Fighting the January blues with vision boards and affirmations...

Happy new year! How're you doing? I don't know about you but I always find January one of the most daunting months of the year. Christmas is one of my biggest breaks so coming back into the office after such a long period off can feel a little stressful, especially when I have a list of new goals and resolutions staring me in the face. I just feel a lot of pressure. If this sounds anything like you then I'm here to help with some tips on how to inspire a positive mindset through vision boards and manifestation. 

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert on manifesting/affirmations/vision boards but I find them really useful for my mindset and this is just how I use/do them. 

What is a vision board? I hear you ask. A vision board is a collection of images, quotes and affirmations designed as a tool for motivation and inspiration. You lay out a list of all the things you'd like to achieve in a certain time period i.e. 2022 and then find images, quotes, and affirmations that correspond to that reality. Just the feeling of collecting these images and putting them together can really boost the mood as there's no limit as to what you can visualise.

If you'd like to make your own vision board here's a step by step process as to how I make mine which you can follow too.

You will need: computer, internet, photoshop/canva/word or a4 paper, a3 paper/card for the board, glue stick, scissors, and a printer.

Let's begin...

1. Write a list of all the things you'd like to achieve/do in 2022, that could include for example: buying a house, finding love, getting a certain job, going to a certain uni, getting a peachy bum, etc or it could be more 'general' like, being happy, being healthy, getting more sleep. The possibilities are endless but make them specific to you and things you really do want in your life.

2. Head to Pinterest or Unsplash and start finding pictures. For example what your dream house would look like, or dream car (for the more materialistic things), and save them to a 'vision board' file on your computer. Depending on your skill level you can also photoshop images as if they've already been achieved, for example if a business one is to reach a certain number of followers on instagram then screenshot your instagram account and photoshop in the number of followers you'd like to achieve. This just helps your brain see it as a reality so it doesn't feel so alien. Also look for affirmation quotes, for example I think some really great ones are, 'It's already mine.', 'I am happy', 'I am healthy' but again make it specific to yourself and save them all to your file.

3. Depending on how you prefer to work then either print all these images/quotes off to cut and stick down on an a3 piece of paper/card or open photoshop/canva and start collaging all of these pictures together on your computer. As you look at each image you should really picture it in your life and get this excited buzz surging through your body as if it's already yours. This is where the power lies. Close your eyes see this life and how happy you are, believe it's already yours.

4. Once you've finished your vision board either as a physical board or on the computer then put it somewhere you're going to see it, like in your office or as your computer desktop background. You shouldn't necessarily just sit and stare at it all day as the magic of the universe is that it works in the background while you're working to achieve these goals, but by just having it there you'll subconsciously see it and have something to motivate you on the bad days.

Examples of vision boards collected from the internet:

Let me know how you get on with this in the comments below! I'd love to know what you've put on yours!

Next up, affirmations... Affirmations are phrases you say to yourself daily that raise your vibration and help to put you into a more positive mindset. They can be as simple as 'I am happy' or 'I am healthy', or they can be more specific to what you'd like to achieve that day. For example, if your intention is to find love in your life then saying out-loud to yourself 'I am worthy of love' or 'I trust that love will find me' can slowly change your mindset on the situation and take you from a place of want/need to a more confident place that it's already yours. A great youtube video to learn more about this would be: Positive affirmations to attract love by MIND BODY SOUL 

If you'd like to write your own affirmations here are some tips to get you started:

1. Affirm only what you want.

2. Write as if it is happening now.

3. Avoid using the words 'don't', 'can't', 'not'.

4. Begin with gratitude.

5. Make it believable.

6. Focus on the feeling.

For expansion on these points along with some more tips, check out the article 'Writing affective affirmative intentions' by the mentoring store.

To conclude, the act of doing vision boards and affirmations is primarily to generate that positive buzz within your body. When I visualise my future reality while doing these things I get tingles all over my body like a really strong vibration, it's hard to explain, but it can really help turn my day around and in turn lead to a more productive one.

I hope you found this helpful for curing your January blues. Leading on from this I had my first mini-launch on Sunday 16th January with some bright and beautiful affirmation prints, along with a really exciting custom print which you may enjoy... take a look at the full collection here: DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

You've got this! Have a fabulous day,

Hannah XX