If you're still keeping up your new year resolutions, just beginning to think of some, or if your resolutions are already out the window, I'm here to encourage you with this: it's not too late to make 2017 your best year (and I'm going to suggest an idea on how to do it). With the variety of social media, we are subjected to, there must have been many moments in our lives where we've seen a video of someone accomplishing an incredible feat, which would illicit a response similar to, "I wish I could do that, but where would I start?" Throughout my years at university, I repeated that question to myself as I followed the daily routine of class-work-eat-sleep-repeat until 2016 came to an end and signaled the beginning of my last semester.
There was one morning during winter break where I was sitting with my coffee and thinking about all the dreams and resolutions I never got to accomplish because of my studies, when this thought hit me, "Now is the time to take a chance because you never know when it will end." It was then I decided that I needed to take control of my life and set out to make at least one dream come true before I entered the oh-so-dreadful adult world of working full-time. This drastic change of thought sparked a series of events in my life and was stoked further by an article that appeared on my Pinterest newsfeed: The Power of Vision Boards. Although the article was written in 2012, I found it to be relevant and a solution to my struggle of manifesting happiness and success in my life. So, I took a day off, turned my room into a studio, and created my 2017 Vision Board.
(Excuse the poor lighting and editing, I tried my best)
No, it's not a sleek, well-crafted board that deserves a thousand likes on Instagram, but this has helped me out tremendously when it comes to staying positive and working hard toward the dream I chose: becoming a yoga teacher. Once I signed up for the training program, the rest of my new year resolutions fell into place. I'll graduate from both university and the program this season and the rest of my year will follow with my other goals of traveling, teaching, blogging and eventually working at an entry-level job.
I tacked on self-love mantras that I meditate on in the mornings so my days start with a positive outlook. Here is an example of one, "My life is full of pleasure and prosperity. My body is my temple. I enjoy living in my beautiful body." I put together yoga poses that I found to be inspiring or ones that I hope to bend into some day. I have a poem tacked in the top right-hand called "Stardust," written by Teri Youmans Grimm (torn from Jacksonville's Bridge Eight). I included pictures of women that inspire me, such as Demi Lovato or represented a style I want to emulate. My favorite part of the board is perhaps the fist punching a wall with the sign underneath reading, "Conquer Fear. Make a Difference. Smash the Patriarchy," as it represents my personal views and my mission for this year.
If January was a "test month" for you to see where your life was going or if you still have no idea what you want to do, I encourage you to pause and put all of your ideas down on a vision board. It can be big or small, online or on paper, all pictures or all words. Whatever it is you want to do or wish to see in 2017, lay it all out. I endorse this method of manifestation because of an interesting concept that the article brings up: The Law of Attraction.
To put it simply, we all have the power to achieve whatever we want in life by merely bringing in our focus on what is positive and what will lead us there. Each one of us has a unique frequency that changes with our thought process. As it says in my tagline, "One positive thought resonates one thousand positive vibrations." Ever since I made this board, it has been much easier to maintain my daily anxiety and energy to work. It has inspired me to improve my home yoga practice and to take care of myself first before making time to take care of others.
If you're interested in doing this but don't have the room or time, I suggest starting out small, such as placing a favorite quote on your mirror or changing your computer background to something that positively motivates you. Slowly work your way up so that you don't feel overwhelmed. As time goes on, you'll eventually be surrounded by happiness and success that you made for yourself because you took the initiative and worked hard to make your dreams come true! Be your own boss in 2017!
