Updating our Vision at Our Little House
At the end of this post, register to win one of two books!
About a year and half ago I wrote about The Law of Attraction, which is basically the power to draw things into our lives.
I do believe in the power to draw good things we want into our lives. It’s not magic, but is based on a combination of science, a good plan and the ability to know when to jump onto opportunity.
As I wrote in that post, it helped us attain our dream of not only building Our Little House, but also moving here full time. Check out that post for true stories of how I journaled our dreams, only to have each one of them come to fruition in the exact time frame I journaled.
The science behind The Law of Attraction is the complicated part. Basically, what you need to know is that you need to think positive and surround yourself with positive energy.
The next part of the equation is the fun part, building the plan. You can either do this by journaling what you want in your life each day. I begin my journal each day with a gratitude list. The feeling of gratitude helps remind us of the very important things in our life and creates that positive energy.
Or, you can create a vision board. As I wrote back in February 2010, we created a vision board after I read “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vision Boards,” written by friend and colleague Marcia Layton Turner.
Somewhere along the line, although I continued my vision journal, we forgot about our vision board. It ended up getting stashed behind the bed one day when we were having guests and has been sitting there collecting dust.
If I hadn’t known it, I could tell by the way our lives are starting to divert from our vision of what we want our lives to look like.
I dug the vision board out. Not only was it a little dusty with a stray Tumble Dog hanging onto it (our term for the dust bunnies dog hair creates), it was outdated. We had accomplished some of our goals on the board.
I looked back through my copy of the vision board book and yes, Chapter 18 deals with periodically updating our vision board.
As I worked on moving our accomplishments to our new gratitude board and adding more to our vision board, I thought it would be a good time for another book giveaway. Marcia not only agreed to sponsor the giveaway, but she’s giving two copies of “The complete Idiot’s Guide to Vision Boards.”
The only thing you need to do is comment on this post between now and 5 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, June 29. This will register you for one of two books. Please, leave your email address or a link back to you in the comment so I may contact you if you win. The winner will be posted on Thursday and if I do not have a contact for you, please claim your book that day. Sorry, this one is open to U.S. residents only this time.
Have you ever had a vision journal or a vision board? Do you believe they work?
What a great article. Short and sweet. And the comments are a great addition to your article.
Thanks, Heather.
I am in the midst of reconnecting to my creative side and have been working with journaling but not have not tried a vision board. I sketch out plans for my embroidery so you would think I should visualize my dreams.
It really is a fun project and makes everything so crystal clear, Melissa.
Dream Boards….If ya don’t have a dream you won’t have a plan..If ya don’t a plan the journey to build the dream will be extremely difficult (almost immpossible)….Dream boards are mportant…
Thanks, Terry! They are.
Marcia’s book is great! In fact, I interviewed her on my writing blog. Please do not enter me in the contest, but wanted to add my note of support!
Thanks, Merr!
The term “Vision Board” may be new to me, but, I’m sure that the concept isn’t. I first wished for something, then spoke of it, then posted it’s image (on my refrigerator) and finally, accomplished it.
Yes, Raymond, whatever it’s called, that’s what you were doing!
I once had a weight loss visual hand drawn out as to the shape I wanted for my body…A word of caution: be careful how you draw these, as my body did eventually reach that goal…but in my drawing the hips were bigger than the bust…wound up to be true to the drawing! Weird, huh! I like the idea of a gratitude list and a vision journal. Thanks for reminding me of this, even if I don’t win the book….which I hope I do….would also like to read that “law of attraction” book…seems intriguing. Thank you! 🙂
That’s funny, Donna! 🙂 Good luck with the drawing!
Have believed in the Laws of Attraction for quite awhile and spent several years researching getting an RV – got it-used and then moved on. Now am in the process of building my own little tiny 8X20 house. Am at the subfloor stage onto the trailer this week. Positive energy is a must at all stages of your vision quest. Have been blessed multiple times with information and people coming to me with information that has made the vision a reality. You are never to old to dream and then make that dream come alive!
Good for you, Cheryl. Please keep us posted on your little house progress!
Visions have helped me teach 3-5 year olds with and without disabilities through 34 years. I help them find theirs. Not difficult, always enriching. Now, I am willing to make a vision for myself and my husband – how to transition into a tiny house. Thank you for the portal.
Thank you, Louise, for doing one of the most difficult, yet important jobs in our society – teaching. Good luck with the drawing and with finding your little dream house!
Do I believe ? Most certainly. Though I’ve not kept a thought journal in a number of years, I know the power our thoughts have and how putting words on paper and structure to those thoughts can bring about the desires of our heart. ” As A Man Thinketh in His Heart, So is He.” Works for women too !
I’ve had my own “Law of Attraction” experience, something that I asked for and was led to find within a week of my asking. I will never forget the physical and emotional reaction brought about within me as I realized the significance of what had taken place.
Somewhere, within the last decade, I have stopped wishing, hoping, dreaming, and even wanting. Somewhere along the way I “grew up” and forgot about “possibility” and “wonders” and all that is good. It is there for the asking; I forget that I could ask.
Thank you so much for helping me to remember that im not too old to dream, to desire, to use the Law of Attraction for my benefit. I don’t know of I’ll win either book. It’s ok though because, with this renewal of mind, I feel like I’m the grand prize winner!
Wow, Judy, your comment really moved me. I’m glad you’ve been reminded. When we stop dreaming, we stop living. Go for it! 😉
I’ve never heard of a VB either. I’ll have to do some research on this — it sounds like a good way to keep your goals “in your face” so they don’t fall by the wayside with every day living.
It does work, Sheryl!
I have not tried this, but I do sometimes use guided imagery as a more structured way to “meditate.” I am very good at telling myself stories (in my head) and sewing meaning to various events, so I suppose a vision board is a bit like a collage of that mental process.
Maybe a bit, Roxanne, but more like the end results of a business plan, only in pictures.
LOVE the idea of a vision board, but don’t have any experience with it. I’m currently in “visioning” mode, so hope I win!
You’re in the drawing, Jane, good luck!
Hey Kerri!
Never heard of a vision board, but I am ready to live the dream and I’m keeping my eye on the prize as others have said today. Would love to win the book, count me in!
Ok, Sandy, you’re in. Good luck!
What a great idea! We are all so unfocused in this world. Keep up the generating of good positive ideas. Now let’s see if I can find this at the library so I don’t add another book to my already cluttered bookshelf…
Or, put it on Kindle! 😉
I’m in the process of putting together my vision board! What a great idea for a giveaway!
Good for you, Topaz! Good luck with the drawing!
I have already managed to accomplish a lot of my dreams, including the biggest one of retiring in my 30’s. My partner and I now have a goal of simplifying our lives and attaining a piece of property where we can build a small home and grow most of our own food off grid. Doing a vision board seems like an excellent way for us to refine our ideas and make sure we are both on the same page in our thoughts. Thanks for the post.
You’re welcome, Chris, and you’re already my hero. Retiring in your 30s is a great achievement! A vision journal or board is a great way to collect your dreams together. Good luck with your new goals!
I live in a beautiful cob house that I built myself with the help of two local men. It has become a centre of examples of environmentally friendly living and being. I started with R500 and using visualisation and asking the angels we have accommplished this wonderful centre that is known world wide. Hold onto your dreams always
What a wonderful achievement, Jill! Congratulations!
Looks like a good book. I’ve never used a vision board but I am game to try!
It is a good book, Jennifer!
I have been thinking about making a vision board to inspire us to work toward our retirement. I want a tiny house to retire to somewhere warm. We live in Idaho with 8 months of cold weather.
Oh, my. I’m not a cold weather person. Hopefully, this post inspired you to get started. Good luck!
I believe they work have never had one. But I know they work would love the book thank you
Good luck, Lora!
interesting….
Good luck, Robbie!
Interesting…..
I believe vision board help you keep your eye on the “prize” or goal. Having a direction in your life is better than wandering around aimlessly. Dream big and small so you are able to complete smaller tasks while moving forward to your main goal. Good luck to you in all your endeavors.
Thanks, Ginny, and to you as well!
I have already Dreamed that I saw the book in my mail slot . Thank Henry
LOL, Henry. Good luck in the drawing.
Hope to get a book. Want to live the dream.
You can have the dream, but the book will help you get there! Good luck!
We don’t have a vision board, just a task list. But it helps. We try to accomplish something every day, relegating larger tasks to several days. Anytime I think we’re being remiss or lazy, we grab the list and get to work.
This is a little different concept, Mat, as it involves picturing the vision fulfilled, rather than working toward it.
I’m going through several life changes at the moment, including my third move in three years, this time to a place half the size of the former. I’m thinking it’s time to simplify, simplify, simplify. I could really use some support!
I am also living those words “simplify – simplify – simplify”. I always find it good to question myself: would I buy it again, if I didn’t already own it? does this item bring me joy or is it useful for my present lifestyle? I have come to believe that we don’t own material items but they own us. I also miss very, very few items that I have given to thrift stores or taken for reclying. I just feel lighter now that they are gone and knowing someone else was able to use the material item!
Each time I have eliminated the clutter from my life, I’ve been happier for it. Good luck to you, Julia!
Like Julia and Connie and yourself, I’ve been simplifying my life. Recently cleared out a 10 x 30 storage area of my “treasures”, and there’s an auction of my 10 x 10 on July 7th.
It IS liberating to have less stuff…I’m sure I’ll be much happier when it’s all gone. I haven’t given up any dreams of what I want, but the accumulated stuff has to go. It’s been a very positive experience.
Your vision board reminds me of a Tony Robbins seminar from years ago where he tells participants if they want a sportscar, put a photo of it on the wall, look at it everyday and work towards that goal.
Everyday is a good one, and some are better!
What a great idea. I am in my 40’s, am a full time college student, and a divorced mother of four who is deciding on what is important to me, where and how I want to live my life. I am trying to surround myself with positive people and make attainable goals. Thants for the post!
You’re welcome, Connie! Good luck with your schooling and getting those goals accomplished.
I’ve been doing things like this for years, although only on and off. The first time I started doing it was in college, outlining my goals for the semester and what I hoped to accomplish. By reminding myself every day and seeing what I had wrote down and having it reinforced definitely helped me accomplish my goals. Now that I’m in my final year of schooling, I think I might start doing this again.
Sounds like you’re on your way to your goals, Jessica!
Vision boards are fantastic & mine has been tucked in the closet (due to guests.) This was a very timely reminder to pull it out & update it!
Glad it reminded you, Sondra. They don’t do a whole lot of good hidden away! 😉
The law of attraction has happened in my life so I’m a believer. It’s about time a started a vision board, too. Thanks for the giveaway.
You’re welcome, Donna. Good luck!
I haven’t heard of this as a ‘vision board’ before but I love the idea. Very cool
We have visions for our business and we map them out in the form of a business plan. It only makes sense we do it in our day to day lives too!
I haven’t done a paper vision board, but a few years ago I put a photograph of a beach house we were trying to buy to renovate in my office so I could look at it every day. It worked! After 6 months we found a business partner and the deal came together perfectly.
That’s great, Laura, good for you! I hope you kept cropping photos for future dreams.
I am one that likes to journal but this is something that I have never thought of. My boyfriend and I are currently designing our future small home and having a vision journal is something that I think we are going to start doing. It’s a great way to get your ideas on a page and make your ideas visions. We’ll let you know if it works!
Good luck, Michelle! Please do update us!
Yes, I’ve had a number of vision boards over the years and it’s time for me to create another one. I’m glad to see you say that it isn’t magic. The board serves as a reminder of what I’m working towards, but it’s the work (not the board) that will get me where I want to go.
I agree, Dixie, it serves as a “life business plan.”
Imhave never managed to complete my vision board. Dream fail! Lol
There’s no time like the present, Dawn!
The thing that I realized about having a vision board – and having it out where you can see it often – is that sometimes you come to realize that the things you think you want, well, they aren’t really all that important.
We made one about two years ago and, the more we looked at it, the more we realized that some of the things on the board were only things we were conditioned to think we want. And they made us squirm!
We started over and have attained/achieved/manifested quite a few of the things represented there. Time for an updated board!
That’s a very good point, Margo. Sometimes what we think we want doesn’t appeal to us at a later date.
Great post Kerri!- I can remember vision boards way back when I was in training to be a Customer Service Rep for outgoing calls in and MCI call center. Hated the job, but it was $$$. They taught us to have a vision and place a photo, or cut out from a magazine of what it was on our computer monitor or someplace in view so that we could focus on that item.
Wow, that is pretty forward thinking for that call center, Robbie.
Many years ago I collected magazine photos, sayings, etc and pasted them into a blank book. Until your post I had forgotten about it. I should dig it out and, as you say, update it. Already feel like this year is one of transition (hopefully building my own small house) so need to ensure it’s a move in the right direction, not off course.
Oh, I would say it is time to dig it out, Chris! And good luck on building your small house!
Kerry, this is all so interesting to me. I’m not the type to write things down or keep journals, I’m afraid. But I do see the value in it, and sometimes wish I could get into it, since it might really help cement my thoughts and goals. I realize that once you commit something to paper, it makes you somehow more accountable and serves of a reminder of the things that are important. Maybe I should give it a try?
It’s a habit you can develop, Sheryl, like anything else. I do mine in the morning. As I say, I start with a gratitude list and move on toward my vision for the day and for our lives in general. It even makes me feel better and gives a good start to the day!
So glad you dusted off your vision board. I have the board, but haven’t done anything with it. I think it’s about time as I seem to have veered off course in my work life.
Thank you for your post.
Time to get it done, Heather!
I thought of my sister as I read this blog. She is facing the loss of her home and horse barn, on Thursday. She will be moving from a rambling two story country home, into a cabin about the size of your Little House. This past weekend, I helped her with a moving sale as she sold off a lifetime of possessions. That part was not as difficult as we thought it would be, and in fact, she felt better afterwards, with a wad of cash and less material stuff to worry about. Nevertheless, this is the most stressful and emotionally wrenching time of her life, as she is helpless to do anything but watch her dreams sold on courthouse steps to the highest bidder. I am giving her the link to this blog so that she can see how it is when people actually CHOOSE to downsize their lives, and how much happiness and pleasure can be experienced, without all of the things that we are programmed to believe we need. She needs a new vision now more than at any other time in her life, so if I win the book, I’ll be passing it on to her. I feel blessed that so many of the dreams I’ve held for years, have been realized only in the very recent past. Now,I want my sister to be able to dream again, and for those dreams to come true for her.
That is a wonderful hope for your sister, Kathleen. I do hope she finds it within herself to dream again as well. And yes, we do feel so much better when things are gone and we have less to manage in our lives! 😉
YES! They do WORK! We are in the last chapter of our journey, I was just thinking yesterday we really need to have a family consultation and update this thing. You have such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment to see your goals crossed off. This is a value we need to teach our children, and this method is perfect. I remember a story of a woman who did this – the details are fuzzy – but she cut out the picture of an adorable home she would like to have. YEARS later, while going through her belongings after a move, she came across the picture, and the magazine article about the cute cottage home she had purchased, and surprise! She had purchased the exact home she had cut out so many years ago!
Sometimes it may take years to accomplish something worthwhile, but we must track it, and plot it, or we will never get there. We just drift.
I agree, Debra. This is something we should be passing along to our children. It is the road map for their future! Anyway, I’ve heard of similar stories as the one you wrote about. The most amazing one I think I’ve ever come across was a woman who wrote the exact amount of the lottery she was going to win and she put it everywhere, even under her pillow. Yep, you guessed it, she won that very same amount!
Really needing to surround myself with that positivity!
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We all do, Lisa!
I agree, Rick, and congratulations on your land purchase!
I have heard that keeping you dreams in front of you helps keep you focused. I have tried it and believe it helped lead to purchasing 19 acres across the border in Oklahoma, with the on-going plans to retire there.