Ep 71 Do Vision Boards Really Work? 3 Goals Manifested From My Vision Board

It’s tons of fun to create a vision board, but is it just a fun and creative collage activity? I'll tell you about 3 of my goals that have manifested in my life since I began using a vision board. So, they do work if you actually use them!

Create your vision board with my 3-step vision guide and my vision board poster templates. Start manifesting your dreams and goals today!

• Vision Guide: https://mandysawyer.com
• Vision Board Poster Templates: https://mandysawyer.com/shop

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Transcript

Mandy:
Hey there! You’re listening to the Dream Big & Kick Ass Podcast.  I’m Mandy, your host and I’m so glad you’re here! 

If you want encouragement, inspiration, support, empowerment … Join me as we talk about real life stories of finding and following your purpose, overcoming adversity, and living out your dreams. 

If, like me, you believe life’s too short to be caught up in insecurities, fear, and feeling defeated, then hang out with me here and let’s Dream Big & Kick Ass together!

Hey, I hope your 2022 is going well so far! I want to let you know what is going to happen with the podcast moving forward in 2022. I will post new episodes each week on Tuesdays in January 2022, then starting in February, I’m going to post every other week instead. I’ll try that for a while. I think it will be more sustainable for me. And if I decide to change it later, I can totally do that. If you have any feedback for me about that, shoot me an email at mandy@mandysawyer.com

Now, if you’ve never used a vision board before, you might be wondering if vision boards really work.

DO VISION BOARDS WORK? I can tell you from experience that if you use them right, they do work. I’ll tell you about 3 Goals on My Vision Board That Have come true in a just a bit.

It’s tons of fun to create a vision board, but is it just a fun and creative collage activity?

If you’re skeptical, it’s probably because you’ve heard that vision boards manifest things out of thin air. It sounds like woo-woo and name-it-and-claim-it nonsense. 

There’s nothing magical and woo-woo about the board or the pictures or the quotes or affirmations themselves. However, there IS something magical about how our brains work! If you’ve done any brain research on neuroplasticity or the Reticular Activating System, you know that our brains are fascinating, adaptable machines. 

A vision board is a simple, yet powerful tool for visualizing and manifesting your dreams and goals because it helps your brain to focus on relevant information and filter out nonessential information. It helps you focus on positivity, and root out negativity. It helps your mindset to change and helps you be open to the realm of possibilities. It helps motivate you toward your dreams. 

However, you have to actually use the tool to get what you want. 

For example, if I want to hang a picture on the wall and have the top hammer recommended by This Old House, I will still have a blank wall staring at me if I don’t use the dang hammer to smack the nail into the wall.

So, if you want results from your vision board, you have to use it. And on a daily basis. And it’s so simple. I use my vision board by talking out the goals and affirmations that are represented in the images I placed on my board. Just a few minutes per day.

So, let me tell you about three things on my vision board that have come true for me: 

1. DEBT FREE

As a teacher, my paychecks for 15 years weren’t enough to pay large expenses, like medical stuff, vet bills, major car repairs, or an HVAC replacement. So, I had a couple of loans hanging over my head. Large bills had to go on a credit card. Eventually, I took all the credit card debt and paid it off with a loan from my bank and cut up the cards. I had reduced my overall interest payment and vowed that if I didn’t have the cash for something, I wouldn’t buy it. And I kept my promise to myself. Then, I had to get another loan to pay for a new HVAC and ductwork in my house. So, 2 loans hanging over my head.

When I put a debt-free symbol on my vision board, I was thinking it would take a few years, and that I would pay off my loans gradually by building my business or getting bonuses from my job at the time. However, I ended up selling my house sooner than I had anticipated and paid off the rest of my loans all in one day! 

It was an awesome feeling and hard to comprehend at the same time because I was so used to having debt as a teacher. 

But the fact that I kept the goal in front of me daily opened me up to believing it was happening. I was retraining my brain to replace the lie, “This is never going to happen; I'm always going to be in debt.” with “I am debt free.” “I am free from the stress that debt brings.”

2. A RED DRESS

It’s not that I wanted to manifest a red dress.

It’s that I couldn’t fit into my new red dress that I ordered from Amazon to wear dancing on my 49th birthday. I was really bummed and my birthday excitement fizzled when I couldn’t get the damn thing zipped. There was no time to return it for a larger size. So, I kept the red dress and added a magazine cut out of a red dress to my vision board because I was determined to get into that dress. This might not sound like a big deal, like a big bodacious dream to you. But, if you’ve ever felt defeated when it comes to losing weight or if you hate trying on clothes because they never fit right and you don’t feel good in them, then you know it’s not a piddly goal.

I initially thought the picture on my vision board would motivate me to exercise and eat better. Then, the covid lockdown happened. We ate so much junk food and comfort food during that time, and I felt tired and unmotivated most of the time; however, I still talked out my vision board. I still kept that red dress in front of me, visually and in my head. 

In May of 2021, I learned I had Hashimoto’s, and that was a turning point for me. Sometimes we have to get slapped in the face with something before we shift our mindset and implement any change. It catapulted me into a health journey like never before. 

• I dove into researching Hashimoto’s 
• I focused on how to eat in order to get my immune system to calm down. 
• I started cooking WAAAAY more than I ever wanted to.
• I signed up with a certified AIP (Autoimmune Protocol/Paleo) coach. 
• I sought out a functional medicine practitioner. 

Through the next 7 months, the inflammation and pain in my body reduced significantly. 

And so did the inches of puffiness, as well as, about 20 pounds.

Guess what? NOW I CAN ZIP MY RED DRESS!! I haven’t had any place to wear it yet, but zipping that sucker? … CHECK!! So, I’m ready for when my 52nd birthday comes in the spring to wear my red dress with pride.

 3. OUTDOOR OASIS- What does that mean to you?

For me, I wanted an outdoor oasis available to me in my backyard. I had pictures of elephant ear plants, mint, lavender, lilies and various plants and flowers on my vision board because I needed a beautiful backyard where I could soak up the beauty of nature and feed my soul. I needed a serene place to pray and reduce stress. Constant stress is literal poison to your body, and I knew that destressing was an important part of healing my body and this health journey that I’m on.

So, last spring and summer, I planted flowers and plants, watched proudly as they grew, and basked in the calm that my backyard oasis provided. It has served me well. 

If I wasn’t visualizing that serenity every day on my board, I probably wouldn’t have moved myself to do anything to make it happen because fatigue is a huge part of autoimmune disease.

Now, I’m excited about spring coming because this time I’m going to kick it up a notch with a better layout and a water feature. I just love listening to the sound of water trickling over rocks. It’s very soothing. Which by the way, side bar here, if you are a student starting in landscape or garden design and are interested in bartering, contact me and let’s help each other out.

Okay, so there are 3 of the items on my vision board that have manifested in my life. One thing to note: Your dreams and goals might not always follow your step-by-step plan on how they manifest. (Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan & doesn’t mean I’m upset about how it comes to pass if not by my plan.) And sometimes you end up manifesting a dream that you’re not totally focused on–like getting into my red dress–while working toward another goal–like my health.

If you’ve never tried creating and using a vision board to help you manifest your dreams and goals, but you want to. And if you’re ready for a brand new you in 2022, but aren’t sure where to begin, then go to my website mandysawyer.com, sign up to download my 3-step vision guide & get your vision board up & running today! You can also check out my vision board poster templates, 9 different templates to choose from in my shop at mandysawyer.com/shop. 

If this episode has encouraged you, then please share it with 3 of your friends so they can be encouraged as well. Thank you so much for listening & remember … to Dream Big & Kick Ass.