Making the Internet My Accountability Partner

I went into my Spring Vision Board knowing it would be shared on this blog, so my images were sourced from Unsplash and the info for each can be found in the document included at the end of this post. Unsplash has a smaller collection of images, so I didn’t feel prioritizing aesthetic was the right choice, instead I wanted to focus on what felt realistic to me. Obviously with some photos I took more of an aesthetic liberty. Once again there are a couple aesthetic placeholder images; there are a lot of slots in this template and I couldn’t fill all of them.

The photos that took the most aesthetic liberty were the ones that focused on my desire to learn an instrument. I am learning the recorder and there are very little images about a recorder on Unsplash, so I went with the ones that felt the most aspirational. Part of that decision was also my recognition that the process of learning and struggling with something can be demoralizing for me as I’m not too used to it. So I need more motivation to do this than my other goals.

While many of the themes remain the same from the winter board, the pictures reflect the alterations I am making in my focus. For example, many of the items that focus on using my free or down time, have shifted from the pressure to achieve to finding inner joy and peace. So even though knitting and reading have stayed as hobbies that are important to me the shift is evident for me in the way the photos focus on a moment and feeling. Concerts and sports are notably absent, because they’re not priorities for me financially.

An aspect I feel really excited for is the overall focus on reflection and mindfulness. To this end I want to prioritize peaceful and joyful use of computers, journals, and planners. This has been encouraging me to once again declutter the items that I own, because I have gone through phases where I am more ambitious in how I approach this theme but I haven’t used many of these items in 6 months or more. It’s time for me to KonMari this area of my life, thanking items for their time in my life and allowing myself to part with them.

Savings and financial health are still goals, but it’s less of a focus now that my credit card debt is paid off and I have a savings plan. Instead I feel that my financial goals have fallen in line with the theme of mindfulness that has guided this vision board. Towards that end, I’m identifying ways I can engage in shopping/money spending more mindfully and wanting to challenge myself with a no buy week or two.

The style and makeup images have shifted to reflect my evolving understanding of my habits and confidence. For example, I feel I have shifted from wanting to feel very editorial, to recognizing that I prefer softer looks. This season’s focus is on skin care, light makeup, and a evolving color palette that is leaning towards neutrals.

Physical health is another recurring priority but again with a shifted focus. I’m focusing on the process of enjoying food and enjoying cooking. I am currently doing well in meal planning, but expect this will be an area I’ll struggle with. I have evolved from the first step of making a habit of joyful movement to building and sticking to a plan to accomplish a bucket list item. I want to one day be able to run a 5k. I have some experience in the past of building my endurance with running and I was really happy with the way I felt, so I feel pretty solid with my plan. Hiking will continue to be a moment of joy for me, but as the weather warms hopefully I will be able to engage more. Speaking of warmer weather, I’m hoping to take greater advantage of farmer’s markets as they open.

Being a positive addition to my community continues to be a priority for me. With the warmer weather I am hoping to increase my focus on environmental engagement, but I will not lose my focus on connecting with the people around me. With the month of March I have consistently had at least one volunteer activity per week, which has really energized me.

I feel like with the weather warming and days getting longer Spring is a good time for many people to reset and build something to look forward to. I would love to hear about your goals for Spring. What are your areas of focus and what has been energizing you?