I had never attended a vision board event before or even attempted to create one. But at the start of the new year, I knew it was something I really wanted to do and give others the opportunity to dol. So, a vision board workshop seemed like a perfect idea for our first circle of 2019.

But I also didn’t want it to be just a session of cutting and pasting out of a magazine article. I wanted an impactful event centred around concrete goal setting and direction. Although I could possibly have facilitated this myself, I thought it best to invite a facilitator experienced in running similar events and also, I wanted to be fully absorbed in the session.

And of course with some great food to go – because who thinks of goals and targets on an empty stomach? I’m happy to report that the day was everything and more that I had in mind.

To facilitate the workshop, the only person who came to mind was Segun of Rose & Clover. In 2016, I had one a giveaway ticket to a similar event she was organising, but I couldn’t make it at the last minute. The feedback from that event and how excellent it was, stuck with me and I reached out asking if she would run the session for us. She was so gracious!, and after confirming that our intentions were aligned in terms of value offering she agreed to do so. We met up for lunch before the event and I was certain again I had made the right choice. Segun found us a lovely venue in Knightsbridge – Capital Hotel –  with a private space that offered Afternoon Tea. We also had the 31 page Workbook for each participant – courtesy of Segun (Goal setting is serious business!)

Assumpta of Ave Creations beautifully styled the room with the most lovely roses to match the theme and the rather unique name cards as well! To add a bit of personalisation which I love to do, I got these postcards and wrote some encouraging words to each person (yes, even to myself as well).  Our cute sized A6 notepads were picked up from one of my favourite stores – HEMA.

Just before we started, each person got the chance to take a headshot courtesy of Mercy (imharuna.com) our photographer of the day.

To kick off, I made a short address speaking about the essence of the KacheeTee Circles and this one in particular.  The ball was then handed over to Segun as she ran through  general introductions,  asking that we all shared something on our bucket list.

After introductions, the workshop began by recapping our 2018: writing a celebration / gratitude list and generally acknowledging our wins. Next we considered lessons from the past year and what didn’t work so well – the goals we had set and why we felt we hadn’t accomplished any of it.

Then, we had  “letting go of baggage” moment, where we “released 2018”. We were encouraged to think through past hurts, people, or emotions that didn’t work well in 2018 and that could potentially be a burden for 2019 – and then to let it go, including the physical action of crossing it off the paper! That felt liberating. But what was more beautiful to see, was how all of the ladies openly shared ad talked through their doubts, fears and struggles – and how we could reassure, and encourage each other.  It was such an intimate setting that was everything I had hoped for.

The next piece of the day was designing 2019. We wrote out how we wanted to feel for the most part of 2019. We envisaged December 31 2019 and all we wanted to have achieved. We discussed strategies, timelines, tips, and brand areas of goal setting. We set out major goals to focus on and why these goals are important. We created action points and milestones – from 30 – 60 days. We wrote down our affirmations and declarations.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, the food which had been delayed for a bit, finally arrived. The sandwiches were so yummy and we – without any shame – asked for seconds and thirds!

Finally, and the highlight of the day for many people was the actual vision board making. The vision board was meant to be a visual representation of what we wanted from 2019, and all that we had talked about. From powerful images, to quotes – we were admonished to design the life we wanted!

Segun shared a very helpful tip – and encouraged us to take a photo of our vision board and use it as your screen saver. Seeing this so often would constantly remind us of our dreams and get our brains and body working to achieve this.

Five hours definitely flew by – and we wished we had more time. My highlights were the intimate conversations, the workbook sessions, the food (the salmon sandwich was so tasty!), the portrait sessions – and the physical and creative act of making our boards. Not forgetting the hugs and laughter and just how much knowledge and encouragement was shared at the end of the day.

I’m so pleased we had this Circle and that everyone else also had a lovely and worthwhile time – evidenced by the extremely positive feedback forms. The one thing the ladies agreed we could have improved on was the duration. Someone even suggested making it a weekend retreat or a follow up lunch. These are both great ideas and a retreat in particular would be fantastic!

Assumpta touched our hearts again (just as she did at the Blogger Brunch, London) but this time by gifting Segun and I two of the rose bouquets – they were gorgeous!

Oh finally, group photos and one with Mercy in it, as she was mostly behind the camera.

We kept hugging ourselves and taking photos at the Tube station while promising to catch up again shortly.

I’m thankful to these amazing ladies for being part of it and sharing so wholeheartedly! Again, it’s essentially the KacheeTee Blog in real life. Asides Assumpta and Mercy who you know from past blog posts, four other ladies here have featured in one way or the other on the blog.

Cheers to taking online connections offline!

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I’m really looking forward to our next event “An Afternoon of Books, Pizza and Wine”. For recaps of our other events see kacheetee.com/circle.

Did you make a vision board for 2019? If you didn’t, I recommend making one or at least making concrete steps and plans for the remaining parts of 2019 – the year still holds so much promise!