January 24, 2024 • 27 mins
Embarking on the adventure of manifesting our dreams, we discovered the transformative power of vision boards, especially curated for midlife women gearing up for a remarkable 2024. Picture this: a room full of enthusiastic women, each on a mission to materialize their aspirations, and there was Tish, absorbing the collective creativity at a dynamic women's group event. And Ellen, meanwhile, uncovers a vision board path with a focus on love and self-discovery via an online class with the captivating love coach, Carissa Montooth our podcast guest in episode 59.
Have you ever imagined your deepest desires coming to life right before your eyes? That's the magic we explore through vision boards as they serve not just as an artistic endeavor, but as a powerful manifestation tool. Ellen crafted a board that manifests her pursuit of love and what's important for her in the areas of health, success and wealth. We loved how these visual prompts are not confined to the start of the year but are year-long beacons, pushing us towards small victories and life-changing habits. Our 2024 vision boards are a testament to our resolve, a mixture of personal growth, adventure, and for Tish the courage to step out of her comfort zones.
We signed off with a reminder to our listeners to harness the anticipation of what lies ahead, all while staying positively midlife. Join us on this episode as Ellen and Tish we embrace 2024 with open arms and a their vision boards as their compass.
Obsessions:
Tish: Chat Books
Ellen: Dust Buster
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to the Positively Midlife podcast.
Today we have a very specialepisode for you.
We're diving into the world ofcreating a 2024 vision board.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
That's right, Ellen, and I'm so excited to talk about
this empowering process.
You know we can't wait to shareour personal experiences with
creating our own vision boards.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It's true.
But first let's get to a littlebit about how you and I jumped
on this vision board craze.
You did yours first and eventhough I was reluctant, like a
lot of things, you pulled meinto Tish.
I saw what a great board andthe process you went through and
how excited you were and I haveto say I had more than just a
(00:50):
little bit of foam out.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
You know, I've been invited so many times in the
past to do these vision boardsand this would be the first time
and I decided to go to thisin-person event.
This women's group that I'minvolved with One of the ladies
was having the event at her homeand I thought why not?
Why not make my vision boardthis year?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I'm really happy you did, and I did mine a little bit
differently.
I attended an online classhosted by the amazing Carissa
Montuth, a love coach and healer, and I know Tish.
You remember her, but some ofour listeners may remember her
from a previous episode of thepodcast she did with us.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
You know, carissa has this most amazing way of
helping someone uncover theirpath forward right.
So I can't wait to hear aboutyour experience with doing a
vision board with her and herfocusing and leading you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh, she was fantastic and she guided us through the
process of creating visionboards, and there are four
categories, but there was a veryspecial focus on love and
self-discovery.
So transformative experience.
I learned so much about myself,what I desire here in 2024, and
in midlife in general, so Ididn't do my board during the
(02:12):
half hour session, I did itafter.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know, here's the thing, though Even though I went
to an in-person session, ellen,I prepared all my pictures that
I was going to use the nightbefore, so I kind of did some
homework before I went right,and so I think this is a great
idea.
I think it would be great to doa vision board based on one
area of your life that you'rereally looking to seek change or
(02:38):
do something again.
That kind of addresseseverything, and I think we both
did one that addresses multipleareas, but the in-person event
was incredible because you'resurrounded by like-minded
individuals and we're supportingeach other and encouraging each
other in this creative process,and the energy in the room was
(03:01):
just contagious, and I leftfeeling so inspired and
motivated that I had to startpoking you to do it too right.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Totally.
I felt that enthusiasm from youand I'm really glad you did
yours, which spurred me to domine.
But before we jump in further,because I know this is a topic
we really want to talk about,let's get to our weekly
obsessions.
What do you got for me thisweek, Tish?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
In the past I've done .
One of my obsessions was I didthis chat book, which is where
you go into your Facebook andyou print out all your favorite
pictures from the year and youprint out this beautiful bound
book, right, and it has all thelittle what do I want to say?
Any of the comments that youmake about the photo are
(03:50):
included in those.
Well, Chinese books has comeout with a new product and these
are these small little five byfive, tiny little softcover
books and they're only 30 pagesand I really think they're
probably geared towards peoplewho have little ones and do lots
and lots of pictures.
But I thought, because it's amonthly subscription, you get
(04:12):
one each month, right?
And I thought how fun would itbe that you plan out to do a
book or a friend or a familymember every single month and
you send them instead of a card.
So the cost of this is onlylike $7, right?
Oh, wow, the first one is halfprice, but the cost of it is $7.
(04:35):
I don't know if you boughtHallmark cards recently, but
they're in the neighborhood of$6, $5 to $7.
So for the cost of a card, youcould send some of your favorite
photos of you or your group offriends or your family members
in a little book, and how neatwould that be.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I love it.
My boys love to look at ourphoto albums when they're home,
so I could see just sending themto adult children right.
But I agree, I went to buy abirthday card and I was shocked.
I usually try and buy my cardswhen I'm at Trader Joe's.
They have the cutest cards forlike $2.
So just a little tip out thereNext time you're in T-Jays, buy
(05:20):
some cards.
Ladies.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You know we love those Trader Joe's.
But what's neat about theselittle books too is, you know a
lot of us at Midlife havegrandchildren.
These are child-friendly books,oh wow, Especially these
soft-covered ones.
So you know how kids love tosee themselves.
So even if you did like printup, you know, for a grandchild
little book, you know, photos ofthemselves, you know how fun
(05:42):
that would be.
Or if you're a grandparent thatlives very far away, pictures
of you all when you weretogether, to remind them that
you're still around.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I love it.
So many uses for these, sowe'll put a link for that
definitely.
Yes, you've got me hooked.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, what about you, Ellen?
What's your obsession for thisweek?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Well, you know, as always, I've gone in a totally
different direction.
My obsession is my dust buster.
When at the last time you had adust buster, kid, you know the
hand-held vacuum, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
It has been a long time.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Okay, Me too, I had not had one, I think, since the
80s or the 90s.
I mean, we're going way back.
But I got a dust buster for theholidays and I'm telling you,
I'm running that thing 10 timesa day.
I'm in the hall doing something.
The kitchen spilled some coffeegrounds.
It is the best tool that youcould possibly have at midlife
(06:40):
Because you can just zip in andzip out with that thing and
they're very light these daysand easy to clean out.
But I'm just shouting out tothe black and temporary dust
buster because they've beenaround forever and they're
better, stronger motors, but I'mhaving so much fun with it.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
You know, what I like about that too, especially for
somebody at midlife is we don'talways have to run these big
industrial vacuums because wedon't have a lot of kids running
around the house and stuff likethat.
So what a great alternative tokind of just keep on top of
things.
So I love that one.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, so we'll put a link in that and everybody think
about the dust buster.
All right, let's get back intovision boards.
Tish, so why do we think?
What do you think actuallydoing a vision board is really
important for midlife women?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Well, you know, I know it's important, alan right
and I think midlife, you knowit's this time and we keep
saying this over and over, butit really is this time of
reflection and revaluation ofwhere we are with our lives.
You know, it's a phase where wemay be redefining what our
goals and priorities are, andthe vision board serves as a
(08:02):
visual representation of whatour aspirations, dreams and just
the life we want to create forourselves.
Moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Now Tish, I mean, I'm going to just add that it
really is a tool to manifestwhat we like, what we desire,
and to keep us focused on whatreally matters in our lives.
And you know, midlife can bereally complex and a vision
board can really be a compass,guiding us towards things that
(08:34):
bring us joy and fulfillment.
And I know we've talked aboutthose things as well.
And one thing Carissa mentionedin the class I took is to take
a photo of your vision board,make it your screensaver on your
phone or your lock screen or onyour computer like your laptop,
so you can see it and have itcentral all year round to really
(08:59):
having you manifest, and I lovethat idea.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I think that's so important too, because the whole
purpose of the vision board isto have it in front of you all
the time.
It's that visual reminder whenwe put it on paper, and so,
whether it's on your bathroommirror or multiple places, I
love that idea of screensaverson your laptop or wherever.
So, yeah, I'm all for that.
(09:25):
So, speaking of vision boards,you know now I know that Carissa
is a love coach and healer, soI think I need the skinny.
Was this a love board that youput together, ellen?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Tell us Well in a way it was I mean, I really was it
appealed to me to take it withher because I just love her
energy, but I do want tomanifest bringing love into my
life in 2024.
I am single, you know, I'vebeen dating and so it really was
(10:00):
a big part of it.
But I also liked that it wasnot the whole thing and we'll
get to that a little bit thefour ways.
But for me I found it reallytherapeutic to find the images,
find the words, cut things out,Because when you're doing it,
you're also thinking about it.
(10:20):
What's important, what do Iwant to find, what kind of image
?
And so it's therapeutic in acouple ways.
Right, it's internal, but it'salso external in that.
So it helped me think about2024 and how to manifest love in
my life.
So I learned that there's amethod you can use to create
(10:41):
vision boards, and that's whatwe did.
It's about quadrants.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Tell me more about what these quadrants are.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, I'll be curious , because I think you may have
the same quadrants, tish.
So Karissa was talking aboutthe four sides of a perfect
square, and this is like yourlife, and when these four things
work in harmony, when you havewholeness in each of these areas
, you can handle anything.
Life doesn't feel like a chore,and we know when life feels
(11:12):
like a chore, but it feels likea joy.
So that was a reallyinteresting concept for me.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
It sounds like these four quadrants are like the four
food groups of building a happylife or something.
So, ellen, what are the fourquadrants that you should
consider using?
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, well, these made sense to me.
So one is health and self-love,one is wealth, the other is
love, which I did focus on quitea bit, and the fourth one is
success.
And so my vision board is acollage of images and words that
represent, kind of therelationships I want to nurture,
(11:51):
the love I want to bring in andsurround myself with, and, like
most vision boards, it's reallyabout this balance of life and
that there's this flow movingtowards what you want.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
That sounds amazing, ellen.
You know mine is a verycolorful representation of
personal growth, adventure andcreativity.
You know it's a visual reminderto myself to embrace new
experiences and step out of mycomfort zone again.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I love that you talk a lot about stepping out of your
comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
No, and I love that.
That's when the magic happens.
That's when the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Right, it's the bravery.
It's brave to do that, and I amreally excited about your
vision board, tish, and I lovethat we kind of came at it in
two different ways, but somewhatin a similar way.
Right, really really thinkingabout it.
Ok, let's talk about fivereasons vision boards work.
(12:56):
Carissa gave us five and Ithought they were really great
and I think we could go throughthem.
They would be interesting forour listeners.
The number one reason is onceyou create it, you reap the
benefits of it for the rest ofthe year, and I love this.
It's like something that keepspaying again and again and again
.
When I've been looking at myvision board, I'm like, oh yeah,
(13:19):
I put that in there.
I need to think about a morningroutine, right, all year I will
be able to really reap thebenefit of this thinking that I
did at the beginning of the yearand I love that we did this.
In January, we talked aboutintentions, we talked about joy
as being intentional, and nowwe're really talking about
(13:40):
manifesting what we want for theyear.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
But I don't think it always has to happen in January,
right, I think, whenever you'reready to start focusing that
vision and I think the main keywhich you're saying is to create
it and then reap the benefits.
So you're not building thatlist every week what are my
goals this week?
(14:04):
And then you write the goals,and then the next week, what are
my goals?
And it's all the energy that'sput into making those lists over
and over again, right?
This way you really focus onthis overall picture of where
you're heading to, you put itdown on paper and you don't have
to spend the emotional, mentalreal estate recreating these
(14:27):
every time.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
That's right and it's just a constant reminder of
what we want to focus on and Ilove that.
And they're beautiful.
Your board's beautiful, myboard's beautiful.
It brings me joy and happinessjust looking at it.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah, yeah, most definitely.
And, Ellen, I know youmentioned that the number two
reason that we should put visionboards together was that it
gives us a clear direction, itgives us something good to move
towards and not just wastingtime looking back, thinking
(15:04):
about regrets, what I haven'tdone, what I didn't do, but it's
just a clear path forward.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I love that idea and, of course, there is a time for
looking back and cataloging whathappened.
But I really felt like thisidea of what do I want to be,
what do I want to make happen,to manifest, to bring into my
life.
I really felt that that was thebest part of it for me, this
(15:34):
clear direction, because I canlook at this board maybe in July
and be like what am?
I doing that, for it's not hereon this board, right?
So it continually helps us torefocus.
Did you feel the same way, tish, about your board?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, I definitely do .
The other thing that's superimportant is I made sure I dated
my board, so I put the yearthat I created my board and the
lady that I had been to thesession with highly encouraged
this, because she's done visionboards the last several years
and she loves going back to thedifferent years and she said she
(16:15):
surprised herself.
She was, oh wait, Iaccomplished that and she forgot
it was on a previous year'svision board.
So it's not about it musthappen in 2024.
It's about where are you goingtowards?
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, I love that I have not dated my vision board
and I'm going to do that.
So the number three reason, andI think I already jumped the
gun on this one a little bit,but it's like staying clear on
what you want and really havingthe ability to do that in a
visual way.
I'm a very visual person andlooking at this beautiful beach
(16:53):
that I have or someone doingyoga or a great picture of us
tish around that it helps mereally stay clear and focused
about what I want here in 2024.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
You know, I know, um, marissa believes that the
fourth reason to have a visionboard is that it will keep us
inspired, right and um, to takeactions and to take us closer to
what we want.
Right, and to focus on how goodit will feel to have it.
(17:33):
And I think that's the keythere with the vision board.
When you see that and the tightand you were just talking about
the joy that watching the beachor whatever brings you, that is
, that is the focus on how goodit will feel to have that, and I
(17:53):
think that is the true power.
It keeps us from gettingdistracted, it keeps us from
getting off track, and we seethat what and again, for us,
it's only meant to speak to us.
Right, that beach could meandifferent things to you than it
does to me, but looking at thatbeach, you know what it means.
(18:13):
It is it, it.
It spurs a passion inside youto get to whatever that vision
of that beach means to you, andso that's why I think these
vision boards are beyond doing,you know, again, I think making
lists of where your goals aresuper important, but that visual
(18:36):
component that you were talkingabout, when you're a visual
person, these are so, soimportant.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I think they are, and also just the process, the
physical process of puttingthings on a board and moving
them around and understandingwhy you're doing it.
So it's working several waysfor you.
I have to say I love this ideaof taking little actions to
bring us closer to what we want.
I know we've talked about thiswith big joy, like microjoys.
(19:08):
We talked about this withatomic habits just tiny, small,
small steps, and I do feel likethe vision board is again that
same thing for us.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, most definitely .
Speaker 1 (19:21):
So the fifth reason is you create it once and it
goes into your subconscious mind, which is a good thing, and so
it's there throughout every dayand you're building it into your
life, and I think that that'ssuch a powerful thing.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know, I kind of spoke to this before.
You know, by creating thesevision boards, you don't have to
continue to make these listsand spend a lot of time and
energy remaking and remindingyourself.
Right, the board puts it intoyour subconscious and it's also
into your every day.
So by selecting the pictures,by doing the thought process of
(20:04):
this is what I want for my lifein different areas, as you
talked about the differentquadrants.
So we do that.
We select the picture.
It starts to go into oursubconscious.
We put it on the board.
It starts to go into oursubconscious.
We put it up in front of us.
We're seeing it every day.
It goes deeper and deeper inthe power of that.
(20:28):
That is truly the power of thevision board.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, it's that idea of manifesting something,
because when you put it outthere into the universe and you
put it in your subconscious andyou put it in your vision,
whenever you're looking at it,it changes.
I know Carissa talked about how,when you buy a car, everywhere
you drive, you see that car,whether it's a Toyota or it's a
(20:57):
convertible.
You're like, oh wow, somebodyhas the same car.
Or he was talking about how,when you're pregnant, you see
all other pregnant people,because that's what's in your
vision and where you're going.
And so I feel like it's thesame thing.
When you put it on the board,it means something and it's
there to grow and build, and Ireally like the idea that this
(21:21):
is creating a life that alignswith our authentic selves and
you and I have talked about thisa lot being authentic and these
boards are so unique that youand I put together, so unique to
each of us, and I really say,before we wrap up, I really, if
I could say, encourage you toconsider creating one of these,
(21:43):
as someone who was reluctant andkind of poo-pooed it, if I
could say it that way this wholeprocess.
Really I'm a convert.
Can I say I'm a convertist?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
We are.
I'm always reluctantly gettingyou to do things.
No, I don't like that idea.
No, you do, you do.
But again, it's about change,it's about committing, it's
about vision boards are aboutcommitting to yourself.
And if we don't know what wewant, if we don't know where we
(22:16):
want to go, how are we evergoing to get there?
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Yeah, I mean, this really is powerful at this stage
of life.
So I'd say, whether you goonline, like I did in person,
however it is, find a methodthat resonates with you.
Start manifesting your dreamsand, like you said, it doesn't
have to be in January, at thebeginning of a year, it can be
any time.
(22:40):
And I do have to say I did getsome great ideas on free images
from Carissa, and one of theresources she had is that you
can purchase a vision board book.
There's all sorts of them onAmazon and that really surprised
me, like so many people aredoing vision boards, that
somebody created vision boardbooks and there's all different
(23:03):
kinds of them that you can get,with different themes.
So a lot of resources out thereto help with the vision boards.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
I went to Pinterest and I clicked in vision boards
and I spent actually severalcouple hours flipping and
pasting different pictures thatI wanted into a document and I
just printed them off.
I color printed them off theevent that I went to.
They went to recycling centers.
(23:31):
They put the word out that theywere looking for.
You know, one recycling centerwouldn't give us any magazines,
we said but we want to recyclethem.
Nope, they wouldn't hand themover.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I don't know if it had to do with.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
It could have had people's personal mailing
addresses on it or something,but it wasn't terribly easy to
get this.
So if you're going to do agroup one where you're going to
use magazines and stuff likethat, you're gonna need to ask a
lot of help to get thesetogether, to be honest.
Okay, but you know again, cutand paste images.
(24:09):
If you do get your ownmagazines, pull things out, Use
the Amazon books, whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You know, I know, I know it does.
It's funny.
Not many of us have a lot ofmagazines like we used to 10
years ago, and I've seen even onNickdoor people asking for
magazines and different thingsfor vision board projects.
So the resources are out there,you can find them.
It's a little bit harder tofind some women our age in a lot
(24:36):
of these images, so I would saythat was a little bit
challenging for me but I pushedthrough it.
I pushed through it.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah, and again, you don't have to.
You know you don't have to useany specific formula.
What are you just ask yourself?
What areas of my life do I needto redirect?
What areas of my life aregiving me that angst of it's not
going the way I want it to go?
(25:06):
You know, those are the thingsthat you include on your vision
board and don't hold yourselfback thinking, oh, that's
impossible.
You know it's okay to put someimpossible out there.
Yeah, why not Dream big, dreambig.
And then you know, maybe yourvision is fiji and you make it
(25:29):
down to some beautiful beach onthe West coast.
I don't know, it doesn't matter.
You know, Maybe you wouldn'thave made it to the beach
without it at all, you know.
But again, just go ahead, becreative, be loose with it.
I encourage you to do it withfriends because I think it is
going to loosen up, you know,kind of get your juices flowing.
(25:51):
If you have older daughters, doit with them.
You know, do it with sons ifthey want to do it.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I know I'd love to get my boys to do a vision board
.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I have a good friend where we were talking about he
had just put a vision boardtogether and I know, I know I
was like, yeah, and I was likereally into it, and then I never
followed through, and this waslike a year or two ago, and so I
have to let her know that Ifinally got my vision board done
.
But so, yeah, I think what wethe message is too it's never
(26:25):
too late to envision and createthe life that you really desire.
And I just wanted to thankeveryone for joining us on this
journey, because you know, bothEllen and I have podcast on our
vision boards to make it biggerand better.
So please share with yourfriends that with our podcast,
(26:49):
somebody that you were like.
You know they need someinspiration in their life.
Right, but until next time, wejust ask you to stay positively
midlife.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That's right till next time, midlifers.
Welcome back to the Positively Midlife podcast.
Today we have a very specialepisode for you.
We're diving into the world ofcreating a 2024 vision board.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
That's right, Ellen, and I'm so excited to talk about
this empowering process.
You know we can't wait to shareour personal experiences with
creating our own vision boards.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It's true.
But first let's get to a littlebit about how you and I jumped
on this vision board craze.
You did yours first and eventhough I was reluctant, like a
lot of things, you pulled meinto Tish.
I saw what a great board andthe process you went through and
how excited you were and I haveto say I had more than just a
(00:50):
little bit of foam out.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
You know, I've been invited so many times in the
past to do these vision boardsand this would be the first time
and I decided to go to thisin-person event.
This women's group that I'minvolved with One of the ladies
was having the event at her homeand I thought why not?
Why not make my vision boardthis year?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I'm really happy you did, and I did mine a little bit
differently.
I attended an online classhosted by the amazing Carissa
Montuth, a love coach and healer, and I know Tish.
You remember her, but some ofour listeners may remember her
from a previous episode of thepodcast she did with us.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
You know, carissa has this most amazing way of
helping someone uncover theirpath forward right.
So I can't wait to hear aboutyour experience with doing a
vision board with her and herfocusing and leading you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh, she was fantastic and she guided us through the
process of creating visionboards, and there are four
categories, but there was a veryspecial focus on love and
self-discovery.
So transformative experience.
I learned so much about myself,what I desire here in 2024, and
in midlife in general, so Ididn't do my board during the
(02:12):
half hour session, I did itafter.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know, here's the thing, though Even though I went
to an in-person session, ellen,I prepared all my pictures that
I was going to use the nightbefore, so I kind of did some
homework before I went right,and so I think this is a great
idea.
I think it would be great to doa vision board based on one
area of your life that you'rereally looking to seek change or
(02:38):
do something again.
That kind of addresseseverything, and I think we both
did one that addresses multipleareas, but the in-person event
was incredible because you'resurrounded by like-minded
individuals and we're supportingeach other and encouraging each
other in this creative process,and the energy in the room was
(03:01):
just contagious, and I leftfeeling so inspired and
motivated that I had to startpoking you to do it too right.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Totally.
I felt that enthusiasm from youand I'm really glad you did
yours, which spurred me to domine.
But before we jump in further,because I know this is a topic
we really want to talk about,let's get to our weekly
obsessions.
What do you got for me thisweek, Tish?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
In the past I've done .
One of my obsessions was I didthis chat book, which is where
you go into your Facebook andyou print out all your favorite
pictures from the year and youprint out this beautiful bound
book, right, and it has all thelittle what do I want to say?
Any of the comments that youmake about the photo are
(03:50):
included in those.
Well, Chinese books has comeout with a new product and these
are these small little five byfive, tiny little softcover
books and they're only 30 pagesand I really think they're
probably geared towards peoplewho have little ones and do lots
and lots of pictures.
But I thought, because it's amonthly subscription, you get
(04:12):
one each month, right?
And I thought how fun would itbe that you plan out to do a
book or a friend or a familymember every single month and
you send them instead of a card.
So the cost of this is onlylike $7, right?
Oh, wow, the first one is halfprice, but the cost of it is $7.
(04:35):
I don't know if you boughtHallmark cards recently, but
they're in the neighborhood of$6, $5 to $7.
So for the cost of a card, youcould send some of your favorite
photos of you or your group offriends or your family members
in a little book, and how neatwould that be.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I love it.
My boys love to look at ourphoto albums when they're home,
so I could see just sending themto adult children right.
But I agree, I went to buy abirthday card and I was shocked.
I usually try and buy my cardswhen I'm at Trader Joe's.
They have the cutest cards forlike $2.
So just a little tip out thereNext time you're in T-Jays, buy
(05:20):
some cards.
Ladies.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You know we love those Trader Joe's.
But what's neat about theselittle books too is, you know a
lot of us at Midlife havegrandchildren.
These are child-friendly books,oh wow, Especially these
soft-covered ones.
So you know how kids love tosee themselves.
So even if you did like printup, you know, for a grandchild
little book, you know, photos ofthemselves, you know how fun
(05:42):
that would be.
Or if you're a grandparent thatlives very far away, pictures
of you all when you weretogether, to remind them that
you're still around.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I love it.
So many uses for these, sowe'll put a link for that
definitely.
Yes, you've got me hooked.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, what about you, Ellen?
What's your obsession for thisweek?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Well, you know, as always, I've gone in a totally
different direction.
My obsession is my dust buster.
When at the last time you had adust buster, kid, you know the
hand-held vacuum, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
It has been a long time.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Okay, Me too, I had not had one, I think, since the
80s or the 90s.
I mean, we're going way back.
But I got a dust buster for theholidays and I'm telling you,
I'm running that thing 10 timesa day.
I'm in the hall doing something.
The kitchen spilled some coffeegrounds.
It is the best tool that youcould possibly have at midlife
(06:40):
Because you can just zip in andzip out with that thing and
they're very light these daysand easy to clean out.
But I'm just shouting out tothe black and temporary dust
buster because they've beenaround forever and they're
better, stronger motors, but I'mhaving so much fun with it.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
You know, what I like about that too, especially for
somebody at midlife is we don'talways have to run these big
industrial vacuums because wedon't have a lot of kids running
around the house and stuff likethat.
So what a great alternative tokind of just keep on top of
things.
So I love that one.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, so we'll put a link in that and everybody think
about the dust buster.
All right, let's get back intovision boards.
Tish, so why do we think?
What do you think actuallydoing a vision board is really
important for midlife women?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Well, you know, I know it's important, alan right
and I think midlife, you knowit's this time and we keep
saying this over and over, butit really is this time of
reflection and revaluation ofwhere we are with our lives.
You know, it's a phase where wemay be redefining what our
goals and priorities are, andthe vision board serves as a
(08:02):
visual representation of whatour aspirations, dreams and just
the life we want to create forourselves.
Moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Now Tish, I mean, I'm going to just add that it
really is a tool to manifestwhat we like, what we desire,
and to keep us focused on whatreally matters in our lives.
And you know, midlife can bereally complex and a vision
board can really be a compass,guiding us towards things that
(08:34):
bring us joy and fulfillment.
And I know we've talked aboutthose things as well.
And one thing Carissa mentionedin the class I took is to take
a photo of your vision board,make it your screensaver on your
phone or your lock screen or onyour computer like your laptop,
so you can see it and have itcentral all year round to really
(08:59):
having you manifest, and I lovethat idea.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I think that's so important too, because the whole
purpose of the vision board isto have it in front of you all
the time.
It's that visual reminder whenwe put it on paper, and so,
whether it's on your bathroommirror or multiple places, I
love that idea of screensaverson your laptop or wherever.
So, yeah, I'm all for that.
(09:25):
So, speaking of vision boards,you know now I know that Carissa
is a love coach and healer, soI think I need the skinny.
Was this a love board that youput together, ellen?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Tell us Well in a way it was I mean, I really was it
appealed to me to take it withher because I just love her
energy, but I do want tomanifest bringing love into my
life in 2024.
I am single, you know, I'vebeen dating and so it really was
(10:00):
a big part of it.
But I also liked that it wasnot the whole thing and we'll
get to that a little bit thefour ways.
But for me I found it reallytherapeutic to find the images,
find the words, cut things out,Because when you're doing it,
you're also thinking about it.
(10:20):
What's important, what do Iwant to find, what kind of image
?
And so it's therapeutic in acouple ways.
Right, it's internal, but it'salso external in that.
So it helped me think about2024 and how to manifest love in
my life.
So I learned that there's amethod you can use to create
(10:41):
vision boards, and that's whatwe did.
It's about quadrants.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Tell me more about what these quadrants are.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, I'll be curious , because I think you may have
the same quadrants, tish.
So Karissa was talking aboutthe four sides of a perfect
square, and this is like yourlife, and when these four things
work in harmony, when you havewholeness in each of these areas
, you can handle anything.
Life doesn't feel like a chore,and we know when life feels
(11:12):
like a chore, but it feels likea joy.
So that was a reallyinteresting concept for me.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
It sounds like these four quadrants are like the four
food groups of building a happylife or something.
So, ellen, what are the fourquadrants that you should
consider using?
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, well, these made sense to me.
So one is health and self-love,one is wealth, the other is
love, which I did focus on quitea bit, and the fourth one is
success.
And so my vision board is acollage of images and words that
represent, kind of therelationships I want to nurture,
(11:51):
the love I want to bring in andsurround myself with, and, like
most vision boards, it's reallyabout this balance of life and
that there's this flow movingtowards what you want.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
That sounds amazing, ellen.
You know mine is a verycolorful representation of
personal growth, adventure andcreativity.
You know it's a visual reminderto myself to embrace new
experiences and step out of mycomfort zone again.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I love that you talk a lot about stepping out of your
comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
No, and I love that.
That's when the magic happens.
That's when the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Right, it's the bravery.
It's brave to do that, and I amreally excited about your
vision board, tish, and I lovethat we kind of came at it in
two different ways, but somewhatin a similar way.
Right, really really thinkingabout it.
Ok, let's talk about fivereasons vision boards work.
(12:56):
Carissa gave us five and Ithought they were really great
and I think we could go throughthem.
They would be interesting forour listeners.
The number one reason is onceyou create it, you reap the
benefits of it for the rest ofthe year, and I love this.
It's like something that keepspaying again and again and again
.
When I've been looking at myvision board, I'm like, oh yeah,
(13:19):
I put that in there.
I need to think about a morningroutine, right, all year I will
be able to really reap thebenefit of this thinking that I
did at the beginning of the yearand I love that we did this.
In January, we talked aboutintentions, we talked about joy
as being intentional, and nowwe're really talking about
(13:40):
manifesting what we want for theyear.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
But I don't think it always has to happen in January,
right, I think, whenever you'reready to start focusing that
vision and I think the main keywhich you're saying is to create
it and then reap the benefits.
So you're not building thatlist every week what are my
goals this week?
(14:04):
And then you write the goals,and then the next week, what are
my goals?
And it's all the energy that'sput into making those lists over
and over again, right?
This way you really focus onthis overall picture of where
you're heading to, you put itdown on paper and you don't have
to spend the emotional, mentalreal estate recreating these
(14:27):
every time.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
That's right and it's just a constant reminder of
what we want to focus on and Ilove that.
And they're beautiful.
Your board's beautiful, myboard's beautiful.
It brings me joy and happinessjust looking at it.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah, yeah, most definitely.
And, Ellen, I know youmentioned that the number two
reason that we should put visionboards together was that it
gives us a clear direction, itgives us something good to move
towards and not just wastingtime looking back, thinking
(15:04):
about regrets, what I haven'tdone, what I didn't do, but it's
just a clear path forward.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I love that idea and, of course, there is a time for
looking back and cataloging whathappened.
But I really felt like thisidea of what do I want to be,
what do I want to make happen,to manifest, to bring into my
life.
I really felt that that was thebest part of it for me, this
(15:34):
clear direction, because I canlook at this board maybe in July
and be like what am?
I doing that, for it's not hereon this board, right?
So it continually helps us torefocus.
Did you feel the same way, tish, about your board?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, I definitely do .
The other thing that's superimportant is I made sure I dated
my board, so I put the yearthat I created my board and the
lady that I had been to thesession with highly encouraged
this, because she's done visionboards the last several years
and she loves going back to thedifferent years and she said she
(16:15):
surprised herself.
She was, oh wait, Iaccomplished that and she forgot
it was on a previous year'svision board.
So it's not about it musthappen in 2024.
It's about where are you goingtowards?
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, I love that I have not dated my vision board
and I'm going to do that.
So the number three reason, andI think I already jumped the
gun on this one a little bit,but it's like staying clear on
what you want and really havingthe ability to do that in a
visual way.
I'm a very visual person andlooking at this beautiful beach
(16:53):
that I have or someone doingyoga or a great picture of us
tish around that it helps mereally stay clear and focused
about what I want here in 2024.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
You know, I know, um, marissa believes that the
fourth reason to have a visionboard is that it will keep us
inspired, right and um, to takeactions and to take us closer to
what we want.
Right, and to focus on how goodit will feel to have it.
(17:33):
And I think that's the keythere with the vision board.
When you see that and the tightand you were just talking about
the joy that watching the beachor whatever brings you, that is
, that is the focus on how goodit will feel to have that, and I
(17:53):
think that is the true power.
It keeps us from gettingdistracted, it keeps us from
getting off track, and we seethat what and again, for us,
it's only meant to speak to us.
Right, that beach could meandifferent things to you than it
does to me, but looking at thatbeach, you know what it means.
(18:13):
It is it, it.
It spurs a passion inside youto get to whatever that vision
of that beach means to you, andso that's why I think these
vision boards are beyond doing,you know, again, I think making
lists of where your goals aresuper important, but that visual
(18:36):
component that you were talkingabout, when you're a visual
person, these are so, soimportant.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I think they are, and also just the process, the
physical process of puttingthings on a board and moving
them around and understandingwhy you're doing it.
So it's working several waysfor you.
I have to say I love this ideaof taking little actions to
bring us closer to what we want.
I know we've talked about thiswith big joy, like microjoys.
(19:08):
We talked about this withatomic habits just tiny, small,
small steps, and I do feel likethe vision board is again that
same thing for us.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, most definitely .
Speaker 1 (19:21):
So the fifth reason is you create it once and it
goes into your subconscious mind, which is a good thing, and so
it's there throughout every dayand you're building it into your
life, and I think that that'ssuch a powerful thing.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know, I kind of spoke to this before.
You know, by creating thesevision boards, you don't have to
continue to make these listsand spend a lot of time and
energy remaking and remindingyourself.
Right, the board puts it intoyour subconscious and it's also
into your every day.
So by selecting the pictures,by doing the thought process of
(20:04):
this is what I want for my lifein different areas, as you
talked about the differentquadrants.
So we do that.
We select the picture.
It starts to go into oursubconscious.
We put it on the board.
It starts to go into oursubconscious.
We put it up in front of us.
We're seeing it every day.
It goes deeper and deeper inthe power of that.
(20:28):
That is truly the power of thevision board.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, it's that idea of manifesting something,
because when you put it outthere into the universe and you
put it in your subconscious andyou put it in your vision,
whenever you're looking at it,it changes.
I know Carissa talked about how,when you buy a car, everywhere
you drive, you see that car,whether it's a Toyota or it's a
(20:57):
convertible.
You're like, oh wow, somebodyhas the same car.
Or he was talking about how,when you're pregnant, you see
all other pregnant people,because that's what's in your
vision and where you're going.
And so I feel like it's thesame thing.
When you put it on the board,it means something and it's
there to grow and build, and Ireally like the idea that this
(21:21):
is creating a life that alignswith our authentic selves and
you and I have talked about thisa lot being authentic and these
boards are so unique that youand I put together, so unique to
each of us, and I really say,before we wrap up, I really, if
I could say, encourage you toconsider creating one of these,
(21:43):
as someone who was reluctant andkind of poo-pooed it, if I
could say it that way this wholeprocess.
Really I'm a convert.
Can I say I'm a convertist?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
We are.
I'm always reluctantly gettingyou to do things.
No, I don't like that idea.
No, you do, you do.
But again, it's about change,it's about committing, it's
about vision boards are aboutcommitting to yourself.
And if we don't know what wewant, if we don't know where we
(22:16):
want to go, how are we evergoing to get there?
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Yeah, I mean, this really is powerful at this stage
of life.
So I'd say, whether you goonline, like I did in person,
however it is, find a methodthat resonates with you.
Start manifesting your dreamsand, like you said, it doesn't
have to be in January, at thebeginning of a year, it can be
any time.
(22:40):
And I do have to say I did getsome great ideas on free images
from Carissa, and one of theresources she had is that you
can purchase a vision board book.
There's all sorts of them onAmazon and that really surprised
me, like so many people aredoing vision boards, that
somebody created vision boardbooks and there's all different
(23:03):
kinds of them that you can get,with different themes.
So a lot of resources out thereto help with the vision boards.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
I went to Pinterest and I clicked in vision boards
and I spent actually severalcouple hours flipping and
pasting different pictures thatI wanted into a document and I
just printed them off.
I color printed them off theevent that I went to.
They went to recycling centers.
(23:31):
They put the word out that theywere looking for.
You know, one recycling centerwouldn't give us any magazines,
we said but we want to recyclethem.
Nope, they wouldn't hand themover.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I don't know if it had to do with.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
It could have had people's personal mailing
addresses on it or something,but it wasn't terribly easy to
get this.
So if you're going to do agroup one where you're going to
use magazines and stuff likethat, you're gonna need to ask a
lot of help to get thesetogether, to be honest.
Okay, but you know again, cutand paste images.
(24:09):
If you do get your ownmagazines, pull things out, Use
the Amazon books, whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You know, I know, I know it does.
It's funny.
Not many of us have a lot ofmagazines like we used to 10
years ago, and I've seen even onNickdoor people asking for
magazines and different thingsfor vision board projects.
So the resources are out there,you can find them.
It's a little bit harder tofind some women our age in a lot
(24:36):
of these images, so I would saythat was a little bit
challenging for me but I pushedthrough it.
I pushed through it.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah, and again, you don't have to.
You know you don't have to useany specific formula.
What are you just ask yourself?
What areas of my life do I needto redirect?
What areas of my life aregiving me that angst of it's not
going the way I want it to go?
(25:06):
You know, those are the thingsthat you include on your vision
board and don't hold yourselfback thinking, oh, that's
impossible.
You know it's okay to put someimpossible out there.
Yeah, why not Dream big, dreambig.
And then you know, maybe yourvision is fiji and you make it
(25:29):
down to some beautiful beach onthe West coast.
I don't know, it doesn't matter.
You know, Maybe you wouldn'thave made it to the beach
without it at all, you know.
But again, just go ahead, becreative, be loose with it.
I encourage you to do it withfriends because I think it is
going to loosen up, you know,kind of get your juices flowing.
(25:51):
If you have older daughters, doit with them.
You know, do it with sons ifthey want to do it.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I know I'd love to get my boys to do a vision board
.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I have a good friend where we were talking about he
had just put a vision boardtogether and I know, I know I
was like, yeah, and I was likereally into it, and then I never
followed through, and this waslike a year or two ago, and so I
have to let her know that Ifinally got my vision board done
.
But so, yeah, I think what wethe message is too it's never
(26:25):
too late to envision and createthe life that you really desire.
And I just wanted to thankeveryone for joining us on this
journey, because you know, bothEllen and I have podcast on our
vision boards to make it biggerand better.
So please share with yourfriends that with our podcast,
(26:49):
somebody that you were like.
You know they need someinspiration in their life.
Right, but until next time, wejust ask you to stay positively
midlife.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That's right till next time, midlifers.
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