Moose Jaw Minute #74: Vision

What better way to ring the new year in than by getting on the road right away?  Last week I was in Kansas City for a conference of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.  It was pretty cool and I got to spend Tuesday through Friday with tons of inspired college students who are looking to make their mark in the nonprofit sector.  It was energizing and motivating and, while exhausting (erm, I can't do 2 AM going-to-bed on a regular basis anymore!), I came back ready to tackle things with new perspective.

I've been musing a lot about next steps and what I want my 2012 to look like.  As you may remember from last year, we don't do resolutions.  Instead, the husband and I set goals for the new year.  This year, we took a different approach and wrote things down month by month.  What did we want to accomplish in January, February, March, and so on.  As I came back from the conference, I realized that it's a combination of writing down the goal, but then also having the action plan and mind-set to get it done!

Luckily, I had a Sunday with some girlfriends of mine to help that mind-set process along.  Four of us got together in a cozy apartment with football on in the background to catch up, nibble on food goodness and create...wait for it...vision boards.  Yup, a la Oprah-Vision-Boards.  We had piles of magazines around us, scissors and glue sticks at the ready and we talked, cut, and pasted our way into poster-board-bliss-full-of-wonderful-thoughts.  Did I ever think I would create an official vision board?  Nope.  It turns out to be a good exercise though and at the end of the day, we did some decoding of what our boards might mean.

For example, I had a lot of domestic airy spaces to start...minimalist, clean bedrooms - a spa bathroom - a patio with a hammock.  Erm, clearly I'm looking for some domestic bliss!  That served as the foundation of my board.  I had then cut out tons of words and phrases that meant something to me like:

"I realized today is the day I write my own story."

"The road to inspiration."

"Soul Surfer"

"The Birth of Cool"

I know I want this year to be one of positive thinking and open approaches to my life and work.  I have a framed quote on my desk that these same friends passed on to me that reads:

"Live What You Love"

Well, you know what, on a regular basis...I DO!  And, recognizing that is half the battle.  

So, to start the new year off right, I've taken it upon myself to truly live what I love.  To try to live more in the moment while creating a positive vision for what the future holds.  As I deftly move between the big city and the prairie, I'm going to soak it all in and not only hope for the best, but work and make the best happen for myself.  

It's looking like it's going to be a good year...