(P.S. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a free downloadable vision board guide!)
Above you’ll see my vision board from last year. Last December I went through a massive transition. I moved from London, UK to Atlantic Beach, Florida, US and I ended a 6 year relationship with someone I thought I’d be with forever. With the move, everything about my life changed. My workout routine, my friendships, my relationship, my home, weather, work, and you can insert any imaginable thing into this list. December of 2023 was a time of grief, transformation, healing, and revelation. Self care at that time in my life meant:
- loving myself unconditionally
- trusting my intuition
- engaging in joyful movement
- making friends
- enjoying beach life
- cooking nutritious meals for myself
- living fully at every opportunity
- not settling for less love than I deserve
- basking in my solitude
- becoming the woman I want to be
Thus, my 2023 vision board was born.
Why I Made a Self Care Vision Board
I remember the moment I decided to make this vision board very clearly. At that time in my life, I was going out with my friends almost every night.
One weekend I got some bad news and I was feeling very lost. I sat in my house alone all weekend, took a bath, and watched Young Sheldon for hours. I ordered Wing Stop, ate in bed, cried, spiraled, and journaled. Then I decided to make a vision board.
With new years coming up, it was the right time of year to reflect and I knew that 2024 had to be better than 2023 (this was really not negotiable). I went to Pinterest and started searching, added pictures to Canva, and fit the pieces together.
When I was done I could see everything that was important to me in one picture, and it gave me the hope I desperately needed. It was my lock screen until I fell in love. Now my lock screen is a picture of the man who brought me red roses on one of our first dates, like the ones in my vision board.
Everyone defines self care differently. My self care vision board shows the intersections of aspects of my life that impact my peace and self image. To me, if I take care of those things, I will in turn take good loving care of myself.
You deserve to live the most beautiful life you can imagine! Let’s discover what that looks like.
Dream Up Your Most Beautiful Life
Before dreaming up the life you want to have in the coming year, let’s consider what happened in the year before. Use the questions below as journal prompts, or reflect on these in your mind.
- What went well this year?
- What didn’t go well this year?
- What would I do differently?
- How did I take good loving care of myself?
- Which areas of my life needed more attention and could I have created more space for them?
- How did this year feel overall?
Then journal about/ask yourself these questions for the upcoming year:
- What do I want this year to feel like?
- What is one word I’d use to describe what I will prioritize this year?
- How will I take good loving care of myself?
- emotional health: romantic relationships, boundaries, hobbies, creative outlets, family, friendships
- mental health: stress coping skills, management of mental health diagnoses
- physical health: nutrition, hydration, movement
- financial health: career, retirement, savings, budgeting
- What behaviors will I need to change to make this dream real?
- What is the theme of the upcoming year?
How to Create a Self Care Vision Board
Gather photos
Pinterest is MADE for this type of project! Consider what you’ve dreamed up so far about your next year. Search prompts, song lyrics, words from your journal sesh, really anything you can dream up. This might take some time, check this list of empowering songs and this list of positive body image affirmations for inspiration.
Your Own Photo Library
Check your own photo library for inspiration! You may have photos of beautiful sunsets, family, friends, and vacations that can find a spot on your self care vision board.
Make Your Self Care Vision Board
Canva is a great free tool for creating graphics. You can create a free account and then decide on your size (is it for a laptop? phone? poster?). Next, upload your photos and fit them into place! They don’t have to fit perfectly together, you can spread them out in any way you prefer.
Display Your Dreams!
You have some options here. You can display virtually like I did on my phone lockscreen, or you can print it from Canva. They’ll deliver it in the mail! From there, you can hang it in your home, office, or anywhere.
- Create your poster on Canva.
- Select “Print with Canva” in the upper right corner.
- Select the pages to print, the size, no frame, and I recommend “gloss” instead of “fine art” as the Poster Type. It’s much cheaper this way!
- Do your final check and checkout.
- Buy your frame! I think this one from Amazon is so cute and they have many size options!
Embrace Your Vision Board
Now that your vision board has been created, put it somewhere you’ll see it often! Notice how this life you dreamed up starts to come to fruition and notice how the way you care for yourself transforms.
Have a great year❤️
XO
Chelsea
Free Downloadable Vision Board Guide
About The Author
Chelsea Shafer, RD, LD, RYT graduated from Purdue University in 2020 and completed the Wellness Workdays Dietetic Internship in 2022 where she specialized in sports nutrition and entrepreneurship. Chelsea is a proud Registered Dietitian who has helped over 300 clients live healthier, happier lives and accept their bodies. Currently, Chelsea is pursuing blogging, working as a registered dietitian at Happy Strong Healthy and teaching yoga at a local studio in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
