Will sitting staring at your vision board day after day magically create the life of your dreams?

NO. Never. Absolutely not. Not in a million years!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

This belief that creating a vision board or building a treasure box will somehow mystically ‘attract’ everything your little heart desires has been peddled by many in the self-help world; most famously by the book and movie that followed called ‘The Secret’.

I believe the perpetuation of this type of thinking to be harmful.  I also believe that it is very likely to have stagnated the success of the thousands of people who got sucked in to thinking all they had to do was think hard enough about what they wanted and it would – poof –  appear before their eyes.

Let me be clear.

I think creating a vision board can be a great exercise.  Becoming crystal clear about what how you want your life to look is critical and should always be your first step in creating anything (that’s why it’s the first step in Think By Design).

Having a monomaniacal focus (thanks Robin Sharma!) on what you want in your life and having a daily ritual where you apply that focus are very important ingredients in the recipe for a great life.

But, and this is a very big but, simply creating a vision board, and spending time daily to think about your goals is only the first step, albeit an important one, in a series of requirements you must fulfill in order to create the life of your dreams.

“Ideation without action is delusion.” ~ Robin Sharma

Love that quote. Action. Now that can be magical.

Ok, so you’ve created a crystal clear vision for what you want your life to look like.  Great. Now what?

How do you take those goals and turn them into action?

Well, let me start by saying that if you’ve really dug deep and created some really big hairy audacious goals, then taking action on them can seem pretty overwhelming.

“If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, you’re not dreaming big enough.” ~ Robin Sharma

To overcome this sense of overwhelm (and avoid the paralysis that goes along with it) the most effective strategy is to take those goals and chunk them down.

Chunking down your goals really helps them to become more bite size, more manageable and easier to take action on.

For example, if you started with a 5 year vision, you could start by chunking it down to 1 year goals by asking yourself, ‘What do I need to accomplish in the next 12 months so that I’ll be on track to fulfill my 5 year vision?”

And then chunk it down again.  “What do I need to accomplish this quarter so that I’m on track to fulfill my annual goals?” And then chunk it down to the month, week, and all the way down to the action steps you need to take today.

I bet that when you look at your daily action steps they look much less  overwhelming.

So what you end up with is a detailed blueprint for achieving your goals. And if you follow this blueprint and take action,  you’ll start to gain momentum, and with each day you’ll be one step closer to achieving and creating all that appears on your vision board.

Its really kind of funny when you think about it…I mean if all I had to do was think hard enough about what I want I would have woken up years ago to see my fantasy Lamborghini sitting in my drive way.  I’m still waiting…

So take a minute, especially if the vision you have for your life isn’t playing out exactly the way you envisioned and ask yourself these simple questions:

1. Have I created a crystal clear vision for your life?
2. Have I created short and long term goals for creating your vision?
3. Have I created an action plan that outlines the exact steps you will need to take?
4. Have I created good habits and rituals (and have you scheduled them in time?) to help ensure you complete the action steps you’ve set out for yourself?
5. Am I taking action?

Always remember, YOU have all of the tools (or the capacity to develop the tools) you need to create an extraordinary life for yourself and your family.

If you create a crystal clear vision that aligns with your philosophy, identify with why you want it, create a congruent plan and then act on that plan you are certain to create the happy, healthy and fulfilling life you deserve.

If you’d like to learn more about some of these strategies and how you can apply them in your life please join us at our next Think By Design Seminar.  Click HERE to register.

Dr. Michael Gibson has committed himself to helping others to live the best life possible. After graduating with a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario, he received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree and Masters of Science in Chiropractic Sports Science from Life University.   He is the co-creator of Life By Design, owner of The Wellness Group, and co-owner of CrossFit 613. His passion for empowering families runs deep. After experiencing the loss of his sister due to illness, Michael’s purpose became reaching and teaching as many as possible the foundational principles of an extraordinary life.  Since that time he has passionately pursued and been successful in living out his dream. He maintains a busy family chiropractic practice, a full speaking schedule and finds time to implement the principles and practices of Life By Design in his own life.