Day 29/366 days Towards Self-Mastery: Status: it's late and I'm really tired so will check for typos in the morning!
Vision boards as a means to envisioning your future life, have become very popular and there's one snag that I've fallen for more often than I can count.
Launching into this fun and dreamy creation before you've done an honest reality check won't help you one little bit.
At times a Walter Mitty dreamer, it's easy to go off into a wonderful world of fantasy that is far removed from my reality.
Sarah's inspiration has covered off all the important things to consider before getting down to visioning the life you want to live.
Looking closely at the reality of the here and now includes exploring what feels really good in that reality, what the considered next logical step from here might be, and being prepared to start with what we've got.
Now from this place of reality, and armed with the knowing of what feels really joyful and heart-warming, it's time to bring that vision together.
Of course the same principle applies to work and business. There's little point in envisioning where you want to be in 1, 5 or 10 years from now if you're kidding yourself about your current position.
This was one area of my life where I excelled. Allowing the reality of that balance sheet, my company cashflow, as well as the markets that I was immersed in, to sank into my very bones served me extremely well. It was the reason that I acted before the GFC took untold number of casualties, and why my businesses were so successful.
My personal life was another matter. Why this split, is a bit of a mystery.
The inspiration for today is about crafting that vision
Check in and make sure you are 100% on the money with your reality, all of it, that you are on that path and not off on another tangent, and then create your visual masterpiece.
Spend time to create the visual expression of your most joyful life. Take your time, use a book or card or art board that you find really appealing, and cut and paste to your hearts content.
My current vision board, while neglecting to do the prep work, turns out to be a collection of lovely things for sure, but it's not a lifestyle.
Pinterest offers a great opportunity for me to express the sort of lifestyle that I feel most joyful with. My board is secret, entirely for my pleasure alone.
With the wake up call of doing my reality check a few days ago, I find that I have positively changed direction. Again!
Only this time I hadn't strayed as far from my path as I've done in the past.
What I did discover is that old habits had crept back in. Habits of striving for things I don't even want! Aaagh!
You know something? I'm not really living when I'm stuck in that striving mode. It's all future oriented and it could be a novel, genre fantasy, for the benefit it's giving me. It's a lifetime habit, embedded in my formative years, and I'm determined to crack that code soon.
Scrapping that one and starting over, I'm going to enjoy recreating it with the clarity gleaned from the last 28 days of leaning into self-mastery. Not this evening though. Maybe tomorrow, or even on the weekend. When I have some delicious uninterrupted time to dream as I melt into my reality, again.
If you find that your vision board is not always up to par, you're not realising everything or anything that you envision, then this could be the reason. Check back over the previous posts if you've recently joined me and grab any useful snippets of inspiration. Let me know how you get on.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.