Casting a Vision for 2024

As I sit here in my living room surrounded by the remnants of Christmas morning, during the weird in between that happens every year from December 26th to January 2nd. No one knows what day it is, there’s piles of gift wrap and packaging, we missed trash day, you know what I’m talking about. 

Anyways, I’m sitting here thinking about the upcoming new year and I’m pondering my goals.  On my dining room table lies a vision board kit- a box filled with prompts and photos and supplies to manifest my dreams. A friend gave it to me earlier in the year. 

I’ve made vision boards for a few years now-after seeing a friend do one each year with her real estate team. For me, I fill them with goals I’d like to focus on during the upcoming year. I’ve even gone as far as making personal and professional boards. It’s something I try to look at each day because I’ve heard that’s what you should do. The practice of seeing these goals, brings them to the forefront of your mind and helps you focus your energy on them. I’ve never used a fancy kit before but there it sits, waiting for me. 

Have you ever made a vision board? Maybe you’re a seasoned expert, maybe you have no idea what a vision board is or how to do one?

Recently I heard about a vision board workshop and wanted to learn more about the practice as a whole, so I reached out to Maria Brito of Awaken with Maria Brito. She’s a life skills coach here in Huntsville. You may recognize her from the events she’s hosted in Huntsville, including events at the Orion and other local small businesses.

Maria learned about the act of creating a vision board through her own self discovery journey. “I found that my creativity ignited immense flow in what could be possible.” As a young girl, Brito loved looking through magazines, citing that they made her feel transported to the places in those images. She began to study the practice and sat down to create her first vision board, a year later she noticed the majority of the items on the board had become a reality. “From that moment on I was hooked and have done one ever since”

Maria believes in the power of a vision board so much, that she’s begun teaching classes on them. Her passion lies with women and helping them become their best selves. The special process that Brito teaches focuses on each woman’s “unique human design” to help them gain clarity on what they desire and realize that it is attainable. “The main concept that women learn is that by creating a clear vision they can then understand  how to pinpoint ways in which to attract the resources to feel abundantly supported.”

The wonderful thing about a vision board is the fact that you don’t need anything fancy to get started. Poster board and magazine clippings or images printed from the web are a great way to get your goals set for the new year. Don’t forget to believe that everything is possible!! “Getting clear on your intentions for the coming year or next phase of your life is the first step.” Brito says. She has her workshop attendees look back on the previous year, determine what went as planned, what didn’t  and what caused those things to not go as planned. She encourages women to look into what changes can be made in your life this time around to either amplify what worked or adjust what didn’t work. 

The next step is gathering your images and pasting them to your board. Brito says this is the most intentional step, “look for specific things that light you up and make you feel joy according to what you discovered through the writing prompts.” 

Keeping your board size smaller is helpful because you’ll want to display it in a space you’re in frequently, daily even.

I know some people who create a digital board and set it as their phone’s Lock Screen. I’ve done that in the past but I’ve found I, like Maria, prefer a physical version. She told me that having something you physically create with your hands carries a lot of energy!

You might be thinking, what do people actually put on their boards? Brito shared that some women focus on travel, some focus on personal goals and some focus on self-care. She also sees a lot of boards done in the quadrant method, a section for self-care, fun, adventure, career, spirituality, personal life etc and focusing on the things that will bring you joys in some of those categories. 

Go grab some magazines and sit down to reflect on this past year and your dreams for the coming year! If you’re still feeling stuck, Maria has upcoming workshops- check her out on social media @awakenwithmariabrito