Rita Black: Have you ever made a vision board for the new year or at any time of the year for that matter? If you have you know how motivational it can be to have a visual tool to gaze upon and let your subconscious mind go to work in helping you turn your vision into a reality. If you haven’t made one ever--or even if you have, in todays episode, I will share with you a step-by-step approach to make an easy vision board. This is great way to get your mind organized about what you want to create this coming year but it also leaves you with a fun visual tool to help your subconscious mind implement that change for you. So turn up your imagination and stay tuned.

Rita Black: Did you know that our struggle with weight doesn't start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That's right, the key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I'm Rita Black. I'm a clinical hypnotherapist, weight loss expert, best-selling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process. And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years achieve long-term weight mastery, I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict, and binge eater. And after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years. Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I'll give you the thin thinking tools, skills, and insights to help you develop the mindset you need. Not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long-term and live your best life. Sound good. Let's get started.

Rita Black: Hello. Hello. Hello and happy almost new year. Are you ready to leave 2021 behind? I am so ready. And more importantly, are you ready to create a beautiful new spanking brand new powerful 2022? I know I am. Sorry 2021. You were an okay, pretty awesome year. But it's been the best of times in the worst of times. And I will say that the more I focus on the gratitude of the year though, and the gratitude of what 2021 has brought me, the better my lens gets on this last year. Maybe you have the same thing. Maybe you have a best of 2021 you can think about. I know there were some crappy things going down in 2021, but there also were blessings and amazing things going on. So, this is a great time to reflect. I'm sure you're already doing that. I'm reading everybody's best 10 of so, you know, I'm creating my own best 10 of 2021.

Rita Black: I know at the top of my list is that we started the Thin Thinking Podcast in the March of 2021. And I'm so amazed by the powerful and amazing community. I'm being grateful for all of you guys. And we're now almost to 15,000 downloads and listeners tuning in from all over the world. Over 40 countries have been downloading this podcast and here's a shout out to Armenia and Paraguay, as well as Alaska and Florida and all the states and all the provinces of Canada in between. I cherish all of our listeners and I love looking at using our minds powerfully to change our thinking so we can change our weight so we can release weight and keep it off for good.

Rita Black: To add to this new year's news, I have a very exciting announcement. I've been working hard on this. I'm gonna be dropping a three-part brand new free, free, free, free video series called "The 3 Mental Shifts to End the Weight Struggle Once and for All." And I'm making it available only for a few days in January, from the sixth to the 10th. So if you wanna sign up and get inspired to break free from the mental weight struggle, please make sure you get on my email list that is located in this show notes below this podcast.

Rita Black: Now, onto our episode of making a vision board. So, I have been making vision boards for about 10 years now. I got into it through a friend who just loved it. She was very creative. She made the cutest vision boards. She had them all over her wall and I was by that. And then I took a class in abundance, and this was again, this was 10 years ago. And one of the things that we did in the abundance workshop was to make an abundance vision board. So that's what I'm gonna be teaching you to do what I learned in that one class. And it was a very easy way to do it and very powerful way to create a vision board. Cause I think we think of a vision board and we kind of just slap on some images, cut out of magazines, which you know, that's true. You could do it that way. But the way we're gonna do it is a little methodical, but it's super easy. And like, I like I'm telling you, I love it. So I'll, I'll tell you, I roped my family in.

Rita Black: So how many years? It was pre-COVID, a couple of summers ago. We were gonna go up and stay at a friend's cabin. The friends had gone, they were not gonna be there, but this was up in north of mammoth. For those of you guys who know California, it's north of mammoth up in the Sierras, high up in the Sierras. There our friends have a beautiful cabin that is without wifi or any sort of way to plug in. So for, you know, somebody like me, who's pretty wired and, you know, plugged in. It's a little challenging, but I was looking forward to it because my, you know, I love my business so much and I love what I do. I mean, could do it 24/7, really, honestly, I, you know, and I kind of live and breathe what I do. However, I do find that when I go away, unplugging completely gives my brain this amazing recharge and allows me to think bigger thoughts and think around things that I dorm normally wouldn't if I was like, you know, on my computer doing something or, you know, looking at my phone.

Rita Black: So, I knew this and my kids kind of had the concept like there wasn't gonna be wifi and they were excited about all the nature stuff, but I don't think they fully wrapped their mind around the fact that we were gonna be completely cut off. I mean, hardly, I don't even remember, there was a TV, but they, you know, like it didn't work and they obviously didn't have satellite. I think they only had like a video recorder player and had some like really old videos, like Groundhog day, but anyway. To make this very long story, even longer, we get up there and I had secretly, I, I, well, I didn't secretly, but I brought up all this stuff to make a family vision board. Right. I had magazines and this big, big, big thing to put all the stuff on. And I said, Hey guys, I'd love to sit down with you. And this was the summer. My daughter was applying to colleges and you know, it was her, between her junior and senior year. So I was like, I'd love to sit and make a family vision board because who knows when we're all gonna be together in the summer like this, you know, ever again. And it would be really great. And everybody was like, no, thank you, mom. I think we're gonna have better things to do with our time. And they kind of laughed at me.

Rita Black: Well cut to like three days later of virtually going out. And it was really cold. It was really, really cold up in, you know, like, and usually in the August in the Sierras, it's hot, you know. You go swimming and you do hiking and it was freezing cold. And there wasn't a, you know, like we would go out and do stuff, but there was definitely not swimming going on. So I said, Hey guys, I have these, why don't we make our family vision board? And all of a sudden it was the best idea in the world. And, still they were reluctant to sit down and start cutting stuff out and thinking about it. And I took them through the same process I'm gonna take you through. And it turned out that they loved it and it was such a remarkable, lovely, lovely time. I have such fond memories of those few hours that my family, the world stopped. We sat and created a vision as created a vision as a family, and also as individuals. And we put all of our stuff up on the board. I was helping my daughter. She was helping me. My son got in the game, my husband got in the game, we all did it. And we have this vision board that I still have in our bedroom. I, I look at it all the time. I look at it every day, cause I pass by it every day, but I really look at it and pause and consider it maybe once a month, eh, once a little more often than that. And it's amazing how a lot of that stuff came to pass. Especially, my daughter was very mindful about what she put on there and she came home from, you know, her first year. No, this was no, it was before she went up to school, she was like, wow, mom, all of that stuff came true. You know?

Rita Black: And, and I'm not here to say vision boards are like, I mean, you know, I'm all about manifest and all about creating your life and not letting your life create you, but you create your life. So I'm not going to go into the secret or super manifestation, but, I am saying that there is a power to, creating your life and putting out there in the universe, ideas, you know, visions, stretching your mind past where you might normally go and putting it up and allowing your subconscious mind to go to work on that for you. There's a lot of power in that. And so, last year with COVID, you know, we couldn't have any, you know, we usually might get together with friends new years that didn't happen. We lit a fire. We sat by the fire. I pulled out the magazines and we all did individual boards for 2021. And it was such a, again, a lovely evening. So I've roped my family into it.

Rita Black: Now here's the thing about making a vision board. You don't want to be a perfectionist about it. I could see a bunch of you going well, okay, now what's the right size and how do I get the right vision and the right images? And I'm just saying, do it, make it, throw it together, make one. And then the next one you make, you can take a little more consideration? But I do think it's all about just throwing it up, throwing the paint on the wall and seeing what sticks and you know, just getting your hands dirty. Really. It's not about pristine perfectionism and none of weight mastery is, and neither is creating a vision board.

Rita Black: So why would you wanna, I make one. Okay, well, I've already kind of gotten into that, but I'll get into that a little more. So like I said, you know, here we are at the beginning of a new year, and you know, it is an opportunity for you not only to reflect on the past year, but to really set your vision for the the year and, and really to say I'm creating this year. You know, it's, it's, our imaginations are so potent and I see so many people in my practice, you know, they're living their life defensively versus offensively. You know, stuff happens to them and they're reacting to it rather than they're saying this year, I am creating this and I'm fulfilling on this. I'm taking action. So I really do think that pause right now and looking, I know what I'm gonna be doing in the December of 2022 and I'm not a super control freak. I just, you know, I like to know what the year is about for me. I set themes, I set visions and then surprises happen. You know, I think that you can be way more creative within a structure than you can in chaos. So, I like to create a year in my mind, that excites me, elevates me, makes me feel challenged, excited at the same time, all and doing this vision board thing really helps me. And then the visual part of it to have that the souvenir piece, the actual having of the vision board helps remind me of who I am creating myself as this year, because we're creating a new identity in the new year. And I'm not saying we're changing who we are, but we're stretching ourselves in the new way that we want to be. Right. Okay. So I'm just looking at my notes here.

Rita Black: So also what we focus on expands. You know, again, this is all just going back to engaging your subconscious mind. And if we're focusing on the bad, you know, the bad gets bigger. If we're focusing on the powerful, the powerful, the more powerful gets bigger. And you know, like I said, having a vision board, you can stare at it and are, you know, even subconsciously you'll glance at it. And you're subconscious mind is taking it in and going to work for you, cause your subconscious mind really is like a computer. You can code it and it will go away. It will figure stuff out and come back and it usually will come back in the form of epiphanies. You'll go, aha. Why don't I do it this way? Or, or courage. It will come back with an added sense of I'm ready to do that now. Right. But we have to set the wheels in motion.

Rita Black: So the another reason to make a vision board is it's a fabulous time to spend with friends or family, as I have mentioned, discussing the future, you know. Really discussing it again in a powerful way, not like kvetching, like, oh no, what's gonna happen to our country. Oh no, the world is falling apart or oh no, none of that. No, like what can we create? What can we expand? Who can we be out in the world, making it a better place, right. Or be making our lives better. Therefore, if we're happy and fulfilled and, making a difference in our lives, guess what? We're making a difference in the world too.

Rita Black: So I am this year, just FYI, having a new year's day party and having people over unless, you know, something crazy happens like, you know, there's a, you know, a quarantine or something. I don't think there will be. I'm gonna have an outdoors vision board making party. You know, because it's California and it's been cold, but it's not gonna be cold around new year's or not that cold. And everybody is super excited. I'm not having that many people over, but I'm having, you know, about 10 people over and I have been saving magazines all year. I don't know if I've mentioned this in this podcast, but somewhere along the line, my husband and I many years ago had a corporation. We had a business together. Course I, yeah. I ever had to have a business with my husband, but anyway. And the name of the business was Light Fantastic.

Rita Black: Now the, the funny thing is, is that the, the business, we, we went out, we decided to end the business, but somewhere along the line, somebody thought that we had a hair salon and they still think we have a hair salon because we get magazines sent to us every single month, which is awesome because we have people and we have glamor and we have good housekeeping. I mean, they all come to my house and cause they think I'm, I'm a hair salon. And so I just keep them, I look through them, of course, you know, I love people magazine. I'm this is my secret. Like, you know, some people eat potato chips. I read people magazine. I mean, it's like my junk food, right? My mind junk food, I guess. Anyway. And it's got all the pretty pictures and stuff. So I've got this like big hoard of magazines. And, and that I save for this very occasion. So I'm gonna have, you know, people come over and say, have at these magazines, let's cut them all up and make the vision boards.

Rita Black: So let's get started with your vision board. Now, you're gonna need a piece of paper to write some stuff down. And this isn't what you're gonna create your vision board with. That your vision board, you're gonna do some writing before you dive into making your vision board. So, there's a methodology to this. So you'll need a piece of paper to write some stuff down. And then you'll need somebody to something to make the board. Now this can be super flexible. And again, you guys don't say, well, I don't wanna go out to the store, but you don't have to, you can use a 8x10 piece of paper. You can use notebook paper, you can use cardboard, you can cut the around a box off a box lid. You know, you can be very casual about it or super, super go buy a canvas from the art store, or a big foam core board. It's really up to you. I like to keep my vision board small, like 8x10, because I like to be able to put it up on my desk and look at it and flip it over. Cause I put all of the stuff that I'm gonna tell you to write down on the back. And I laminate the two together and then I can read the back and then I can look at my vision board. I like doing it like that. But you can make a vision board that's big. Like I said, I made a huge vision board with my family and that's like an artwork piece on the wall in my bedroom right now.

Rita Black: So, but whatever you do just, you know, pick your, pick your poison, pick up whatever you're gonna make it on. And I'm really old fashioned. I like the tactile, you know, like I said, magazines, printing out pictures from the internet, like going on Google and getting image. I print out words. I find words of magazines. I get glitter, I get crayons. I write on it. I, you know, I get glue stick to stick everything on and, and I also get the regular glued for the things that need a little harder, backing. So, and it's really messy. I don't make a pristine vision board at all because I do laminate it and that kind of takes care of it. But what I'll do is I'll make my vision board and then I might write up little sub-statements or captions on my computer, print those out, cut those out and have them still.

Rita Black: So, I hope this is making sense to you guys. I hope that you're with me so far. So you can do it that way, the tactile way, or you can do it on, there, you can go onto your computer and look up Google, vision board, I think online vision board, and you can make a vision board online. You can pull images and you can put it and have that be your screen saver or what have you. Yes. That's where the world is. You can do that. And some of you probably, I already knew that so well, good. I'm glad you know that.

Rita Black: I like making the old fashioned kind cause they're kind of like a piece of artwork. And it, and you get to play. It's like being a kid, you know, with an art project. It's much more fun I think, than doing it online. And God, we are online so much. Take a break and play, get the glue out, get the glitter, you know, 2022. Let's make it about play please. You guys. Oh my gosh. I feel like 2021 was so serious in so many ways. I feel the weight of the world just is like I, so many of my clients and just, I just like feel that feeling of this heaviness. And I just would love to bring in some light, some glitter, some, you know, and I'm not even a glitter sequin person, but honestly at this point, I'm just like the bring in the sequins please. I need a, you know, I need a breath of fresh air. We need to lighten things up. Let's bring in the feathers and put feathers on our, our vision board. Okay.

Rita Black: Now it can be really simple, a few images and a few words like my son. He's so funny. He's like, I'm done. I was like, what? We, we just started. He's like, oh, I I'm done. You know? And he had like three little pictures, two pieces of paper. He's like, I've done. I was like, you have to do more. He's like, no, I'm done, but I'll help you with yours. So, his was super simple and my daughter's super ornate. She really thinks it through she's a real thinker list maker, all that stuff. So hers had to be not perfect, not it, it wasn't perfectionistic, but she just had to have everything covered in it. I, I get a little like, oh, well I represent things with one image or so. So like I might be talking about gardening and I'll have one image of a garden, although I might have a lot of different goals for my garden for the year.

Rita Black: So anyway, this is so individual. So it's, it's, it's really up to you, but this is how I started and this is the method. So, you wanna take that piece of paper you're gonna write on and divide it into four sections. You divide it and divide it like into columns or quadrants, but what you want are four different lists and oh yeah, yeah. So I already told you, you can put your list on the back of the vision board. So here are some ideas. Like I said, I learned about this in an abundance workshop. So these are some things that the mentor in that group really felt like were the four big Kahoona things that you put, you know, you create your vision list with.

Rita Black: So the first one is relationships. Relationships you have or relationships you wanna create. So, just, you know, when you do this, do a brain dump and think of like all the people in your family that you want to create a stronger connection with. This is all about opportunity, right? And you can also create health for them, but, but we have a separate health things. So maybe that's different, but I would write down the people like, I saw my daughter's vision list last year. you know, she wanted to create stronger connections with me and my husband, cause she had gone away to college and you know, she was just wanting to focus more on that, which was, I thought was nice, very sweet. I saw that on her list. But you might have somebody in your life you want to, you know, maybe you've been fighting with them or you guys have kind of gone drifted apart or family or friends who would you like to have a closer relationship with. And you know, as you know, it all starts with you reaching out.

Rita Black: And then who are the people you would like to attract into your life? Now this might be higher like friends that are really supportive of you. Maybe it's colleagues. Maybe you wanted to change jobs and have different people around you. Maybe you want the same people. Maybe you want to have a love in your life or you want to have somebody working for you that you would like to have. Maybe you want somebody to take care of one of your parents that you wanna attract into your life. You know, there's many different types of people out in the world and many different types of relationships. So just kind of think through your year and think about like, who are the people I want by, you know, by Christmas or new year's 2022, the end of the year, who's in my life who isn't in here now or how are the relationships in my life? So, you know, just write those all down. This is just to get your juices flowing.

Rita Black: And then the next quadrant, I would say health and fitness. So this might be your weight goals. It might be to listen to thin thinking every single week, this coming year. This might be dancing more. So if you were going to dance, like I wanna dance more this year, you know, right before COVID I was learning salsa. I had learned salsa 20 years prior, you know, enough to go out, dancing with my husband every once in a while, but I really wanted to learn salsa. So I had gotten through the beginners' course, I had, I'd joined a class at the local community college. We have this woman, she was 75 years old teaching us and she was awesome. And she was the hippest person I think I ever met. She was super funny. She wore the funniest clothes, but she was going out to salsa clubs every single night and all these young hot guys wanted to dance with her cause she, she was that good and she could move. So anyway, this woman was like, I wanna, I thought about this woman. I was like, I wanna be you when I grow up.

Rita Black: So, I was in her class, I was a devotee and then COVID hit and then, you know, that all fell apart. So I'd like to get back into salsa. I'd like to get back into dancing this year. That's part of my fitness. My fitness goals last year were to more mobility and balance and all of that stuff. And I have really been working on that this year. And I'm inspired to continue, but dancing is definitely a part of my health and fitness. You know, I'm maintaining my ideal weight, so goodness, I don't have to have a weight release goal and neither will you, when you guys sign up for my upcoming free three video series and you know, really start to release weight from the inside out, you know, and hopefully, maybe you're already there. So, but you know, whatever your weight goals are, whatever your fitness goals, whatever your health goals are, you know, do you wanna drink more water? All of that stuff you can write on the list.

Rita Black: And then what are your life goals? What are the, where, what's the stuff that drives you, what's you, who are, what is your life about? And coming up this year, now this could be your work. This could be your goals with work and hobbies, travel goals. Think about what you're passionate about in your life. You know, maybe you wanna, maybe your life is about changing your environment. Maybe you wanna renovate a room in your house or maybe your life is about learning something new. You know, like last year and the last couple of years, I've really been focusing on gardening and you know, doing it, learning about it, failing at it and doing some stuff good, some stuff bad, you know, to just going for it. And that's been a part of my life. It's been a big part of my life. And, and so, and my work of course, and like the podcast last year was a life goal of mine. I've always wanted to do a podcast. And ironically there was a, in 2019 I had put that on my vision board. Podcasts! And it took all of 2020 for me to, you know, kind of clear my life and get ready for it.

Rita Black: So, some of these eggs that you are are, you know, creating these little seeds, you are planning, they take a little time for your subconscious to make room for them to grow them into a true idea than to grow into a more inspired action plan and then taking action and then birthing that idea. So, you know, it doesn't all happen tomorrow. Sometimes these things are in the works for a year or so that our unconscious, mine works at different paces with different things. So, you know, what's a seed. Do you wanna plant now that you want to come to fruition? A few years from now, I just spoke with a dear friend of mine who is an artist and every year she goes over to Eastern Europe and does some sort of workshop, or she gets commissioned a lot of times to do art installations. And last year she went to Georgia, just right south of Russia. And she was saying how beautiful it was, and she's gonna go back not next year, but the year following. And I said, I'm going with you? And I said, and we're gonna go on a road trip to Armenia, cause Armenia is near Georgia. And I would love to visit Armenia here. It's the most beautiful country. So anyway, those of you in Armenia, I might be coming your way. I don't think we have any listeners in Georgia yet, but maybe we will get some by that time. So, but yeah, so that I'm putting that on my vision board, cause I'm super excited about that. I've wanted to go to Eastern Europe forever. I'm a little scared to go myself. I don't think my husband is quite enrolled yet, but my friend, she knows Eastern Europe. She's not afraid of it. And she's an artist she's super fun. So yay. I'm enrolled and that's going on my vision board. So what do you what's travel? What are your life goals?

Rita Black: Okay. And lastly, I'm gonna call this part, the spirit section. Now this, I don't mean spirituality necessarily. But how are you going to connect yourself and the universe this coming year? How are you going to expand your soul? Now, this may be in therapy or in meditation or by, you know, going through a process of, you know, some sort of transformational process, like the shift weight mastery process is a transformational process. But maybe you'll do something simple, like just plan quiet morning walks where you can connect to yourself and think, or making a gratitude list on a daily basis or at night before you go to bed or, you know, thinking about images that evoke your goal and they don't have to be literal, you know.

Rita Black: For me last year, I got more into self-hypnosis in the morning and that is definitely a way I connect with myself. If you are new to thin thinking, there is a DIY self-hypnosis session back there in, gosh, August, I think, you know, I don't have the exact episode number, but there aren't a ton of episodes at this point. So, you can probably find it pretty easily. You know, there's so many ways you can connect with yourself that I want you to sit in for a moment and think about it and think about like what would really please and serve you. All right.

Rita Black: Now, let's just do a quick visualization. If you haven't been writing these things down, I'm gonna give you just one more chance. It's gonna be super quick, but I'm gonna go back through my notes here. Hold on just a second. Flip my page back and I'm gonna go through these four quadrants again and I'm gonna let you do to close your eyes and kind of think about these things now.

Rita Black: So go ahead and just take a nice deep breath in and as you exhale, close your eyes in. If you're driving, please don't do this. Just, you know, maybe turn it down for like two or three minutes. It's not gonna be very long. But close your eyes and just tune in to your body. Just scan your body with loving kindness. There's an area of tension. Maybe you've gotten a little tense thinking about the new year. So send a nice breath of relaxation to that part of your body. I know my stomach just grumbled. Maybe it's like I need some loving attention. Okay. So we're just focusing on our body. Good. And now just tune in to the beating of your heart and tune in to the rising and falling of your diaphragm and chest as you breathe in and out. Breathing in possibility and breathing out what you no longer need. Very good.

Rita Black: And now I'd like you to just think about the relationships that you have in your life. Maybe your family, maybe your friends, maybe it's co-workers, maybe it's people in your community. Who's special and who would you like to have a more special connection to you? And just imagine a wonderful bridge of connection between you and that person going stronger and stronger. Think of maybe many people that you wanna have a relationship with. That's just, it doesn't have to be romantic. Of course it could be friendship. It could be just a deepening friendship or a work project together, maybe you're going to create something together. And just think about those people. And now I'd like you to just take a nice deep breath in and lock this into your mind and then go ahead and open your eyes and write down on all those people that you thought of.

Rita Black: Good. And now go ahead and close your eyes again, taking another nice deep breath in and sweeping all thoughts from your mind for a moment. And now I just want you to think of the possibility of health and fitness in your life for 2022. What is it going to mean for you to be healthy and fit? I'd like you to think of yourself as being very healthy and very fit at the end of 2022. And I want you to think, you know, just ask yourself the question, what did I do this year to create this healthiness and this fitness that I have in the year of 2022? Let your subconscious mind just whisper in your ear. What are some of those things? Maybe it's starting something new. Maybe it's increasing what you already have. Maybe it's doing exactly what you're doing. Maybe it's consistency, Good, and just take a nice deep breath in locking that in and opening your eyes again. And as you open your eyes, just write down all those inspirations that you got.

Rita Black: Okay. And now I'm gonna move on to life goals. Go ahead and take a nice deep breath in. And as you exhale, think about your life. Think about who you are becoming, what drives you? What's your passion? What's your journey in life about this year? What are you an apprentice of? What are you learning? What does life wanna teach you this year? And again, let your subconscious mind go to work for you to just give you images or ideas. You don't have to control it. Just let it flow. Just think like a child for a moment and just let it any old idea flop into your head and allow it to pass by you and see if it grabs you. Excellent. And then go ahead and take a nice deep breath in locking that in and just write down, open your eyes and write down whatever inspired you there.

Rita Black: Wonderful. And now lastly, I'm gonna call this part, this, the spirit section, like I said, it doesn't have to be religious. It could be. But take a nice deep breath in close your eyes connect and think about you and your relationship to the universe and how you're deepening that powerful connection this year. Is it through learning a new format of connecting like meditation or yoga or prayer or deep breathing? Is it clearing the way in some way, maybe with a group of like minded people? Maybe it's by teaching others something, you know. Maybe it's connecting with a loved one who's already passed and developing that past relationship. I know I really have worked on my relationship with my mother and my father. They passed over. My mother's been gone since 2003, so a very long time. And you know, every year I strengthen that connection with her that, the her that lives within me and it's become such a powerful mentor in my life, my mother, you know, and such a, a relationship with myself. It's a part of myself that I cherish very much so. And what about that inner coach that we always talk about in our, our talks and the thin thinking and the shift weight mastery process. That's definitely a part of your practice of connecting with yourself and the universe. So, what's your relationship with your inner coach gonna be like? So just think about all the different ways you're clearing the wave for powerful connection to yourself and the universe, and take a nice deep breath in and allow those to think deep within your subconscious mind, open your eyes and write down those thoughts as well.

Rita Black: Good. We're almost done. You're doing great. You guys. Okay. So now that you have your list, you can write images and words that represent the various sections and you, you don't have to be literal now. You don't have to write it down. You can just go. If you have a piled magazines, like I do, I just go se through them and start clipping things. And I'll just clip a bunch of images that, that inspire me and that connect me to that list. Now, if you wanna not do the list, you're like read your way to methodical. You just wanna go cut out a bunch of things. That's fine. But I typically will go through and cut out a bunch of things and then I'll weed through and I'll have my small little piece of paper and that's gonna force me to kind of pick and choose the ones that are the most potent and resonant, but I will go through a lot of different images and pull them out and play around with kind of like a puzzle.

Rita Black: You know, you're kind of like, it's like putting pieces of a puzzle together and I don't put like, here's the quadrant for spirit and here's the quadrant for relationships. I don't put them in the same. You like, you know, I they're all over the place. Now. You could be again, you could put your relationships in one section and your spirit stuff in the next section and your health stuff in another, but I just make a big lobby, not mess, but I hink of it as art. So I just I'm free flowing. And, then I will type up my list and, you know, I'll write, like I said, I'll, I'll paste it all down. I might type up some additional words or find additional words that I can cut out in the magazine and paste them on top of the images. And I'll, I'll know when it's just about right? And then I will type up my list more formally, and I'm gonna paste it on the back of my 8x10 piece of paper or cardboard. And then if it's not a cardboard, if it's a paper often, it is. It's like if you paste stuff onto a flimsy, just normal piece of like typewriter paper or, or printer paper, it gets a little stiff and then you can laminate it. And it's a nice little piece of stuff. So you don't even have to go and buy cardboard or phone core or whatever. But if you do, that's fine. I have many different types of vision boards and they are all different you know, they come from different materials. I made my husband a vision board for his 60th birthday this last year, too. It was so awesome. And I had all of his friends contribute poems and songs that they remember him by and we typed them all up and put them on this big board. And, and that was his birthday center piece. So that was super awesome too. So you we're just vision board crazy over here.

Rita Black: But then, you know, you, you can do that. You don't have to type up the list if you don't want, but put it somewhere where you're gonna see it. And here's my one last coaching. I mean, this was given to me by my mentor who taught me how to do this. He said this. He was like, Hey, every day you stare at your vision board for a minute. And then you read your things over on the back. You read it, read it, read it a couple of times, let you, and then you'd close your eyes and let it kind of all sink into your subconscious mind. And then you put your vision board back. Now that for me, it's a little too much, I will be honest with you. I don't have time to do that every single day, but I do do it often and I love it. So that is my version of a vision board. I hope this has been helpful. I hope it's inspired you at least to think about your new year and creating your new year. And I hope that you have an amazing, wonderful new year and have a chance to reflect and connect with yourself and really think about the healthy year that you are gonna create.

Rita Black: And please, please, please subscribe to our thin thinking email list, which is right below the show notes. And that's gonna allow you the ability, cause you're gonna get emails from me to sign up for my free new year's video series of 3 Mental Shifts to End the Weight Struggle Once and for All. And you also get notifications. I don't spam you. I, you know, send you notifications once a week with the, when our new thin thinking podcast is dropped. And obviously if you're, if you like this podcast, it's good to know what we're talking about. And remember that for only a few days in January, this three-part video series will be available, the January 6th through 10th. So just sign up. Now, have an amazing week and especially a healthy and safe new year. And I wanna thank you from really the bottom of my heart seriously, for being a part of the shift weight mastery and thin thinking podcast community. I cherish you. And I really do, really do enjoy our time together. And I'm really excited about all the wonderful things we have to share and explore this coming year. And remember that the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening and find it. This is our final episode of 2021 happy new year. Everybody have a wonderful, happy new year.

Rita Black: Thanks for listening to the thin thinking podcast. Did that episode go by way too fast for you? If so, and do you want to dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release? Head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com where you'll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release, tips, strategies, and more, and be sure to check the show notes to learn more about my book From Fat to Thin Thinking: Unlock Your Mind For Permanent Weight Loss and to learn how to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode.