How to Figure Out Your Life in 3 Hours
Sep 22, 2018
In three hours and under $7.
Woah, big promise right there.
I get asked all the time how one can figure out their goals, vision, mission, life purpose… etc.
The short, and annoying, but true answer is that the journey you are living out at this very moment is your mission. All we can really do is be the best person we can be one day at a time.
But understandably, you’re trying to put all the puzzle pieces together!
I’m doing the same.
Start here:
Vision boards.
Vision boards have changed my life and consistently helped me figure out the direction I’m going in.
Vision boards can give you a clear picture of your life and goals in just three hours.
They work because as you’re leafing through magazines, you’re freeing your mind to subconsciously choose words and images that speak to you deep down somewhere.
It’s less controlled than just writing out a brainstorm using your own words. Vision boards are a much more visual, creative process — you may be surprised by what pops up!
If you’ve been struggling to figure out what your passion is, have no clue what direction to head towards, or are just curious to gauge your mood on your current goals… vision boarding is the perfect place to start.
PREPARATION
Doesn’t take long. Do this in advance whenever you have time.
Collect a variety of magazines — travel, fashion, cooking, history, health, etc. I tend to hoard magazines from family and friends throughout the year now since I vision board often.
Then go out and buy a pack poster board — I usually get 12" x 18" — but whatever suits your style, and a glue stick.
This should all cost you less than $7.
Once you have all this together, find yourself a quiet room for three hours and really give this a chance.
Note: For this entire exercise — turn the TV and phone off, but feel free to listen to some music or an inspirational podcast that moves you.
STEP 1: MEDITATION & MINDSET (15 minutes)
You gotta meditate to kick this off.
Stop rolling your eyes. (You’re the one who wanted to figure out their life in 3 hours!)
I know, I’m tempted to skip the meditation too.
I promise you the artsy fartsy stuff comes next, but DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
Mindset is super important for this project, especially if you’re trying to figure out your life goals today ;)
You need to quiet your mind to allow your inner voice and intuition to come through clearly in the next step.
Set your intention for this exercise and allow the universe to guide you.
I’m obsessed with the Inscape meditation app, and usually opt for their guided meditations. I also found this YouTube video you can CTFO out to and refresh your mind.
STEP 2: CUT IT OUT (1 hour)
Ooh I love this part!
Let the daydreaming begin :)
Take an hour and flip through the magazines you have — cutting out any word, sentence, image, or page that speaks to you!
Don’t let your inner voice take over and judge anything that excites you, go with your gut and follow what you’re connecting with.
You may be surprised with what is speaking to you, but keep going through all your options and see what happens. Leave all your clippings in a pile as you go and don’t overthink it.
Set a timer and don’t let yourself get distracted by your phone!
STEP 3: SORT THROUGH YOUR DREAMS (30 minutes)
Now it’s time to see what spoke to you.
Sort through the pile of your magazine clippings and with an open mind and heart, review and assess the images and words.
What makes you laugh?
What surprises you?
Where are there themes?
What stands out?
What makes your heart race?
What makes you nervous?
What makes you excited?
Take a solid 30 minutes to lay everything out and ponder the questions above.
Feel free to journal or take any notes as fresh ideas flow freely through your mind.
Giving yourself time to reflect and process your thoughts is critical to figuring out your life visions.
STEP 4: CREATE VISION BOARD (1 hour)
Let’s glue it all together and see what comes of it!
I usually use a 12" x 18" poster board and create a vision board on both sides of it. Sometimes I create a few boards at a time, pending on my goals.
Note: Size of the poster paper doesn’t matter, and this time around I only did one side… so it all just depends on your personal preference in the moment.
You can create boards with themes — for health, work, side hustle, etc — or you can do one master life board.
As an INFJ Virgo, I have a tendency to organize mine into themes but I know that’s definitely not for everyone.
You may not have room to use everything you clipped out, so start with what speaks most loudly to you first.
Anything you can’t fit on this board, you can save for future boards if it still pops out to you then.
STEP 5: FIGURE OUT YOUR LIFE (15 minutes)
You have come so far in the past two hours and 45 minutes in figuring out your direction!
Acknowledge and congratulate yourself for allowing the time to dream and reflect :)
Take this last 15 minutes to reflect on your final vision board results.
This is the part where you change your life.
Think about this entire process… what stands out to you, what ideas are swirling in your head, what is getting you excited, and what is speaking and popping out to you from your finished vision board(s)?
WRITE IT DOWN.
Writing down your goals and next action steps will change your life this very instant, I promise you.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, organized, or well-written. Just record them right now during this exercise while you’re in the vision board zone and you have all the clues you need to piece this goal puzzle together.
Type it out in your phone notes, Evernote, or Google Doc. Scribble it on a notepad, scrap piece of paper, or journal. It doesn’t matter where or how.
Acknowledging your goals in written words will be a catalyst in changing your life and turning your dreams into reality.
It also signal to yourself and the universe that you’re truly ready to pursue these things, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by all of the serendipitous situations that are about to head your way.
If you create your own vision board, I would love to know, please leave a comment below!
I create my yearly goals based on my vision boards… then break them out into quarterly goals… then into monthly / weekly / daily action steps. If you’d be interested in reading about how I do that, let me know below!
