Planning to set goals for 2022? Try vision boards

As the new year dawns upon us, you must hear the word “vision board” very often. In fact, even I am organising a Vision Board workshop and meditation on the first week of January. The new year is always a potent time to reflect on the year gone by and to realign your goals and ideologies to have a manifested year ahead. Unlike new year resolutions that just sit at the back of your mind, vision boards are in-your-face reminders that keep your goals and desires on display.

WHAT ARE VISION BOARDS

Also known as dream boards, these simple tools are one of the most valuable visualisation tools available to you to manifest your dreams. It’s basically a board on which you display images and words that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life.

These inspirational collages serve as an image of your future — a tangible example, idea or representation of where you are headed. By creating a visual representation of what you see in your mind and your objectives — whether it be personal, professional, spiritual— they work as powerful anchors for your subconscious to manifest your reality.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

Neuroscience today proves that our subconscious works in images and not words. Thus, seeing is believing. Once you have your real desires as images on your vision board, you emotionally connect with who you’re becoming, you believe it’s possible and you can now take a direct path towards achieving it.

Research shows that only 8 per cent of people who set resolutions actually fulfil their goals. A resolution could also leave someone feeling guilty if they accidentally slip up or compare themselves to an unrealistic standard. Vision Boards do the opposite; they open our minds to compassion towards ourselves and others.

SUCCESS STORIES

There are many anecdotes about the power of vision boards, including famous people like Jean Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger. One story that comes to mind is that of gymnast Nastia Liukin. In 2008, she won five medals, including the coveted gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. She credited her success to her vision board.

VISION BOARDS ARE ANCIENT

People have used the idea of vision boards for centuries. Whether it was the caveman, carving out the pictures of the animals he planned to hunt or pictures of beach destinations you see at modern office cubicles.

For example, a doting father keeps photos of his family on his desk at work to remind him why he is there. A soldier at war keeps letters and photos of his beloved in his locker to help him bear the hardships of combat. A young couple makes a collage of pictures of their dream home to help them remember that their current financial sacrifices will be worth it someday. In all cases, vision boards are useful tools to keep us focused on what really matters.

THE ORIGINAL VISION BOARD

This might be an opinion you have never heard of — but statues and pictures were the original vision boards.

When you look at an image that you adore, you are reminded of what you can be. The pictures of archetypes we adore remind us of certain virtues and thus they work as vision boards.

When you face challenges in life, your unshakable conviction in its essence will give you the power to deal with the situation at hand. A vision board helps you remember and act appropriately.

By simply creating these images — ancient vision boards — the seeds of vitaraagata (a state of absolute detachment) are sown.

According to ancient Indian texts of the Puranas, with devotion you can awaken the universal consciousness which is hidden in any object. By overcoming the duality of the subject and the object or the knower and the known, you can experience oneness with this consciousness present in all things.

I would encourage you to create a vision board for yourself for 2022. This will motivate you to work towards the goals you have set and direct your mind to its fruition.

Cheers to the New Year, and may the next 365 days around the sun bring you all the abundance you desire.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai