In my previous blog post, I mentioned the benefits of journaling as a way to boost productivity and overall personal development. I also promised that I’d share some of my “Power Thinking” journaling strategies for those who were interested in starting a journal but are in need of inspiration and direction, and I love helping others tackle a blank page!
Since then, I’ve had several conversations with readers who told me that while they haven’t kept a journal consistently in their lives, it was their vision boards that have helped them realize their goals. So I decided to take a closer look at my personal collection to see how I’ve integrated vision boards into my journaling journey.
In my adolescent journals, I’ve made countless variations of vision boards inside my journals that have failed because I was missing something very important.
Over the years, the vision board craze has gained popularity into the mainstream part of our culture.
Vision boards, based on the Law of Attraction, are any sort of boards on which you display images and phrases that represent whatever you want to be, do, or have in your life.
The core belief is embedded in many bestselling books, including my favorite one, which is Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist: “When you want something, all the universe conspires you to achieve it.”
Simply put, the idea is nothing new.
Positive thinking results in positive outcomes. However, there is a huge gap between positive thinking versus positive outcomes when the vision boards, or the journals even, aren’t used effectively.
So what was I missing in my vision boards?
Permanent motivation.
Permanent motivation is intrinsic by nature, and it doesn’t come from positive thinking alone. Let’s face it, cutting out a few pictures and throwing in a few catch phrases in a cardboard just won’t cut it. In addition to your vision boards, you need to find permanent motivation.
Your permanent motivation comes from making decisions to perform a series of actions that directly help you fulfill your heart’s desires.
It’s what I like to call the 3 Key Actions from my “Power Thinking” journaling strategies:
- Resolve — What you decide about who you are
- Dissolve — What you decide to dismiss about what others think you are
- Evolve — What you decide to become and enjoy being
The 3 Key Actions Worksheet, which is a page ripped off from my personal journal, will help you connect your thoughts with tangible outcomes. Once you’ve made key decisions about how you want to resolve, dissolve, and evolve in certain aspects of your life, write them down in a list.
You can start with these sentence stems:
- Under the RESOLVE column, you can start with “I resolve to be…” or “I am….”
- Then in the DISSOLVE column, begin your list with “I dissolve the illusion that….” or “I dissolve my……”
- Finally, use the EVOLVE column to decide what you will become and know you’ll enjoy being. Use the sentence stem “I will…..”
In doing so, you’ve come up with the most powerful action plan you can take in which you’ll be able to enjoy your life’s work.
If you want to start your Journaling Journey, you can download the free PDF worksheet when you visit our website http://www.mandpcreative.com/education–motivation.html scroll down to Resolve, Dissolve, and Evolve!
You will find a video tutorial on what to list for each column in the worksheet, and you’ll also find a sample of my journal entry. Have fun and discover something new and amazing about yourself.
Happy Writing!
Sources:
Pulido, Michael. “3 Key Actions Worksheet.” Michael and Pia Creative. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Lakhiani, Vishen. “The 3 Most Important Questions to Ask Yourself.”Mindvalley. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Fabrer, Neil, M.D., Ph.D. “Throw Away Your Vision Board.” Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Pia Villanueva-Pulido is a published children’s author, content writer, and English teacher. She also specializes in marketing communications. Together with her husband, Michael Pulido, a creative content producer and homeschool music teacher, they have developed a series of children’s picture books and songs from the River of Imagination collection. Check out their website for updateswww.mandpcreative.com and follow mandpcreative on Instagram.
Originally published at medium.com