My Inspiration Board Reminds Me To Have A Good Morning.

On cloudy mornings when the world feels just as groggy as I do.  When the sun has decided to sleep in and I wished I could do the same -  I need a little reminder to get out of bed.  An Inspiration Board can sometimes be just the trick I need to remind me of my goals, to stay positive, to give me the strength to face the day with some hope.  It can contain a number of different things to inspire some positivity, production, a reason to get out of bed.


So I'll admit that sometimes a cup of coffee will wake up my body, but not my mind. Giving me the jitters, a racing pulse, a nervous anxiety over generally nothing; but my mind is on sleep. There is a longing to curl under those warm covers and close my stinging eyes to the demands of the world.  So my stinging eyes are probably a result of not getting enough sleep but eye drops can temporarily help relieve those.  It is my Inspiration Board which can calm my nerves, help turn that anxiety into productivity and allow me to make the final escape from my bed.


There are days when these problems don't exist and sometimes I feel envious of the people who wake up and take on the day without a struggle. However, not every day is ideal, not every emotion is uplifting and not every adventure is as alluring as remaining in the dream world.* For a long time I didn't know what to call this longing to hibernate throughout the winter months but the term, "seasonal affective disorder," (SAD) seems to fit quite nicely. The Mayo Clinic defines the term as, "a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer."  Although there are alternate treatments for SAD, such as light therapy, anything to contribute to conjuring up some positivity is a plus.


Sure, I've read about things like this and had a bulletin board as a teenager with pictures of friends, torn out articles from magazines and quotes I thought were awesome.  But as an adult I hadn't put much thought into creating an actual Inspiration Board until I was in the hospital.  There were a number of circumstances which had brought me to a low point in my life and to top the chart, I ended up in the hospital for a week, stuck on IVs and confined to bed. Having my sense of worth be based on my productivity it was hard to not feel worthless, laying there, with the orders to relax and recover. Hanging next to my bed, where I could easily see it was a white board. The board was just a simple tool the nurses and doctors used to keep track of my care; it included the date, the name of my nurse for the day, when I had been given my pills, goals (such as get better, doctor evaluation, CT scan, and maybe a little reminder to use my lung exerciser and other things to keep my body from going into atrophy from the lack of movement.) It may have also been for my benefit to keep track of reality through all the pain killers and sleep I was doing, it wasn't hard to lose track of the day or who I should ask for when calling for help.


The white board was titled, "My Care Chart." The simple name was just a combination of the "chart," doctors would use to keep track of my "care," but it brought happiness to my days. I had a chart which cared about me. Someone cared about me enough to give me a chart. It could have been the pain killers causing my brain to manifest this emotional attachment to a simple saying but it was something I needed at the time. I needed to know I was worth being cared about. Thus the birth of the creation of my Inspiration Board.


When I was released from the hospital I made my very own "My Care Chart," at home. I taped up a giant piece of cardboard on the wall in front of my bed (where I could see it easily upon waking up).  It had a calendar, so I could keep track of the days, a check-off list to make sure I was keeping up with my oral anti-biotic schedule, and a list of exercises for physical therapy recovery. I added the get well cards I would receive in the mail. Then I wrote inspirational sayings on the board reminding myself, "I am worth it." I came up with my own goals list, to help get my life back on track.  My body was healing, my mind improving and my life was following the advice which my board gave me. I began referring to it as, "my inspiration board."


That was when I found an article about creating what Readers Digest magazine called, a "bliss board." The instructions being:

1. Pick a Surface.  Buy a corkboard or poster board from an office supply store.
2. Add inspiration. Attach pictures and quotes that motivate you. Hansen has "Desire, believe, and be grateful" on his and recommends adding the phrase "or something better!" across the bottom of yours to keep dreams lofty.
3. Display. Keep your board where you can see it.

I felt proud that my inspiration board had followed rather closely to the instructions for a bliss board. It brought validation to my project.  Of course not everyone needs to be validated for their tasks and successes but at the time, I did. Now it is much easier to find validation and happiness within myself than seeking it from others.  Life got less complicated, more fulfilling and less codependent when I stopped trying to get others to tell me I was worth it. Since my inspiration board started reminding me that I was worth it, I've internalized that message and can manifest it from within myself. What's wonderful is although I don't need the reminders every day anymore, they are still there when I do.


There are a number of things on my Inspiration Board today. 

• A calendar: so I can keep track of the day and important things I want to do. This also forces me to rotate my board every so often so it can continue to be relevant to my feelings and interests.  Whether I just change the calendar or rearrange all the pictures depends on if I'm still taking the time to appreciate everything on my board. It's important to make sure you don't just turn a blind eye to what your board is telling you.
• Pretty Magazine Pictures: the bright colors create positive emotions and are a nice change of scenery to the cloudy sky or snowy ground.  They are a reminder of the beauty out in the world and of the upcoming spring. Can motivate goals of places to visit one day.
• Cards and Pictures of/from Friends: Pictures of people you care about remind you that you are loved by others.  So it does matter to others what you do  and what happens to you.  Cards can also be a reminder of happy times, things to look forward to, and the people who take the time to show you they care. Sometimes sympathy cards are nice to put up (even if they aren't from anyone), because they have pretty pictures and inspirational sayings. 
• Inspirational Quotes: Sometimes I will just write it on a pretty piece of paper. Other times I write it on a pretty magazine picture I like or even just tape up the saying itself from a magazine. However they get on my board, there are sayings which can conjure up great motivation.

However you choose to construct your board, don't worry about what others think of it. It isn't for them, its for you.  Its okay not to share the board with others, its yours and is personal. Put the board in a place where you can see it daily, hopefully when you wake up, but where you can appreciate it.  Keep it current - don't be afraid to take down saying which no longer feel inspirational or have lost meaning from looking at it too much. Put up new pictures and sayings. You can always keep a folder with old pictures and sayings to reuse later if you want. The key is to keep it rotating so its always exciting and inspirational to look at.




Need some help with Inspirational Quotes? Check out some of the sayings I have on my board. Some are current, some I've taken down, some I haven't put up yet because I'm waiting to find a pretty picture to write it on. Or am waiting for the time when that quote feels most inspirational to me.

* Confused by what I mean about an alluring dream world? Well, it isn't hard for vivid dreams to know what I am talking about.  But imagine being able to go on these amazing escapades every night. Where in the real world can I swing from jungle vines, fly by flapping my arms, or breath underwater without scuba gear? If you answered, pretty much no-where, then you can understand my longing for sleep. Yes, there are people who actually do the things I just dream about (parkour up and over some tall buildings lately? Yeah? well, I haven't. Been on Survivor and actually won? Maybe not as many but a few know what that must be like in the real world.) When the emotions and physical feelings of dreams can seem just as real as in reality.  Which makes a person wonder; since these sensations are created in the brain both in reality as in the dream world, who is to say one isn't more real than the other? Of course the difference being - if you break a bone and feel it in a dream it isn't necessarily permanent or even lasting.  Also, when you wake up more than likely your bone will not be broken. However, if you break your bone in real life it will be broken until healed. But that is why we must fill our lives with amazing memories, so dreaming doesn't become the best part of our days. But that is another subject entirely.


Definition for SAD, "Seasonal affective disorder," found at http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/definition/CON-20021047.  Please see the Terms & Conditions page in regards to this article.


"Bliss Board" article found in paper copy of Readers Digest from the June 2013 issue. Readersdigest.com.