be said about “putting it out there.”

We all know I’m a huge fan of vision boards and creations (and from the superb emails and tweets I’ve received where you’ve excitedly told me about making a vision board and choosing words to live by of your own, I think we’re on the same page with this) but there’s no denying that while having aspirations and dreams is brilliant – and necessary – one of the best things you can do to bring them to fruition is to publicly declare them.

But… why?

Quite simply, because it creates ‘possibility.’ It takes those dreams from nebulous swirls in your head, solidifies them and launches them out into the world. Boldly. With intention.

Not only that, on the journey from headspace to outerspace, hopes and dreams gather obscene amounts of energy and, unconsciously or consciously, we start taking purposeful steps towards their fulfillment.

This is what we want, no? We’re not just talking about our aspirations because they sound good, or because we think we should have goals, or because the girl next to us at work has them, so perhaps we should too – are we?

I’m going to assume that the answer to that is a categorical no! and tell you a story about why being held accountable is so powerful.

A Little Tale About Running

Growing up, I used to love cross country running at school and would go so far as to say I pretty good at it. I liked the challenge and enjoyed competing at different levels for a bit of fun.

Over the years though – and up until 2010 – the furtherest I’d run was about 11kms, and on average, “going for a run” meant busting out 7kms and that would just about do me. I only discovered outdoor bootcamp-style training towards the end of 2010, so up until then, most of my exercise was done at the gym – and it’s pretty hard to get excited about running for over an hour on a treadmill watching the news on the TV in front of you.

Anyway, my good friend Liz, who I also used to work with, had run a bunch of half and full marathons and despite the fact that the thought of running for two full hours ~~scared~~ bewildered me, some curious (demented) part of my psyche thought running a half marathon would be kind of cool… so before I knew it, I was puffing my chest out and casually saying “Yeah, I’ll do it.” 21kms of constant running? No biggie. I’ve got this one, guys.

Comfort zone: I was out of it. But it didn’t matter. I think the reason I’d been so willing to sign myself up was that I’d never known any of my friends to compete in a race longer than 5kms before meeting Liz, and because she’d done several long distance races (and lived to tell the tale) pushing myself and my fitness to a whole new level became a possibility. This normal friend of mine, who had a full-time job and a busy social life had done it – why couldn’t I commit to something like that?

I knew upping my training load significantly would require a few sacrifices and a lot of hard work, and I knew there would be mornings where I’d grit my teeth through early morning runs when it was dark outside and my muscles were killing me, but I also knew I would be suitably rewarded when I crossed that finish line – regardless of the time I ran.

The moral of the story here is the number one thing that kept me on track when I had an I.T band injury that prevented me from training and when I was busy and I could have easily let my running routine slide was that I’d publicly commited to running this race. I told everyone at work. Liz, and other friends and colleagues, checked in constantly. Giving up just wasn’t an option – and when I crossed the finish line in 1 hour 55 minutes, happily exhausted, I was thrilled I’d done something “out of the ordinary” for me, because the achievement felt damn good. Every ache in my muscles the next day felt like a big cheer from my body, congratulating me on proving to myself that limitations are simply the product of our minds.

I know for sure that without that public commitment, running a half marathon would have been another wishy-washy goal that I pushed aside when life got in the way. Saying it out loud made it real.

A Space to Share + Inspire

I wrote this post today because I wanted to create a space where we could all shout our big goal/s from the rooftops, so that together we can make them happen!

If you feel like you need someone to keep you on track with your goal/s, simply leave a comment below telling us what you hope to achieve and by when, and then flick me an email with “Making my dreams a reality!” in the subject line. Once I receive your email, I’ll assume you’re in for a bit of cheeleading and I’ll check-in with you personally from time to time to see how you’re going.

How does that sound? Good? Great.

My Bold Declarations

The big, juicy goals I’m really commiting to for the next six months are all health related and are as follows:

To explain:

Running 500km before 1 June: This means that before our wedding, I want to have clocked up 500km’s in my legs, or approx 25kms per week for 20 weeks. I’m going to do this over and above the km’s I run at my bootcamp classes three times a week as they’re too hard to measure, so looks like I’ll be hitting the track a fair bit in the next few months!

Quit the choc attack: This one is my most audacious goal for two reasons – 1. Because I’ve become reliant on my chocolate fix of an afternoon, and the fact I think I “need” the sweet sugar high scares me, and 2. Because reaching for chocolate has become a deeply ingrained habit that I know will take a lot of willpower to crack. But I’m determined! No more will I be a slave to the sweet poison. I’m going to reread Sarah Wilson’s awesome ‘I Quit Sugar’ ebook for added motivation and I’ll be focusing on healthy snack alternatives to help me through the 3pm munchies at work.

Alcohol once a month til June: This sentence is a bit clunky but it was the easiest way to word it. Basically, until June, I’m giving myself one occasion each month to have a drink and a good time, but apart from that I’ll be alcohol free. I’m not a big drinker these days anyway but I find even two glasses can leave me a bit fuzzy headed the next day. So apart from the special events (Blogger Meet Up, my besty’s birthday in Melbourne in Feb, my hen’s party in March and so on) I’ll be completely on the waters. And happy to be.

I hope that you guys will call me out sometime and ask me on Twitter or Facebook or in the comments how I’m going. I’m expecting to be challenged. Bring it on!

Your Turn

+ Now that we’re a few weeks into the year, what goal/s do you want to knock off the list you wrote on January 1?

+ You know what we were saying about making 2012 our best year yet? Let’s commit to that. Really. Leave a comment below with your goal and the timeframe you want to achieve it by and let me know if you want me to check in with you, because I’m as commited to helping you achieve your goals as I am my own.

Put it out there. Call it in. Make it happen. The time is now.

Image: Verblife | Moline | Typography Served

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A Year For Creation: How to Set Powerful Intentions & Rock Your Life in 2012!

6 January, 2012

I’ve been on a high since January 1. The beginning of a fresh New Year is always a thrilling time, but if the conversations I’ve been having with friends on and offline are any indication, there’s definitely an elevated level of excitement for 2012 – and I’m vibing on its electric feel in a major way. Actually, there’s a good chance I may combust if I get any more fired up about this year.

I know we’re all in a flurry of vision-boarding and word-choosing madness at the moment but of course, intrinsic to all that dreamsetting is the selection of a handful (or more, or less) of intentions to work towards achieving before the year is out.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes” ~ Andrew Carnegie

Intentions + Creations vs. Resolutions.

I’ve never been a fan of the word “resolution,” because to me, resolutions are weak, implying that we “should” be doing something – something that inevitably doesn’t happen when our dream stream conks out and Real Life gets in the way.

This is where intention comes in. An intention is a course of action that we intend to follow – the journey towards a more positive version of ourselves, reflected in our actions. I love that, but there’s still an element of wishy-washiness to the word intention, don’t you think? After all, intend means “have in mind” or “plan on.”

We can do better.

In two-thousand-and-twelve, the year of super-sized dreams and schemes, I’ve decided to blow things up and follow Kate Northup’s shimmering lead. I’m reframing my goals and intentions as “creations.”

Creation:

Bringing into existence.
Definitive. Sure. Absolute.
Becoming alive.

I can work with that!

Below I’ll be interchanging the words “goal” and “creation” but ultimately, we’re about to step fully into this New Year by defining the big beautiful things you want to create in your life!

Everything You Need To Know To Set Your Goals (on fire) in 2012.

First, a question: why are goals/ creations/ intentions so important anyway?

Here’s why:

Because they define possibility.
Because when we don’t get clarity around where we’ve been and where we want to go, we get stuck.
Because they unshackle potent ambition and open the floodgates to creative freedom.
Because dreaming them up requires us to stop and ask ourselves: “Why do I want what I want?”

Are we all ready to blaze a trail in 2012? Yes? Excellent. Here’s how we’re going to do it:

1. Dream extreme.

“Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors where only there were walls.” ~ Joseph Campbell

What would your life look like if you were told that you could have anything you wanted? How would you feel knowing anything was possible? It’s time for a bit of high-octane dreamin’ – which is, in my opinion, the most essential part of uncovering the things we yearn to create.

Taking action: Find a quiet place and get ready to unleash with wild abandon. Give yourself permission to dream bigger than you ever have before. Don’t self-edit or censor your passion as you go – simply tap into those tucked away corners of your soul and pour it all out on paper. Expand your vision and see where it takes you.

If you can’t get past “Earn more money” or “Quit smoking for good” and aligning yourself with humungo, scary dreams has you breaking out in a cold sweat, imagine you’re telling your best friend that their biggest dream (the most gargantuan one you can conjure up) has just come true.

“Honey, wait ‘til you hear what I’m about to tell you! Your book just obliterated the number one spot on the New York Times Best Seller List! Like, smoked it.”

“Sweet friend-o-mine, your album went triple platinum (!!) and Beyonce called, she said you’d know what she wanted – something about Madison Square Garden?”

“The black Lamborghini, Miss? Certainly. Nice choice. Shall we deliver it to the castle in Como?”

The best friend is obviously YOU, but playing this little mind trick if you’re feeling uneasy and battling the self-worth nasties is the easiest way to put those inner critics back in their box so you can let your dream stream flow unhindered. Brace yourself for breakthroughs.

2. Decide who you want to be.

Once you’ve done your dream purge – and learnt a bit about your deepest desires in the process, no doubt – ask yourself who you want to be. Your big goal might to be become a brilliant interior designer but I’m guessing that’s not all you want. Do you want to be overjoyed/ vivacious/ confident/ respected/ innovative/ mindful/ brimming with loving kindness/ all of the above? Define the vision for your ideal self and write down all the qualities and traits of this “supreme you.”

Taking action: When I started this blog, I jotted down a few number-based goals (for example, reaching 200 Likes on my bloggy Facebook page) which were nice (yet essentially out of my control) but I also wrote a few affirmations for myself like “I am genuine in everything I do and I give freely to others” and “I encourage, uplift and inspire others to greatness.” It’s a choice to use these core values as my personal Code of Conduct – and whether I achieve and receive the other things on my list, they’ll always underpin everything I do.

3. Get specific.

So you’ve done the big dream thing, you’ve worked out who you want to be and now it’s time to refine. Vague goals = vague results so give your subsconscious mind something concrete to work with.

What do you want?
When do you want it?
What tools can you use to help?

Example of a powerless goal: “I want to drop a few kg’s/ pounds and lose the jiggle (when I wiggle)”

Example of an powerful goal: “I want to lose 5kg’s by my wedding day on 11 March so I can feel proud and empowered, knowing I did everything I could to look exceptional.” (notice I added the feeling in there too).

Taking action: Measure your body to see what you’re working with. Stick a calendar on your wall with your start date/ end date. Download the MyNetDiary or MyFitnessPal apps for your phone to teach you about the calories in the food you’re eating. Get a personal trainer. Have a nutritionist do you up an achievable meal plan. Move more. Watch your portions. Make a happiness compendium – a folder full of inspiring stories/ quotes/ images. Get a fitness buddy. Do the math: working backwards from your end date, how many grams do you have to lose a day to reach your goal weight? What does that mean for you – cutting out the sugar in your coffee? The chocolate bar after lunch?

When you chunk it down into palatable pieces, anything is possible (you’ve gotta believe me on this). Make it measurable, and nail it.

4. Have a goal that scares you.

Time for a You Revolution? You need a goal that requires you to grow in order to achieve it!

Taking action: Get uncomfortable in your pursuit of sizzling passion and world-changing genius. I often put my whoa-Nelly goals on my vision board so that I’ve got a visual right there staring back at me every day. Funny thing is, over time, those whoa-Nellies don’t seem that absurd anymore.

5. Drum it in.

Make them visible. Find the highest traffic area in your home and stick ’em right there. Commit to taking a few minutes morning and night to visualise your goals and feel the way you’ll feel when you accomplish them.

Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame talks about this daily discipline increasing what psychologists call “structural tension.” What that means is that your brain wants to close the gap between your current reality and your goal, which in turn stimulates motivation and creativity and heightens your awareness of the resources that will help you achieve that goal.

Taking action: While I’m not usually a tension fan, I’m all for gap-closing so I write my goals on index cards and leave them beside my bed to read before I go to sleep. I’m also a huge advocate of putting positive reminders in your phone to pop up at random times during the week.

6. Borrow someone else’s brain (well, at least pick it).

Ever heard the Anthony Robbins saying “Success leaves clues?” Basically it means that whatever you goal is, chances are someone has already achieved it – and left clues to help you on your way.

Taking action: These days, there are blogs for every topic under the star-studded sky, full of how-to’s and real life stories of triumph. There are books, courses, webinars, podcasts, workshops, the whole shebang. Let other people light the way and act as your greatest resource. Pick brains, ask someone out for coffee (or cocktails) and ask them how they rock it like they do.

7. Rinse and repeat.

Taking action: I conduct a six monthly review to update my vision board and my intentions to (a) tidy up the list once I’ve crossed a few off or (b) get rid of the ones that no longer interest me. How you feel at the start of the year is often very different to how you feel mid-year, and life sends us off in weird and wonderful directions sometimes so what you yearn for may change in the process.

My Personal Creations for 2012

I’ve got a list of things that I want to achieve before December 31 this year but my primary focus for the first six months is our wedding (you only get one shot!) and after the Big Day in June, I’ll be conducting a dream review and setting new goals for the latter part of the year. Here are (just a few) from my list that I’ll be focusing on for now:

I will create the wedding of my dreams. I will have our wedding completely organised by 1st May, 2012. I want to ensure that everything is sorted out a month before our big day on 2nd June (all vendors booked and double-triple-checked, all crafty projects completed, table layout defined) so that I can spend the last month tying up any unexpected projects and enjoying the lead up with the love of my life. Preparation is golden.

I will create an e-book. By August 2012, I want to have incubated and launched a stunning e-book. I will team up with an amazing graphic designer and bring together a mix of words and images to create a book that will be as useful as it is beautiful. Watch this space!

I will create my heathiest, fittest body. My knee injury will be completed healed by Jan 31, 2012 and I will complete the 16-week half marathon training (still undecided if I’ll run the actual race here as I’d prefer to run one somewhere else in the world!) I will follow a healthy meal plan and replace my sneaky 3pm chocolate habit with fruit. I will be accountable and as I mentioned on Facebook yesterday, I will be reviewing what I’m doing to get in the best shape of my life right here for you all.

What do you intend to create/ achieve/ change/ nurture in 2012?

I’d love you to leave me a comment and let me know what you’ll create this year (especially interested in those big, hairy, audacious goals!) I love hearing people’s dreams and I truly believe there’s this energy that attaches itself to publicly declared dreams that calls forward the resources needed to bring them to actuality.

With bright eyes and a sense of euphoria, I welcome 2012. Align. Ease. Amplify.

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Dreaming & Scheming: My 2012 Vision Board

5 January, 2012

I’d planned to publish my goalsetting post today but due to a few technical glitches (ahem, web host problems), I was unable to access my blog and finish it off – so tomorrow it is! Never fear, it’ll be worth the wait!

Everyone I’ve spoken to in the past week has been full of enthusiasm for 2012 which thrills me to bits, and I’ve had quite a few people ask me about vision boards and how to create one for the shiny New Year.

If you’re anything like me, you love a visual example, so I thought I’d share my newest one with you so that you have something to work off when you’re dreaming up your own board. If you’d like a step-by-step, I wrote a pretty comprehensive article on how to construct a vision board a little while back.

For even more juicy inspiration for dreamsetting, the gorgeous Jess from The Wellness Warrior has pulled together a stellar post, which I’m honoured to be a part of (I should note that my career/ blog goals are on a separate board because I ran out of room!) Head on over and check out Jess’ post and her board to get the creativity flowing. Oh and Universe? Count me in for Rich, Happy, Hot in NYC!

+ Do you have any questions about vision boards I can help you with? A friend asked me the difference between my vision board and my goals/ intentions list, and I explained that the way I do it – and feel free to do it your own way – is that I use my vision board as a visual representation of my aspirations, and it’s generally the bigger stuff I’d like to manifest (you’ll see I have a dream to own an amazing property in Byron Bay, and I’d love to write books that make the New York Times Best-Seller list – of course!), whereas my goals are more achieveable things I’d like to have crossed off within a specific timeframe.

There’s an element of impossibility with my vision board stuff but it represents where I dream of being in my life. There’s an energy attached to it, and to pull everything together, I include my words to live by for the year and hang my board and my goals/ intentions list beside each other. I find this is a really powerful way to manifest my desires -and it’s worked for me many times in the past.

+ What about you, do you have a vision board? Have you ever manifested anything on your board? Tell me all about it!

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