What is a blessing and my new vision

What do you find is a blessing in your life? Is it a material thing? Is it all you have in your possession? Is it a person, a friend, a family member, your children, your parents? Our blessings can be so many things - and its different to all of us. But I caution myself that I don't put too much importance on what I "have" or "don't have." Everything for me has the real reason in the background - but all people see are the material thing (except those who know me well - I mean, really know me and have been through hard stuff with my life and hard stuff in there life - they know who they are). I don't usually say anything about what that item actually means.

Case in point: I posted something this morning and have been posting about another thing that I have in my possession. But those things mean more than just their physical properties. My vision boards in the past were loaded with visuals of things that represented something greater. And the new one I'm creating will have brand new visuals, and updated old visuals. Here are the first 2:

1) There will be no NEW car on my new vision board. 

My previous one had a Cadillac on it. It represented me having wheels that were my own, my choice, and at the time I really wanted one. When I first moved back to California 8 years ago, through no fault of anyone except myself - I found I was in a position of limited choices so I chose. I had 2 options only - or so I thought then. I was overwhelmed with the generosity but also felt backed into a corner and had to choose. I know now that I could've chosen very differently. But I didn't and that is on me. I chose to have something daily remind me of a negative in my life - literally every day. I appreciated it beyond what I could say - but it wasn't what I had planned over 6 mos. I knew what I could afford; I knew what I needed to buy or finance and I did not follow it. So I lived with my bad decision for 8 years. I have to say it was a good car - and if you did research like I did then you know my car lasted WAY longer than it should've. My previous car was meant to last longer than they ever had but not over 200k miles - not for anyone who wasn't a mechanic like I'm not. (My dad did try though; bless his heart - and I will be forever grateful of all the info I retained. I learned enough from him that there is no mechanic or repair shop anywhere that can take me for granted.) But I kept up on the oil changes, replaced the tires and brakes (thanks to my brother for the help), and it ran for 8 years and 157k miles under my care (I bought it at 48k miles). It was still running well when I sold it, too. Anyway, it ran its time with me. I said goodby to Blue Iris last November.

As you know I now have RO - my beloved 2017 Nissan Rogue. But you can say that I made a mistake too with this one. Instead of buying it outright, I financed again. Financing is evil - and I succumbed to my emotional need, again. But I'm happy because it was my choice in all aspects. I chose it - and I chose to finance it. It is still, however, a goal realized - because it's mine. I researched, I was willing to walk away, I knew what I wanted, I stuck to my 3 principles: Under 70k miles, 14k or under, 2016 or newer. All 3! But I still have to complete my original goal - bought and paid for, no car payment, no debt. So instead of a new goal car on my vision board, I put my current car and a 3 year plan to pay it off, instead of 6 years. I was debt free for 4 months (a goal I worked very hard on - and failed at - for over 10 years). It was a great feeling. And though some would say a car payment is good debt - I challenge that it is not. Its something we can easily save up and buy cash for without paying exorbitant taxes and other fees which compound over time that a dealership tags on. Though I put almost 25% down - if I were to pay it off right now - I'd actually be paying $3k over the sale price - which is 25% MORE than the original sale price! So yeah, financing is evil. Anyway, I made that decision but I can say that it was mine, which is a better place to be in than I was before. I also love that I feel I can invite traveling coaches, executives, friends, family into it and have plenty of space and amenities to make people feel comfortable. No, its not a Cadillac - but it's perfect for my needs and its pretty. 

2) Another item is a diamond and aquamarine ring. 

Anyone who knows me also knows I'm obsessed with my birthstone: Aquamarine. This morning before Bible study I did a little dreaming and ironically a Tiffany ad popped up. I followed it and through a few more clicks found the perfectly simple yet beautiful ring of my dreams: a slightly rounded princess-type cut 1 carat aquamarine with a band made up of mini diamonds. It was $6k. I posted that one day I will own such a ring and because I can buy it for myself - or the other option would be that it could be an engagement ring IF I met a husband-possible man who had the means. But that's not really the goal, though, and I realized that after I posted. What's really behind it is that I'm further at a place in life that I can easier purchase something of this caliber without help or financing. Independence, stability, confidence. Its not about the $6k - its about why I can plunk down $6k for something. Because if I can do that - I can definitely help lots of people, too. To put it plainly, if I'm at this point, it also means that I have the financial means to help others who don't have the ability or are having a hard time. That's what this ring means to me. A bonus meaning is also if this ends up being an engagement ring (whether its the $6k or $600 version) that means I've been blessed with meeting the man that will be my life partner. But this is a subject for a separate blog - one that I am not in the mood to type about at this moment.

So yes, I do vision boards, and yes they have "things" on it. But it's not because I want to be a millionaire - it's because I want to improve myself as a person in multiple ways - and these are just the items I like that will help remind me of why I get up every morning, why I make the decisions I make every day, and how they remind me to get back on track if I've veered off-road when I shouldn't have.

So my questions to who is reading this are: What would you put on your vision board? What is the real reason why it's there? How are you going to make that happen? Who are you going to share it with to help keep you accountable? Lastly, when are you going to start? My suggestion is now, today, this second. And to help, I suggest a vision board with all your favorite "things." 😉

Lots of Love,

Tiffany 💋