New year, new you! Or, maybe not. It’s not unusual for people to promise they will change for the better at the start of a new year. They make resolutions, set goals, and meticulously take steps to turn them into a reality. At least, they do for a bit.
The Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University reports that only 9% of Americans who make resolutions complete them. Of the 91% that fail, 23% quit within the first week, and 43% fail by January’s end. One of the biggest reasons for this is a lack of motivation and accountability when setting these goals. People tend to make resolutions for the sake of tradition rather than true motivation and don’t hold themselves to any standard or consequences when they inevitably fail.
But today, we will try to help ensure that we are in the 9% of those that succeed. We will stay motivated, visualize our future successful selves with clarity, and turn our resolutions into reality. And we will kickstart this process through the creation of a vision board.
Vision boards help to provide focus, concreteness, and clarity to goals, and serve as daily reminders of our intentions. In essence, they help to “manifest” and visualize the lives we hope to lead for the year. The process of creating a vision board can look different for everyone, but here are some of my tips and tricks.
1. Start By Physically Writing Down and Organizing Your Goals
This is my first step in creating my vision board for the year. I find that writing down my goals adds a layer of specificity and tangibility to my resolutions that makes it easier to think about and motivate toward. I recommend creating a document or writing in a journal the things that you want to focus on or work towards for the year, and organize these by category. For example, my 2024 document is organized into 4 categories; the first three are focused on an area of my life I want to improve, and the last category is dedicated to specific goals I want to accomplish:
- Health and Wellness
- Productivity
- Relationships With Others
- Targets
2. Write a Letter or Journal Entry to Yourself Envisioning You Have Already Achieved Everything on Your Vision Board
After organizing my goals, I like to sit down and dedicate 30 minutes or so to writing myself a letter. I write this letter through the lens of my future self reflecting on the end of the coming year. In the letter, I have accomplished everything I wanted to and am living the life I want to live. For example, one of my sentences in my 2024 letter reads: “I was an active participant in and stayed on top of my work load in all my classes and extracurriculars.” This type of visualization technique combines affirmations and manifestation, commonly used in sports psychology with proven results.
3. Compile Your Images and Quotes
Now the fun part can begin! Start gathering images and quotes and print them out. I tend to use Pinterest for inspiration, looking up images for each category I have laid out. Be sure to have a mix of images and quotes that are motivating and help with visualization!
4. The Assembly
After I compile my images and quotes, the assembly process can begin! Similar to how I structured my goals in my document, I like to organize each section of my vision board according to the categories I have set my resolutions in. I split my poster into four equal sections, and put the images for category in its own section. For me, this helps me declutter and organize my goals and provide more clarity and concreteness.
Once the assembly is complete, I make sure to put it in a place where I can easily look at it each night and morning. This way my vision board and the goals associated with it are the first things I think about in the morning and the last things I think about at night – times when the brain is operating in the alpha stage and is therefore more impressionable.
5. Set Scheduled Time Each Month for Reflections on Progress
For me, setting a designated time to sit and reflect on my progress is really helpful in holding myself accountable and keeping myself on track. I schedule time bi-weekly (for me this year it’s every other Sunday) where I journal my progress for the month, what I want to do better in terms of goals, and what I have left to accomplish.
6. Make it a Social Activity
Research has shown that people are more likely to be motivated and accomplish difficult tasks if they are undertaking it with others. Because of this, I like to make my vision board process a social event! I tend to set a date with some of my friends where we all get together and go through this process at the same time. If possible, I also do my check-ins with them too; this helps motivate me to accomplish what I need to and also provides a positive support system throughout the year!