It’s July – which means we have officially reached the mid-year point for 2019. It’s the perfect time to check in with your goals or any New Year’s resolutions that were initiated back in January. As powerful as January can be, mid-year also holds a lot of productive energy when you take a minute to evaluate your progress and claim the remaining months of the year.
If you haven’t already, consider the importance of visualizing your goals and getting them down on paper. Better yet? Build a vision board. No doubt you’ve done some great work already for the year – so use this as a fresh opportunity to recharge that focus. Make success happen for the remainder of the year and beyond.
Goals are great and working towards those goals is even better. Success happens when you have a clear, defined vision of what that looks like for you. If you visualize exactly what you want, you will be more likely to achieve it. Vision boards are fantastic – in fact, just the act of building it in the first place is hugely productive (and sometimes enlightening!). You might discover something new about yourself, and you can add that to your board, too.
A great format is a simple piece of poster board or flat cardboard, large enough to have an impact but portable enough to be placed in a spot that you’ll be the most likely to see it. Put some thought into it and really have fun with it – it’s a very effective tool.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help create a powerful mid-year vision board.
Vision Board Tips and Tricks
Create a shortlist of goals you want to achieve
Writing the shortlist first will help to keep you on track throughout the vision board exercise. You might even want to set a time frame for your Vision Board – such as 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, you get the idea. Be specific; anything too vague can lose impact.
Use pictures that represent your goals and inspire
The images you use don’t have to be exact; they just need to be close enough for you to get inspired. Think more abstract and less exact during the exercise. You should have an immediate connection to the image – it should really get you pumped up – that’s how you know it’s a great one for your board.
Add motivational words
Vision boards aren’t just about images; they are also about using the right words to inspire. Add the words the motivate you once all the images are down.
Get personal
Add a few of your own images if you choose. Make the vision board personal to your success, because it’s all about you. Remember: you’re in the driver’s seat; where do you see yourself going?
Hang your vision board in a strategic spot
Put your vision board in a prominent spot, where you’ll see it daily. If it’s near your workspace, that’s even better. Let it feed you with inspiration, focus, and anchor you back to what you’ve already decided are your top roles and goals. Some people choose to keep it private, while others enjoy the accountability of having it viewed by others. It’s up to you – but either way, make sure it’s very visible to you on a regular basis, rather than tucked away in a closet.
2019 is officially at its half-way point – now is the perfect time to seize the moment and really claim the rest of the year and beyond. By fully maximizing this check-in process in July, you’ll actually gain quite a bit of ground towards your plans by not accidentally getting too comfy as we settle into the summer months. Just remember – in less than a year, those New Year’s Resolutions are going to come rolling around again and you’ll want to make sure you have some great accomplishments under your belt to stay positive and productive.
Make an afternoon of it – take out to markers and magazines, roll up your sleeves and get creative. Contact Alan with AdvancingWithUs to learn more business tips and tricks.
