How did people achieve goals before there were vision boards?

Every now and again, some fancy ‘schmancy’ pop psychological theory will arise that will tell you how wrong you are living your life and how you need to do this instead, in order to achieve that.

My brother has been trying to get me on the Law of Attraction (LOA) bandwagon for as long as I can remember. What is the LOA? To best understand it, think of Thor’s relationship with his hammer. He thinks it and it comes or at least that’s how it appears to work.

So basically, the law of attraction posits that if you focus all your energy,  all of your chi and super powers on something; if you think about it hard enough, if you build it they will come, it will short circuit the universe and magnetize what you envision and just like magic, it will appear.

Emerging from it’s main proponent is the new craze, vision boards–a ubiquitous tool utilized mostly -by all indications- millennials to chart their visions. Everyone and their astral self  has a vision board.

Apparently, this board is the conduit through which all the magic of the law of attraction manifests itself. Once you stick fancy cut-outs representing all the things you want to achieve (or envision) on this board and sprinkle it with glitter -which eventually represents a giant scrapbook- then something special happens (I guess).

Every time I see a vision board tutorial, I get super excited and eager to begin my craft project. Needless to say I have yet to begin. The concept really is an interesting one, all I have to do is think it, stick it on a board and it will come (how cool is that?).

But, what did people do before there were vision boards and doodlely bullet journals?

Why, they worked their asses of with  tenacity and sheer determination. A vision board or any other form of artsy-fartsy craft-work will bring you no closer to your goals if you lack:

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Discipline

This is perhaps the most important characteristic necessary to achieving whatever it is you set out to achieve in life. You can create the most darling vision board, your best bullet journal, your longest list, but if you don’t have the discipline required to remain tenacious and execute , then you are giving yourself extra dust to clean.

Realistic goals

When my cousin was little, he lived in a two-storey house. He always wanted to fly like superman. He was determined and everything aligned perfectly for him to attempt to achieve this dream of his.

He already had his cape, the perfect landing point which was probably about a 10 ft drop from the window and a windy day.  He perched himself inside the window frame, put his hands up and off he went straight to the emergency room with a broken arm.

Nothing is wrong with aiming for the sky, but how realistic are your goals to your current situation? Sociologists say -and this is a very loose reference- that our advancement in life is pretty much pre-determined by our life chances. Is it realistic to quit your day job and pursue your dream to become a VS model at age 35?

Determination

How badly do you want what you want? Do you want it any less badly if you cannot see it on a pretty art project? How much time are you willing to invest in what it is you want to achieve? How many times are you willing to fail –because you will fail- and get back up again and keep going? Are you ready to do what it takes? How determined are you. If you possess that determination, that sticktoitiveness you will need, then you are half way there.

Organisation

Admittedly, like any great venture, proper planning is required. However this is done is totally up to the individual, be it a board, snapshots of your dreams from the astral world- whatever it is, some planning has to take place.

I hated organizing and planning and to do listing, but it is tried tested and I’m a believer! Write shit down, physically, mentally, in the sand at the beach, on toilet paper, write shit down, what ever your medium.

Where you write it doesn’t really matter,  but don’t just write it down, keep it visible, tick off, strike through as you complete each task that gets you closer to your goal, trust me, it works!

 

Motivation

How motivated are you to get what you want? Do you put in the extra effort that it takes to achieve your goals? As I age, I’ve learned that there really is no such thing as procrastination. That is a euphemistic terminology used to describe laziness. Yes, your not wanting to complete that task because you prefer the couch is laziness. Get off your ass and get motivated. No one is going to do it for you, the videos, the pep talks nothing works unless you work.

Now go on, put down your art projects and go achieve your goals!

 

What about you? How do you tackle your life’s goals? What are some of the things that have worked to keep you focused? I would love to hear from you, let me know in the comments below. Thanks oodles for reading!

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