Are you familiar with the concept of a “vision board”? A vision board is a visual space upon which you can post pictures of what you want to attract into your life. My friends and I have made vision boards as a social/craft activity and hung them on our walls in sight of our daily routines. We found, miraculously, that the items we placed on the board appeared in our lives.

Here is an example:

On February 14th of this year, my family and I had to put our 14-year-old golden retriever to rest. You may remember the article that I wrote and circulated that day titled “Marley and Me”, which received hundreds of supportive responses. (Thank you for all the love; I really needed it during that difficult time!) That same day, I placed a photo of Marley on my vision board, along with the word “JOY”, cut from a magazine. I wanted to remember the joy that Marley had brought to me every day, and I wanted to invite more joy into my days to come.

Since making that heartfelt addition to my vision board, my kids and I have been actively volunteering at a local pet shelter, taking care of dogs and cats and constantly thinking about getting another dog for the family. Recently, I stumbled upon an ad for a puppy that stole my heart. Looking at the photo of its mother, I was shocked to find that she was almost a mirror reflection of Marley. There was no question that this was the next dog for our family. Her name came to me just as effortlessly — Joy. It’s an exact match for the feeling that she brings to my life.

Needless to say, we adopted the puppy. After we had taken it home, I walked into my bedroom and glanced at my vision board. The photo of Marley caught my eye, along with the cut-out word “JOY” pinned against it, and sent chills running through me. It only dawned on me in that moment that I had attracted not only a new form of Marley’s legacy into my life, but the name for our new puppy too.

There is such power in vision because it allows us to focus. Living life without vision is like taking a trip into uncharted territory — without a map! What are the chances that you would end up lost?  With vision as our map, we can stay on the path to where we intend to end up, and if we do stray from the path, vision will remind us and guide us back on track.

Like an artist who uses vision to see an image in their mind’s eye before they begin creating, or like a musician who finds a hearing or feeling of music in their head before playing it, we too can harness the power of vision for our benefit: to visualize what we want to create for ourselves in our lives. If we are not carefully aware of what we envision, the opposite may come true, and we may find ourselves spending energy thinking and worrying about what we don’t want in our lives. That is why the vision board has such potential — because it keeps us looking at and feeling the emotions of pleasure when we attract what we want most.

Shared vision is even more powerful. When two people in a relationship are clear on where they would like to end up and what their goals are, they can travel very far together.  In business, vision statements or shared vision reinforcement provide team members with the patience and perseverance to see them through challenging times and difficult situations.

Vision statements help everyone on the team to “see” where and why the company is going, how it will feel to be successful, and what their individual role in the process is. This is sometimes called a “picture of the future company”, but it also holds inspiration and the framework for strategic planning. Vision statement development is an activity worth taking on if you don’t have one already, and if you need some help, you can schedule a session with me as your guide.

Blessings for an abundance of JOY in your life,

Penny