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By Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)
SparkPeople talks a lot about creating a vision collage, but envisioning the future--and how you'll look in it--is very hard for those of us who are disabled or have more than 100 pounds to lose. Why? Sometimes people have never been thin and don’t know what to expect or they’ve become disabled and are unable to reach for the same stars they used to reach. Many people put pictures of themselves at their thinnest weight, at their peak health or of the thinnest models in their vision collages. Yet at their given age or health, they might not be able to attain that. When you're creating a vision collage and have a long haul ahead, it is better to look to the future rather than the past. Start a progressive collage, a collage that starts with a before picture and continues with after pictures to show progress, surrounded by things you would love to have in your future healthy life. Perhaps you dream of being able to walk on the beach again. You might cut our some footprints in the sand or glue some shells to your collage. Is there an amusement park ride you dream of going on when you reach your goal? Find a picture of it and add some confetti. Perhaps you have not seen some relatives or friends in a long while. Add their pictures to the collage with a mini calendar next to it to represent planning a vacation or for them to come visit. Find vibrantly colored pictures of the healthy foods you would like to be eating in your ideal life. Are there certain clothes you’ve desired or exercise equipment you’ve dreamed of having? Go to websites and print pictures of your new style and home gym. What about your dream job? Are there pictures in magazines or online that make you dream about becoming more? Let’s not forget the power of words. Write poetry, use different pens, parchments, high quality papers, cut them out and arrange them. The point is to use words that make you dream and call forth pictures in your mind. You want very vivid words. Hobby stores carry scrapbooking and stamping supplies that make beautiful words and embellishments on pages. In fact, when making your vision collage, you could even do it as a scrapbook. There is always room to add more pages and fabulous choices of papers and trinkets. When making your collage, it is important that you focus on you and your future, not your past and not a model. You want your dreams to be attainable. Use this collage to define your idea of success for you, not success for someone else. This is one thing you can make all about you and not be selfish. Another important thing is to remember how far you’ve come, not just look at how long the journey is. Looking at how far you’ve come is like an oasis in the desert. It refreshes you and reminds you that your efforts are not futile. If you're having trouble envisioning your future, mark your milestones with items you can keep with you as reminders. Some ideas are a charm bracelet that you could add charms to as you hit milestones. Perhaps you could buy a ring (I did this) to remind you of your promise to become healthy or a locket with before-and-after shots that can be changed as you lose weight. Some people collect coins--perhaps you could collect a new lucky coin for each milestone. There are pocket stones with words carved into them such as “Faith” and “Hope.” Perhaps one of those in your pocket would inspire you and you could get a new one with each new stepping stone you reach. It really doesn’t matter which road you choose. What matters is that when you do your collage, you center on yourself, you dream and actively pursue that dream on paper as specifically as possible. Put all of those things together with colorful pictures and expressive words and emotions and you have your vision. Make the vision so real you can feel it and then live it. How have you envisioned your future? What ideas do you have in mind to inspire you along your journey? |
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