Creating a Map to Your Treasure

By Teresa Pangan, PhD, RD

This is not a hunt for gold, diamonds or buried half-million dollars.
This is creating a visual map of goals you want to happen in your life –they are goals that at this time seem far out. They are your treasure.

A treasure map is a collage of pictures cut from magazines, printed from the Internet, or even sketched. At times a treasure map is referred to as a vision board.

Keep in mind a ‘treasure’for the treasure map is not necessarily a tangible item. It could be intangible like rich relationships with friends and/or family. It could be a feeling of confidence and peacefulness or a feeling of energy and passion for life.

Getting Started

To get started, you first get in your safe zone. Pour yourself some hot tea, a glass of water or wine. Get comfortable somewhere you like to let down –in your home is best. Put on some of your favorite music. It is best to give yourself a set time this first session –one hour or two is usually enough to get a good start. If you go longer, it diminishes the effect of inspiration, brainstorming and spontaneous reaction to the development of your true treasure.

Select a time frame for your map –do you want to create treasure/goals for one year out, five or fifteen? My preference is start with at least five years. The goals preferably are goals that appear outside of your reach but with some help from life you believe deep down you could achieve them. One year is too short a time frame for goals to come to fruition. This is why I like to create the map for five or ten years out.

What Are Your Goals?

Many people freeze up here. No worries. You can shoot from the hip and use whatever comes to mind now as you are in a comfortable zone and feeling inspirational. Or if you are a planner and shooting from the hip gives you tingles up and down your spine, read through the article on Creating a Life Plan and define the areas of priorities in your life. No need to get into nitty gritty details. The main thrust is figuring out the major priorities in your life. The most common life priorities are

You may name the major priority areas in your life differently, take one off or split one out to two separate ones, but this is a good place to start. Write down each of your life priorities in list format on a piece of paper with a couple lines between each one. Take a deep breath, let out slowly and look at the priority listed first. Ask yourself, what objects, images or actions come to mind when thinking five or ten years out about this priority. Where do you want to be with this priority –and take a leap of faith with the goal you are setting. Let your mind flow and write down all the words that come to mind. Your list may include three items, one item, or fifteen. There is no wrong way to go about it.

Move on to the next life priority on your list and repeat. Spend one to five minutes on each priority, no longer. Continue on through your entire list. The entire process should take thirty minutes or less.

Examples may be:

Collect Images

I prefer to use magazines for my images. As I turn the pages often a photo will hit me as ‘the one’and it was not even on my list. Simply thinking about the priority brings out possibilities in photos on the pages. The pictures can be literal or symbolic. Use your list as a guide. You don't need to know exactly what you are looking for or how it might come to be. It's a process of opening up to opportunities and possibilities where your brainstorm list was a starting point. I recommend collecting 4 to 6 magazines on topics related to the items on your priority list when starting.

You can use the internet to find harder to find photos –those that are not in magazines typically. However, hold off on going straight to the internet until you had a chance to browse all the magazines you collected. I find a photo I never thought would be in a magazine or a priority I am struggling to put into a tangible object suddenly appears on a page. It may be in a slightly altered format from my initial vision, but turns out to be perfect when I allow myself to be open to possibilities. Once finished going through the magazines, then use the internet or sketch out your vision for the goal.

Cut out the photos as you discover them. I often cut out two or three of the same priority object and decide at the end which one represents my goal the best.

Collage

Time to get down and dirty. Select the best photos and arrange on a poster board, any size will work. Overlapping is fine or if you like them in their own space on the board, that works too. Secure them with glue and sit back and enjoy your masterpiece.

It may take one or two more sessions of working on your treasure map for you to collect all the photos and arrange them. Keep in mind that this is for you and no grades assigned.

Why Do Treasure Maps Work?

They work because you take the time to define your priorities and goals and mold them into a visual that you imprint on your mind. I have my treasure map displayed along with maps from everyone else in the family in my study where we all can see them regularly.

The treasure map is meant to be seen and referred to every day. It is a mental reminder of where you need to point your compass, where you need to take yourself a step closer to every day. By creating the map, you have set the intention in your subconscious. Now decisions you make every day will bring you closer to achieving the very goals you thought were out of reach.

What is on My Treasure Map?

Do Treasure Maps Work?

Yes -- many that have used them say they do. I am on my second Treasure Map and nearly every goal I set came true on my first one.  I believe they work.