Believe It Can Happen to You!
Jan 29, 2023
Greetings Peeps!
It's still January, so I can safely say, "Happy New Year!"
I hope and pray that 2023 is everything you hope and pray for. Remember, there are no limits to what we can accomplish for ourselves and our lives. You have to believe it can come true and then take actionable steps toward it.
In the week leading up to the New Year, I shared a post on Instagram where I showed the digital vision board I created at the end of 2021, leading into 2022. I felt ultra-compelled to share something so personal because, to be honest, I was in awe of how things unfolded in one year.
At the end of 2021, I pretty much spent the last 2 weeks of the year in isolation due to having Covid. Having so much time to myself gave me a ton to think about. At that time, I was in a pretty good space in life, but there were things I still longed for.
I took out my phone and create a date with myself titled: Create Your Vision for 2022.
Now, I've made a few vision boards in the past and have filled every inch of them with dreams and desires I had for myself. A couple of years prior, I decided not to do them because I was tired of dedicating time and energy to "wish" for things that never came to fruition.
But I just knew 2022 would be different, so I decided to create a digital board. The motivation behind that was honestly...I didn't want anything else to hang up in my apartment.
And so I did...
While my board was simple, it focused on 6 things I wanted to be true for myself by the end of the year:
- To read more books
- Strengthen friendships
- Travel abroad
- Find my forever person
- Become consumer debt free
- To challenge myself in the area of fitness
I didn't necessarily have a plan, but I kid you not, things started to unfold organically after I created and prayed over this digital image.
Yes, you read right...I prayed over that thing!
While I'm far from a religious person, I am spiritual and believe in God. I honor and respect him as the head of my life and know without a doubt that I am still standing because of his grace and mercy. Since creating this vision board was so important to me and because I truly wanted things to happen for me, I had no choice but to include God. At this age, there are very few things I do without talking to him.
I asked God to give me guidance in order to make things happen but also asked that ultimately his will be done. Because if it's not what he wants for me, then I-Do-Not-Want-It!
Another thing that I truly believe allowed every single item on my vision board to come to life is the fact that I kept it sacred. In the past, all of my vision boards were created in group and public settings. Around people either didn't know or "friends" that truly didn't care one way or the other if my dreams manifested. Many of these settings asked for us to get up and share our board with others, and to be honest I will never participate in that type of setting again.
I am of the belief that certain things should be kept for yourself...especially things that you are seeking to come true. It's very unfortunate, but a brutal fact of life: most people don't have our best interest nor do they care to see us doing good for ourselves.
Another thing that I believe helped my visions come to life is visibility. After creating my vision board on Canva, I downloaded it to my phone and made it the wallpaper. I rearranged my icons so that nothing was blocking the image so every time I looked at my phone...there it was.
Seeing it daily was a constant reminder of what I set out for myself, but also gave me a push on those days I needed it...like getting up at 4:30 AM to work out!
Prayer
Sacredness
Visibility
That was my recipe for allowing my dreams to come to life. Some people use the word manifesting and that can be used here as well. It should go without saying but in addition to these things, you must be willing to put in the work to make these things happen.
Faith without works is dead. You better believe that!
So, to close this out, I'll end with a short recap of how these dreams came to life.
- To read more books
Alex Elle and Iyanla Vanzant were authors I became re-acquainted with. David Goggins and James Clear became new literary friends.
- Strengthen friendships
2021 was the year for pruning my friendship tree. People got reassigned and categorized and it was all for the better. For 2022 I wanted to be intentional about the people that I was honored to call friends. This was the year many of my friendships bloomed and fortified. And the beautiful thing about it, it wasn't one-sided. Effort and respect came from both ends, and I'm very thankful for my small but mighty tribe.
- Travel abroad
I got to spend my birthday in Mexico and my honeymoon in the Bahamas...Yes, honeymoon! See the next bullet point.
- Find my forever person
On January 8th, 2022 I went on my last first date. That night, I met the man who would become my husband six months later. He was everything I prayed for and the truest compliment to who I am at my core. I'm so thankful that on Christmas day of 2021, I opened my Hinge app and accepted a message from him. The rest was history!
- Become consumer debt free
Any extra money I had, went to all the consumer debt I had and I'm grateful that I met this goal in March.
- To challenge myself in the area of fitness
I pushed myself in an area I had zero expertise in prior to 2022: running. On the first day of the year, I ran from my apartment in Harlem to Central Park and from then logged hundreds more miles. By mid-year, I'd run two half-marathons and biked over 40 miles around NYC on a Sunday afternoon.
So to anyone that is believing or praying for things to come true in your life please: write the vision and make it plain!
It doesn't necessarily have to be a vision board, but get down your dreams on paper and believe it can happen to you because it can! And just know, that I'm rooting for you!