Happy New Year! I hope you had a glorious celebration of all the gifts of 2009 and that 2010 is already showing great promise!
For a couple of years now, I end the year with my Project 365 and begin the next with Vision Cards. These cards highlight my goals, hopes and dreams for the year to come. Each day they inspire me and keep me powerfully connected to myself and my aspirations.
The first thing I do is brainstorm which areas of my life I would like to focus on this year. For 2010, some of my focus areas are: time for me, savouring life experiences, confident travel and developing my support squad. I strive to find a balance between being clear with my intentions and yet spacious enough for the Universe to work her magic. So, for example, on the travel card, Paris is specifically there and also the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. But on the back is also a picture of a woman in a city with the words “surefooted in any territory” which reflects more generally who I want to be as a traveller. This year, I even have a card for “joyful surprises” because I know my life has been richest when I loosen the reigns and am open to possibilities.
Once I’ve decided on my focus areas, I collect images, much like I do for dreamboards, letting my intuition guide me and pulling out what touches my heart or catches my eye. I gently hold the areas I’m looking for in my mind as I search but I am open to discovering new possibilities. This year one vision card came up which I was not intending at all (in fact, I’m rather resistant too), but somehow, it just wanted to be on the list and so I put it there.
Next, I put those together on large index cards that will sit on my desk for the next 365 days. I also like to turn them into a little slide show like the one I’m sharing with you today so that I can watch it regularly for inspiration.
With all that we’ve been through in December, the holidays, the passing of my mother-in-law and Justin taking so ill we spent a night in Emergency (he’s absolutely fine now – thank you all for your thoughts and well wishes), I really thought I might give this exercise a pass this year and let my Full Blue Moon Dreamboard be my inspiration at the dawn of 2010. But I found myself drawn back to the process, knowing how deeply it helps me find clarity and then keeps me on track and empowered. It’s how I begin the process of creating my year.
What are you envisioning this year? What helps you create and sustain your vision?
By the way, if you’re in Toronto, I offer one-on-one Visioning Sessions to help you gain clarity and inspiration on a particular project or dream. You can read about it here.
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{ 13 comments }
How trippy that this post finds me, mere minutes after I have written a post about my creative vision for 2010. Creativity has re-entered my llife in 2009 as a healing, therapeutic measure. A need for personal growth through healing keeps my vision burning bright.
My main inspiration tool is that I’m a list maker…always have been…and like you when I veer away from it…I don’t accomplish as much. I keep a really good quality leather notebook or moleskin, the small size like a 3×5 card that fits in my purse. I make a list that never ends…just continues in the book and as I finish something on the list, I check it off…very satisfying to go back a review your lists and see what was going on in your life. Sometimes these notebooks last me a couple of years. I have different ones for different tasks…such as Christmas…I have a book that has ten years of Christmas presents that I bought for my family…great for when my kids were little to remember their toys…as well as my christmas card list for each year and the “budget” for what I spent. Then I have a thick “design” blank book that I still use and it is over six years old now and I write down household designs as well as art inspirations and scrapbooking projects. Years ago when I was a CM demonstrator, I held “Dream” workshops and we actually used 8×10 albums for our goal/inspirations…my album was a “list” of course…lol…and it is a “life” goal album…aka…50/100 Things I Want to Accomplish before I die. The idea is to predecorate the pages for your “goals” and when you’ve accomplished them…scrapbook with real photos and mementos about your accomplishements. This gets pulled out every year for updating and reflecting. I guess I need to go blog about this now…lol Hope this helps…it has certainly inspired me because I’ve been so busy moving this year…I didn’t really think about making new resolutions/goals until responding to your post.
Excellent post Jamie. Great creative vision at work and very well-written. I like the reminders you make for yourself to always see the good of the day!
~i always look forward to what you will be giving…such tools to help empower us and guide us to being more centered…a great mind that comes up with wonderful ways of sharing and exploring who we really are…many thanks you and brightest blessings~
As usual, you are a creativity genius! I am so amazed by your process Jamie and your vision. It is so inspiring.
Jamie:
I wanted to take a quick moment to wish you a blessed and wondrous New Year and year ahead.
Thank you for all you do to inspire us to continue to quest for our very best.
Warmest Regards,
Holly
Happy New Year, Jamie!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea with me. I’ve been reflecting on the year that has past and what I would like to achieve in the coming year and I know this will be a great tool to inspire and centre me. Thank you for the creative guidance!
What an interesting tool–thank you for the idea!
I had so much going on at year end, I almost skipped my dream board, but something drew me to it, and actually picking the images and putting it together was a joy. Thank you!
Hey Jamie…I’m back to just let you know that I blogged about your post today and linked your post as well. Thanks for the inspiration, fondly, Roberta
http://con-tain-it.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/happy-new-year.html
I like your video. That is a great idea of doing your goals for 2010 as a video that you can watch through out the year.
I’m wishing you all the best and brightest this year, Jamie.
This is so cool!
Your vision cards are awesome!!
I’m so doing this for 2010 !!
Thanks Jamie
:)
I love the idea of vision cards. I have made a few but never at the start of the new year. I want to try this.
Happy New Year!
Jamie,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful idea about vision cards! I am very inspired by you, and this idea. I will do it for 2010. I have made collages with more general themes but i like the twist with one theme per card.
Thanks!
Laurie
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