Picture of me in front of my vision board when I won the Success Magazine 90 Day "Fit for Success" Challenge in 2009. I envisioned being in Success Magazine and it happened!
If vision boards and visualization works so well, then why have I continued to struggle with my weight? Why wouldn't I go straight to my ideal weight that I have envisioned, put on my vision board, affirmed, meditated about and prayed for? I believe it is our vision, but God's timing. It's also because of the clause, "This or something better" that I put on every vision board I make. I believe that I haven't reached that goal before now because God has something bigger and better in mind which I am sure has to do with this journey that I am on now. Why make the journey alone when you can invite people to join you and together you can all trek up the mountain, supporting each other and enjoying the adventure along the way. That's a much better vision than I could have ever imagined.
This podcast is from our Great Weight Off meeting last week where I talked about vision boards and the importance of suspending disbelief. Much like when you go to see a movie (Harry Potter for example) and suspend disbelief that people can fly. This step is important, especially at first because the logical part of your brain will try to tell you all the reasons your dream won't work. Suspending disbelief enables you to bypass that survivalist part of your brain that acts much like a gatekeeper and put your desires into your sub-conscious that doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality. This is why we laugh, cry, and get scared at movies, our sub-conscious mind believes it is real. It is our conscious mind that looks around and quickly wipes the tears off our cheek. This takes some practice, but is very powerful to help visualize your goals.
Professional athletes use vision boards and visualization all the time. They draw pictures of plays on a blackboards and visualize precise execution of those plays and winning the games. We think thoughts all day long often with accompanying images. Vision boards and visualization enable us to focus on positive things and help our thoughts fly in formation. I believe visualization is a vital key to living the life of our dreams.
In Joel Osteen's book, Your Best Life, he tells the story of meeting a woman who lost 200 lbs. He asked her how she did it. She said that she changed how she saw herself. She began to picture herself healthy and fit which led her to act “as if” she was fit and do things that fit people do. She ate healthy foods and exercised consistently. The image she had of herself in her mind began to change and it changed her life. He also talks about how his mother used the power of faith and visualization to heal her body after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She quoted healing Bible verses every day and she put pictures up all around her house of healthy and joyful times throughout her life. Joel said it worked. Today she is healthy as can be!
One way to change the image we have of ourselves is to create a vision board (also called dream boards and treasure maps). A vision board is a visual representation of your dreams and goals. I believe in the power of vision boards as a life-changing goal achievement tool so much that I became a certified vision board coach in 2010.
I think of a vision board like a road map. You have to know your destination before you can get to where you want to go. A vision board engages both your conscious and sub-conscious mind to help you make your dreams and desires come true. I use vision boards all the time. I create a vision board January 1st every year with pictures and goals of things I want to do, be, or have. I also use vision boards to map out my business ideas and the books I write.
Sometimes I use online programs such as NoteApp or Pinterest to create a virtual vision board, but I mostly use poster board along with pictures and words cut out of a magazine. I also use a word processing and spreadsheet program to create tables, charts, and quotes to put on my vision board. One of our Great Weight Off Challengers, Judy Buroker, brought a Cricut machine to our meet up and made beautiful and professionally looking words for her scrapbook style vision board. She put the word HALT on her vision board. HALT is a word we learned from our meeting with addiction counselor and life coach, Megan Gilmore. HALT stands for questions to ask yourself when cravings hit. Are you Hungry, Anxious, Lonely, Tired? What a great word to visualize to help take control of your health. We all decided we would make the Great Weight Off Icon part of our vision board too as a visual reminder of the wellness journey we are on that will continue long after the Challenge is over.
When you create a vision board, you also want to be sure to include pictures of yourself when you were at your healthiest and joyful times in your life. After you put your pictures, words, and goals on your vision board, be sure to add the words, “This or something better” because things change and sometimes what happens when you have a vision for your life is better than what you could have imagined.
Although my scales refused to budge this week, I envision a healthy future where I am at my ideal weight and have abundant energy. I will continue to eat clean, exercise consistently, and do the things I need to do to live a healthy and happy life.
What does your healthiest, happiest life look like? What do you want to do, be, or have? It all starts with a vision. See it. Believe it. Achieve it!
Kathy
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