Vision Board, Dream Board, Reminder Board, Action Board and etc..

I have attended a Vision Board party earlier this month. Vision board is a collection of motivational sayings, photos and cut-outs from magazines that probably reflects our dreams and wishes. I was told that I should hang my vision board in my room and look at it everyday. That way my dreams will come true.  I am a believer that dreams will come true through hard work and we can't merely depend on luck or chance. While I am a very practical person, I understand the rational of a vision board from the host's perspective.

Creating and looking at the vision board regularly can help maintain the goal in our subconscious. It reminded me of a friend from primary school who achieved first place in school in a major examination. I recalled her telling me that her mother had pasted newspaper cuttings of students who have achieved full As. The newspaper cuttings kept her focused on the goal and  reminded her to put in the hard work and strived for full As.

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo da Vinci

I have read in many articles that when goals or intentions are declared openly and aloud to others, the action will satisfy our self-identity just enough that our motivation to achieve the goals dramatically decreases over time. After declaring intentions on the Vision Board,  dreaming alone will not turn our dreams into reality. I recognized the behavior as I am guilty of doing just that. I shared my intention to practice yoga 3 times week and included this plan in my resolution. I have almost never practice yoga more than once a week. 

Regardless, creating a vision board is a good excuse to connect with my feminine side. We,girlfriends,  gathered at a friend's place. The party commenced with laughter, food and beverage of choice.  Once the host has accomplished her first mission that was to feed us, we gathered in the living room to peruse magazines and be inspired by our discoveries. There was a moment of peace where the only sound was flipping pages and tearing out pages. Then came the second phase of sieving through our findings and arranging them on our boards before the final stage of sticking the cut-outs to create our masterpieces.

My board represents a reflection of my thoughts while I was going through the process of building my vision board. I was not dreaming about acquiring material objects. I will confess that I was considering to include a picture of an Audi however, it was not at my disposal that evening. I suppose it was not meant to be in this vision board after all.

I tuned inwards as I was building out my vision board. I wanted to be inspired, be less self-critical, have a little self-affirmation, self confidence, self respect and to nurture my body, mind and soul.  I am happy with the end product.  I can guarantee that I will not heed the advice of avid vision board fans about looking at my vision board on a daily basis.  My vision board had help me frame my thoughts and will serve as a reminder and a boast to keep me focus and continue to learn and grow.

Flat Tire Equals Note To Self To Slow Down

It is rare for me to remember my dream. I did just that a few days ago. I don't know where I was in my dream but I remembered vividly that I walked to my car and noticed that two tires were a little flat. I inspected my tires and believed that I can proceed to drive home. My plan was to get my roommate to help me out with the flat tire situation. I got into my car and immediately after I drove out the parking spot, the front tire completely punctured.  I awakened from my dream.

I pulled out my iPAD to search for the interpretation of tires in dreams. Here are some interpretations from the web: 

"To see or dream that you have a flat tire indicates that you are feeling emotionally drained and weary. Your goals are temporarily hindered and as a result, you are unable to progress any further. "

"Almost without exception the tires are defective in some way and thus prevent the vehicle from moving or only allow it to move very slowly. This is an analogy for you not making the progress you desire within the waking world.If the tire is flat in the dream but otherwise appears undamaged it may be possible to pump it back up. Which means that wherever your progress has been stalled in the real world that with a little help you may be able to get on the road again. On the other hand if the tire is punctured it means that the situation is going to be more difficult to correct. The number of tires that are damaged can be relevant. The more tires that are involved the more difficult it will be to make changes in real life."

"To dream of having a flat tire (whether on a car or bicycle) foretells problems caused by hidden jealousy. Try being tactful for a while and controlling your feelings. If you dreamed of changing a flat tire, this is a warning to conserve your resources against an unexpected need."

I take it that my dream is telling me to slow down and be patience. My boss left the company recently who is smart, brilliant and energetic. He is the kind of leader who gives energy instead of draining energy from others. With his departure, my career aspiration will have to wait. Now, I first have to invest time in getting to know my new superior and adjust to the changes in my work environment. I know I am not alone in this endeavor and will not fret about it.

According Louis Pasteur, in the fields of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind. My work will be running auto-pilot while I will take this opportunity to reflect and collect my thoughts. I will immerse myself in learning about a new product offered by my company and perhaps learn something about Big Data. For the time being, I want to be like a sponge where I selectively absorb goodness and avoid ruminating on bad thoughts.  I want to come out strong and prepared for whatever that comes my way in 2014.

No need sugar for my tea anymore!

People said that sugar is bad. I used to drink approximately six cups of caffeinated tea with 2 sachets of sugar per day. And I did that for many years until I was advised by my OGBYN to cut down on caffeine after  she found cyst on my breasts. I just can't do without caffeinated drink cold turkey. My first cup of the day remained caffeinated while I opted for herbal tea for the rest of the day. Amazingly the cyst went away in two months or so. The by product when I cut back on my caffeinated beverage, I also cut back on my sugar intake. 

I kept up with one cup of caffeinated drink per day for about 2 years. I was reminded again that sugar is bad for me.  The truth is I was motivated to cut back on sugar because of my  expanding waistline and my pants are getting tight. I may have a slim built, it felt awful all the same when clothes did not fit well.  I reduced to one sachet of sugar with my tea. I had tried to eliminate sugar completely. It did not go well with my taste bud.  

I found the solution to cut down my sugar intake for tea completely.  I used to dip the tea sachet for 5 times in hot water then disposed the tea bag. Tea tastes different when it is seeped for a few seconds over the recommended 3.5 minutes. In fact tea tastes better after it is seeped for 3.5 minutes and sugar is dispensable. Now, I love my decaffeinated Earl Grey tea and sugar free.