We had our quarterly planning and strategising workshop on 5th July. This is an event I host every 90 days for business clients and other interested business people, planning what our business needs to look like in the next 90 days in order for us to achieve our personal goals (one is the vehicle to the other of course) and then working out what we need to DO (and who we need to BE) to make that happen. We usually finish at 15.30 but this time we extended the event into the weekend to focus on our overall wellbeing – not just of our business!

We kicked this second part off by producing our vision board.

The vision board is based on the principle of your reticular activating system or your “RAS”. Your RAS is a bundle of nerves at the brainstem that filters our unnecessary information so that just the important stuff – what you’re focusing on – gets through. Otherwise you’d just get too much information!

The thing is that your RAS doesn’t know whether what you’re focusing on is what you really really want or just stuff you’re worrying about. But the rule is that it will take what you’re focusing on and go and find you more of that. Most people spend a lot of time focusing on stuff that they don’t want – for example all the things that are lacking in their lives. This is very dangerous! Your RAS will just go out and get you more of that lack!

When we create a vision board, we’re focusing on what we really want. Then we look at this board on a very regular basis and keep it firmly at the forefront of our RAS – and our RAS goes off to find it for us. It’s a wonderful thing, this RAS, when used with intention and intelligence …

How to make a vision board

All you need is 90 minutes, a piece of card, scissors, glue and a whole great heap of magazines.

Just leaf through the magazines. Whenever you find yourself drawn to an image or some words, cut them out. You don’t need to force this; you will naturally be drawn to what it is that you want. Then, when you’ve amassed sufficient cuttings to fill your piece of card, get sticking! It’s great fun. Do it in a group like we did and it’s even more fun – include a glass of gin as we did and it’s the best thing!

Once you’ve created your vision board, be sure to place it somewhere where you will look at it often. Set your RAS with it every day and see what happens! Let me know …