This year I responded to the challenge to state my manifesto of life and create a vision board. Each year in January, Valorie Burton, a life coach, speaker, and best-selling author, issues her challenge for woman (and men) to develop their personal Manifesto and Vision Board. Her five-day coaching leads you through the process, and challenges everyone to think about who they are, who they want to be, and what they want to accomplish.

I realize through the process of defining my goals and the things I would like to experience in my life, that it will happen only if I change my way of seeing things. I also recognize that I need to change my feeling of being “less than” other people.

That whole “less than” is a blog post for another day, but I have determined that I AM worth putting in the work for the vision for my future. Many of the goals stretch me out of my comfort zone, but I recognize that when God stretches me out of my comfort zone, the results are always a great learning experience. God is at the center of everything I want to accomplish, and many of my dreams for the future are rooted in him.

In case you are not sure what a manifesto is, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.” We often relate manifestos with political statements, but the fact is that most of us have a manifesto of life even if we have not written it down. Our core values are an integral part of the manifesto.

The manifesto I worked on encompasses several areas of life: spiritual, relationships, health, work, and finances. Last year I did the same challenge and I met some of my goals, but others went by the wayside. This year was a good opportunity to revisit my goals and I prayed about what my life needs to look like.

One of my goals last year was to write on my blog more frequently than I did the year before. I accomplished that goal with 44 posts vs. 9 posts in 2021. So I have become a firm believer in evaluating my life at the beginning of the year and stating who I want to be and how I want to live my life.

This year after I completed my manifesto I had it made into a mouse pad. I put it as a background on my computer. I made a copy and cut the five sections so that I could put them where I would see them the most. I made a bookmark of my spiritual goals and that is in my Bible. I made a copy of my health goals, and it is on my refrigerator. My work goals are taped to the top of my computer. I decided that I am going to let them permeate my life everyday so that I do not forget what I want my life to look like. Ultimately this is who I am striving to become, and I want to honor God with my life.

Doing a manifesto and vision board certainly changed the way I look at my life. It made me see that there are already some of my values and goals that I am accomplishing. And it gave me permission to dream big. With some trepidation, I decided to put my personal manifesto on my blog. Maybe some of you can check in with me occasionally this year to see if I am living the things I am professing. I may even give a monthly update about how things are going, what is working for me, and what I may want to revisit.

I would like to challenge you to join me in making your manifesto in life. How do you see your spiritual life, relationships, health, work, and finances? What are your heart desires? What are the things you have control over and how are you going to see yourself in accomplishing your dreams? I am grateful to Valorie Burton and her vision to lead individuals in such an important task. It was sometimes difficult for me to examine myself and put into words the dreams for my life. Do not be afraid of the work. It will be more than worth it in the end.

Psalm 37:23-24: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

©Linda DeLay Wallace 2023