The last couple of years have been a roller coaster, so if you're ready for a fresh start, you might be thinking about setting some goals for yourself. Before you do, make sure to spend some time asking yourself about your vision for the year to come – and beyond. Read on to discover a simple framework to help you develop a vision that feels ALIVE with possibility, power and purpose – plus some flower essences to help you give birth to that vision.

The difference between a vision and a goal

Regardless of whether your focus is on your health, income, relationships, travel plans, career aspirations or personal development, goals help you get to where you’re going and monitor your progress along the way; they’re like roadmaps and signposts on your journey.

Your vision on the other hand, is your destination: the over-arching outcome that you’re intending to achieve.

Your vision should therefore guide your goals, because to paraphrase the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there – if you only walk long enough.’

Your goals speak to your head, but your vision calls to your heart

Goals speak to your rational mind. They lend themselves to spreadsheets, tracking tables and bar graphs and other things that are black and white, cut-and-dried, and either achieved or not. And more often than not they require you to exert lots of willpower, apply lots of self-discipline, and take a structured approach to their completion.

A vision, on the other hand, lends itself to butchers’ paper and crayons, symbols and pictures, layers and nuances. It whispers to your heart and soul, inspiring you to tap into your intuition and imagination in a way that’s creative, free flowing and makes you and your dream feel ALIVE.

Where goals encourage you to knuckle down and work hard, a vision makes your spirit soar, pulling you towards it in a way that feels light and uplifting.

Flower essence tip: Visions and goals are most likely to become reality when you're able to put habits and frameworks in place that align your actions with your long-term priorities and intentions. With that in mind, consider the ritual of working with the Pure Potential Kit to inspire you to set yourself up for success by creating conditions that empower your growth. Made from the Giant Sequoia tree, this flower essence and flower essence mist are ideal for those who want to make meaningful progress towards their goals.

Imagining the future when you don’t know what you want

It sounds nice in theory, but in practice, we’ve learned over the years that many people find it difficult to picture an ideal future that feels attainable for them. Often, they simply can’t figure out what they want.

This especially seems to happen at times when you’re primarily motivated by getting away from things that you don’t want in your life, and consequently can’t even imagine a time when you could have anything and everything you do want.

But when it comes to manifesting your dreams and taking action to bring them to life, setting an intention of moving towards a particular outcome is much more sustainable and motivating than putting your focus on moving away from those things you perceive as undesirable. (That’s why one of our core healing philosophies here at Tribe of the Tree is to encourage you to always put your emphasis on where you want to go, not where you’ve been).

Flower essence tip: If you’re ready to welcome in something new, consider the ritual of working with our Manifestation Mojo flower essence to help you clarify your heart’s desires and get ready to bring them to life.

Creating a vision that’s ALIVE

We’ve developed the framework below to help you create, connect with and act on a vision that's powerful, compelling and bursting with possibility. Use it to bring your dreams to life too by ensuring that your vision is characterised by being ALIVE: aspirational, love-based, impactful, vivid and energising.

Aspirational

In order to be enticing and compelling, I find that my vision needs to involve a bit of stretch. You'll know you've got it right when you recognise that achieving your vision is going to require you to grow in some way. (For example, my vision pushes me to step up and become comfortable talking about our flower essences and energetic healing philosophies on a larger stage).

Flower essence tip: Sometimes, your vision might seem to require you to be the best version of yourself that you can be, making you feel intimidated rather than inspired. When that’s the case, consider working with our Destiny Calls flower essence to inspire you to step into your life purpose, or Pure Potential (also mentioned above) to back up your intentions as you reach for your highest potential feeling aligned, purposeful and supported. 

Love-based

Your vision for your future should fill you with joy and make your heart sing at the idea of creating and experiencing something that you love. It might also trigger other positive emotions, like pride, gratitude and a sense of satisfaction.

Any aspects of your vision that don't elicit these kinds of heart-felt responses or that trigger negative emotions of any kind have no place in your vision, and warrant a re-think.

Flower essence tip: If you're finding yourself focused on limiting beliefs or unfinished business from the past when you really want to looking forward, consider the ritual of working with the Baggage Buster Kit to support your intention of letting go of your old stuff. This combination of flower essence and flower essence mist is made from a native Australian bush called Darwinia, and is especially wonderful to work with when you're ready to release old habits, mindsets and emotional patterns. 

Impactful

One of my favourite practices is to incorporate aspects of my vision in my daily meditation, and I’ve noticed that when I do, one of the most powerfully motivating ways to do that is to focus on the impact that my vision-brought-to-life has on myself and others.

Even if you’re not into meditation, try this for yourself by getting quiet for a moment and tuning into the impact your vision will have on your own life and that of your loved ones, your community or even the planet.

Flower essence tip: If you’re visualising yourself welcoming in changes in your career or life purpose consider working with the three flower essences in our On Purpose Kit: Destiny Calls, Connection Creator and Treasure Hunter to centre your focus and help you on your way.

Vivid

When imagining your vision, have fun dialling up the brightness, clarity and other sensual elements of the images or movie that run through your mind, and make sure to include yourself in those images.

This practice helps you become more connected to what you're trying to create, increasing the potency of your dream and your ability to touch it and taste it.

Flower essence tip: Manifestation Mojo is my favourite flower essence to work with when I'm visualising in this way. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go to add some oomph to your New Year vision. It's made from a beautiful Aussie native plant called the Coral Fern, and is on a mission to help you set your intention, connect with the underlying energy of what you want, and ready yourself to receive it, in whatever shape it takes. (Look for Manifestation Mojo in the Dream Activator Kit, along with Destiny Calls and Dragon Slayer). 

Energising

A compelling vision is one that gives you a delicious, turbocharged desire to take action, so if your vision doesn’t get you excited and make you want to get moving something isn’t quite right, and you may need to ponder a bit longer or delve a bit deeper to access your heart’s true desire.

When you’ve hit the nail on the head though, tapping into the energy of your vision can be just what it takes to get you fired up and focused on executing the steps it will take to get you where you want to go.

Flower essence tip: If you’re keen to inspire yourself to take action, consider incorporating the ritual of taking Tribe of the Tree’s Dragon Slayer flower essence as you take the steps required to bring your dream to life. If you're ready to kickstart your New Year vision or resolutions, it teams brilliantly with Pure Potential and Baggage Buster in the Momentum Builder Flower Essence Kit.

Flower Essence Kits to support your New Year’s resolutions and vision for 2023

Keen for some energetic support with your resolutions this New Year? 

Momentum Builder Flower Essence Kit

Momentum Builder flower essence kit: Combines Pure Potential, Dragon Slayer and Baggage Buster to support you when you're ready to make meaningful progress, let go of whatever's holding your back and take steps to bring your actions into alignment with your long-term priorities.

Dream Activator Flower Essence Kit

Dream Activator flower essence kit: Combines Pure Potential, Dragon Slayer and Baggage Buster to support you when you're ready to make meaningful progress, let go of whatever's holding your back and take steps to bring your actions into alignment with your long-term priorities.

In with the New Flower Essence Kit

In with the New flower essence kit: Combines Go with the Flow, Baggage Buster and Peek-A-Boo flower essences to inspire you to let go of what’s holding you back so you can move forward with enthusiasm.

Pure Potential Kit

Pure Potential Flower Essence Kit: Combines Pure Potential Flower Essence with Pure Potential Mist, both made from the mighty Giant Sequoia tree, which is on a mission to show you how to reach for your highest potential feeling aligned and purposeful. 

On Purpose Flower Essence Kit

On Purpose Flower Essence Kit: Combines our Destiny Calls, Connection Creator and Treasure Hunter flower essences to support you as you move forward with your life’s work. 

Baggage Buster Flower Essence Kit

Baggage Buster Flower Essence Kit: And if you're well and truly ready to leave the energy of last year behind you, consider the Baggage Buster Kit, which combines Baggage Buster Flower Essence with our divinely scented Baggage Buster Mist. This combo is a great way to refresh your vibe and set the intention release any old stuff that you don't want to carry with you into the New Year.