Creating Your Vision for Self-Care

I truly believe it’s important to tap into our creativity and get life clarity on what we want to let go of and what we want to attract.  Anything that keeps US at the forefront of our thoughts, rather than getting lost in the daily motions of life, is vitally important to self-care and achieving our dreams and goals.

After working professionally with an Art Therapist for a number of years, I really value using our right brain and tapping into our creative faculties to focus our brilliant energy on creating meaning and value with our lives.  Everyone should have a vision for their life and it should be crafted with self-care so that we aren’t running on empty, chasing the life we crave.

There are two creative and expressive ways I routinely use to create a vision for myself and my life, and maybe they will help you do the same!

Vision Boards

I believe vision boards can help you become crystal clear on your goals while focusing your energy on what you want to draw into your life. A vision board is a great way to envision your self-care goals and motivate you to take action. And there is no greater time then NOW to create one.

Creating a vision board in itself is a healthy act of self-love.  When you take the time to create a vision board, you essentially are saying to yourself that:

1. You are important enough (let alone chart a vision for)
2. You are acknowledging that you have worthy goals and aspirations that are valuable and important.
3. You are recognizing that you worthy of positive thoughts, actions and self-love.

This is why I think vision boards can be powerful tools and agent of self-care.  They create positive affirmations, as well as a conscious vision with focused intention that is showcased in a visual display.  A creative vision helps to remind us of the way we can create a beautiful life through self-love that encourages a sense of worth that culminates in how we see and take care of ourselves.

To start, decide on your vision.  I suggest focusing on bringing more self-love into your life.  Perhaps that means changing your thought patterns or letting go of stuff that you’ve been holding onto for way too long.  Or it might mean taking better care your body, instead of letting it be a dumping ground for self-doubt, frustration or fear.  It’s completely up to you but whatever you choose, the focus should be on want you want to bring more of into your life.

Once you’ve got the vision, then search for images, quotes, affirmations, self-care tips, etc. that you can decorate your board with.  Once you have a vision and all the materials, enjoy the process of creating your board.

You can use a piece of Bristol board or a canvas from the dollar store.  Or you can design it completely on your laptop – so long as you can print it because beyond the process of creating, you want to place your board somewhere where you will see it daily and remember where your real focus belongs.

Journaling

I feel like some people either love journaling or they hate it.  I am a chronic journaler and there is real benefit from picking up your pen and letting it flow.  I am constantly writing down ideas and undergoing brain dumps in a journal.  There is something magical and transformative about getting your ideas, thoughts and dreams down on paper.

Journaling, like a vision board, can offer the opportunity to clear and focus your mind.  Journaling when practiced daily, can help create a vision for self-care by providing you with a constant reminder of the life you are trying to create.  Here are two ways I use journaling to keep my vision for my life in the forefront of my brain:

1. Morning Entries

Incorporate journaling into your morning self-care routine.  Before I am fully ready to start my day, I journal for about 10 minutes in the morning.  I find this to be a powerful self-care practice because it sets an intention for my day that I then carry forward into every action I carry out.

I recommend journaling after you have had a chance to put yourself together and before you pick up your phone or sign on to your email and become distracted by everyone else’s needs.  Journaling in this way helps to ground you where ever you are at on any given day, as well as organize your thoughts.

2. Gratitude List

At the end of every day, a journal can be a life saver and a place to let go of whatever you’re still holding on to.  I recommend writing down everything that you did each day and focus on: what you were able to accomplish and your successes (big or small), the risks you took, the things you are thankful for, the self-care acts you integrated, and even the self-sabotage you resisted.

Ending your day in a journal allows you to reinforce all the things you are doing that aligns with your vision of how you want to live, and the steps you take every day to achieve your goals.  This constant reminder also helps focus your energy appropriately by directing your attention to the actions you are taking, instead of focusing on the could or should haves.  In the arena of self-care, there is no room for “shoulding” on yourself.  There’s only room for the strength it takes to show up for yourself with consistency regardless of the outcome, the knowing that you are good enough just as you are and the awareness to end each day with a grateful heart.