Remember To Dream!
So many people have lost hope and have forgotten how to dream. Two of the questions I ask my clients when I counsel them is, “If you could wave a magic wand right now, what would you want your life to be like?” and the question, “What is working in your life right now and how could you have more of this?” These are startling questions for people. Most people have the expectation that because I am a psychologist I am going to ask them to tell me about what is wrong in their lives. However, because I practice Positive Psychology, I focus on helping people to focus on what works in their lives, what their strengths are, and how they can utilize resources to empower themselves.
After people think about my questions they often say, “I don’t know how I want my life to be.” Other times people tell me a very little wish, such as, “I would like to sleep more.” I like to help people not just improve their lives so that they feel “okay” or “better.” Instead, I am passionate about helping people to thrive.
One technique I suggest to rekindle one’s dream or vision is to create a Vision Board. A Vision Board is a large bulletin board or piece of paperboard on which you paste cut out pictures or images of your life vision and dreams. The purpose of a Vision Board is to help your subconscious mind start focusing on how you would like your life to be. For example, if you want to improve your relationship or be in relationship you could cut out images of yourself with your spouse, smiling, and put this on your Vision Board. Or, you could cut out and use a picture from a magazine of a happy couple. If you want to go to Europe, find some pictures of Europe and place them on your Vision Board. If you want to own a new car, find a picture of that car and place on your vision board. If you have a picture of your face, you could even paste that in the window of the car! Your vision board is not just about getting more “stuff.” If you want to experience more calmness and serenity, you could find a picture that represents this emotional state, and put that on your Vision Board.
There are multiple benefits to creating a Vision Board, focusing on it each day, and feeling what it would be like to experience all that your Vision Board represents to you. These benefits include:
1. Lifting your mood.
2. Orienting your subconscious mind toward what you want to achieve. When athletes mentally visualize themselves performing their sport successfully, over and over, it increases their performance next time they physically engage in their sport.
3. Giving you direction, purpose, and focus for your life. Consider what small step you can do each day to move toward your dreams. Taking this small step will empower you to make your dreams a reality.
Deborah Barnett, Ph.D. offers phone coaching, and counseling at her office in Asheville, NC.
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