I've always said in the past that my 2022 isn't going to begin until April 2022, my logic being we'll have had 12 months of living with Covid-19 (outside of whole country lockdowns), and I'll have 12 months of data on which to base my future plans on. But, I've changed my mind because I've realised even if I don't know what's going to happen it doesn’t mean to say I can’t make it happen, so my 2022 is now going to start on 1st January, not 1st April!
For the first time ever I've created a vision board to help me manifest the changes I want to make this year. There's a lot of research around the power of visualisation and studies have shown time and time again that thinking about something activates the same area of the brain as doing something, which in turn can help improve your motivation and confidence and get you primed and ready for success! Of course you can't just sit and think about something and it'll happen, but when you combine that with focus, hard work and action - that's where the magic happens.
If you think about it, the logic is pretty simple - by making a conscious effort to think positively about achieving something you're going to start to feel more positive about achieving that something, which in turn will make you more confident, which will make you want to work towards achieving that something, which makes it more likely you will achieve it!
Creating my vision board has been about identifying what I want in the year ahead and the actions I need to take to achieve it. I've focussed on 4 key areas - my career, health, personal development and family and friends, all areas that are important to me - and identified in 2022:
- My business will grow
- I will invest in my health and wellbeing
- I will let got and find out who I am at 50
- I will laugh more and worry less
For each of these I've then identified 4 specific actions, for example in health and wellbeing I will:
- Loose 2 stone
- Spend more time outside walking like I used to
- Invest in my own health and wellbeing if I want to sort out my back and my frozen shoulder
- Eat well
The next stage will be to create a list of actions I need to take to make that happen - my first job of 2022!
The vision board itself is a pictorial representation of what I want from 2022 and I created it digitally using photographs from Unsplash.com, a fantastic source of beautiful free to use pictures, and Canva.com, a simple free graphic design app. I've got as my wallpaper and screen saver on my laptop and phone, and I'm going to get a decent colour printed version from local printers to stick on my fridge - a constant visual motivator for what I want from 2022! And, by the end of the year I want have changed all the images I've used to ones I've taken of me achieving what I've set out to do.
If you start off climbing a mountain by never believing you can climb it and without the right equipment, the chances are you're not going. With my vision board plastered where I see it multiple times a day and a clear list of actions I know are realistic and achievable within the next 12 months, I've scouted my mountain, I know exactly where I'm going and I've got the right equipment to get there - now all I have to do is start climbing!
I'll see you back here, same time, same place - in the meantime why not think about #youand2022?