Your Zen minute: Every positive change we make is about growth. And the simple biological reality is that growth takes energy. Don’t be scared — be prepared to step into that space!

Last week, we talked about searching our feelings for the truth, figuring out what we really want so that we know how best to move forward. This week, we’ll make our search more concrete — with a vision board.

Yes, yes, we can hear some of you groaning already. Vision boards sound silly, we know. But is that resistance helping you or getting in the way of your progress? Growth means doing things that are uncomfortable, and not just painful uncomfortable, but possibly silly uncomfortable too. We urge you to give this a shot.

Why? Well, the mind tends to respond first and most strongly to visual stimulation. (There’s that old saying: A picture is worth a thousand words.) When you see your vision board every day, your brain is reminded of your goal in a powerful way.

Here’s how to create a vision board:

1. Pick your vision. Collect pictures from magazines, books, and websites like Pinterest. Copy, print, and cut out pictures that represent your goal.

2. Choose your foundation. Select a sheet of poster board, sturdy paper, cardboard — whatever works for you.

3. Put the pieces together. Arrange the pictures on your board. They can overlap, be in random order, or even hang over the edge. The key thing that will pull this all together is to include a picture of yourself in the center. This is YOUR goal. YOU are the focus.

4. Adjust as needed. Take one more look. Remove, add, and change any pictures you want. Make sure you are comfortable (and proud!) of this board. This is your map! Glue the pictures to your foundation. Remember to place your picture in the center!

Not a paper person? Prefer to go digital? No problem. Check out Canva — they have a great selection of options. And Pexels is an amazing source for free photos. Pinterest, of course, is a goldmine of ideas, too. These sites also can be accessed as apps.

However you put it together, your completed vision board will be only as good as you let it be. Keep it in a place where you will see it frequently. Set up reminders on your smartphone to look at it. Honor your progress. Periodically review your board and ask whether the pictures are still relevant. It may need a bit of updating from time to time — feel free to do that! Again: This is YOUR map.

So many folks use a vision board annually to keep their focus. Give this a try and see the difference it makes. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me for ideas.

If you do these exercises, we would love to hear how they went at shorelines@northshorebank.com. Thanks for reading! —Pat Ingelse, AVP, PMP