Twenty Twenty (Two) Vision

My word of the year is “direction.” Yes, I do indeed still need to learn my rights from my lefts and may have joked about the small L and R letter tattoos on my hands too many times to count, but in this instance I'm referring to the word in the symbolic sense. My entire life, it felt like the next step was always clear. Of course some things changed along the way, but it was clear — Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, jobs, internships, extra curricular activities … I always felt like I knew what to do next.

You graduate college, and then you’re like, now what? Surely, your internships may have turned into jobs or you may have found a job in your field, but this is the first time in our life where our time isn’t really owed to anyone else. We don’t owe anyone a ten page minimum research paper, we don’t have a club meeting at 9 p.m. on a Thursday night and we don’t have three events scheduled at the same time on the same day and have to magically figure out how to be in three places at once.

Since I’ve graduated, I’ve felt like the possibilities are endless. You could wake up one day and decide that you’re going to change your entire life — and you could really do it. Tomorrow, today even, you could quit your job and find a new one, land the perfect apartment and move out of home or book the trip you've always put off. While infinite possibilities sound like anyone’s dream, it’s actually quite daunting to figure out which option is the best for you at this time in your life. There’s always that seed of doubt that says, Can I be doing more? Or something different?

This is where direction comes in. You will never be able to get what you want out of life unless you define what your direction is. It sounds simple, but many of us don't take the time to sit down and do it. For example, ask yourself:

• Where do I see myself in five years?

• What is my dream job? What are the steps I need to take to get there?

• What are my goals at my current job this year?

• What hobbies do I want to spend my time on?

• What are my fitness and wellness goals?

• Where do I want to travel to this year? In my lifetime?

The "universe" (interchangeable with whoever/whatever you believe your higher power is) responds to details, to feelings. Close your eyes and imagine what the things you want feel like. For instance, say you've been dying to go to Iceland your entire life but never could make it work. Even if you can’t book it right now, look up flights, pick trip dates within the year, figure out which hotel you’d want to stay in, what excursions you’d like to go on and which restaurants you’d like to try. Come up with the exact cost of the entire trip. Again, the universe responds to details. Type up the entire trip itinerary, budget details and even pull a few awesome photos of the Aurora Borealis, print it and and hang it up somewhere you can see it everyday — and I promise you things will fall into place.

A friend may randomly bring up wanting to go to Iceland in a conversation and boom: You’ve got a travel buddy. Or you might get an unexpected side gig, bonus or raise and boom: Iceland travel fund. Or someone you know may post that they are selling their Canon camera for a discounted price and boom: Epic Iceland photography is coming your way. If you feel and imagine yourself doing the things you want to be doing, they are much more likely to come to you sooner, bigger and better than you’ve ever thought — hence the power of having clear direction.

A similar word to describe this process is manifestation, and it’s as simple as a genie granting wishes. We’ve all seen (or know of) the classic Disney film Aladdin, where the genie comes and grants him three wishes, and as a kid, I bet you thought that was super cool. As an adult, I’m here to tell you that the universe grants wishes — which is also super cool — through the power of manifestation.

When I first learned about this concept through the Netflix documentary The Secret and the book You Are a Badass (both highly recommended by the way), I was a little thrown off. I thought, is it really that easy? And it turns out it is. What you manifest may not always come to you in an obvious or clear cut way, but it will come.

A personal example — Over the summer, I wanted a new laptop. I had my old one since the beginning of college and it was time for an upgrade, but I didn’t want to put up the money for it. Then, out of the blue, I get an email from the director of a sustainability internship I did sophomore year of college asking me to co-choreograph a commissioned dance piece for the internship’s final presentation. At first I didn’t even know I was getting paid, and I honestly didn’t mind because I had an excuse to get back in the dance studio, but in our kickoff meeting the director let us know we would be compensated for our work — and it just so happened to be the exact amount I need for the laptop. Once the check came in, I bought the laptop the next week … Crazy, right?

It may seem silly, but it works if you put the time into thinking it through. If you’re a linear person, write it down in a list. Divide your life into different categories (Work, Hobbies, Wellness, Travel, Home, etc.) and write down what you really want in each of them. Then, break those things down into smaller goals. To take it a step further, make a free account on Canva and design a vision board, a visual representation of the things you desire. You can add an image of your dream car, your dream house, someone playing the guitar, the mountain you want to climb, anything you want, it’s yours. Then, if you want to take the next step, you can set your vision board as your computer desktop background, phone background or print it and hang it up in a place where you will look at it everyday.

Manifest the travel experiences you desire, and more importantly the life you desire — and I promise only good things will come your way.

A few examples of vision boards I’ve created for myself and others are below. Feel free to take on this challenge and create one for yourself, or reach out on Instagram and I’d be happy to create one for you!

Safe Travels,

Kaitlyn