It's a new year, so it's time for new vision boards. Vision Boards are a way to visualize your goals, dreams, or ambitions. Cut out pieces from magazines or print them.
Draw them out. Paste one word across the whole thing and call it a day. The point is to do whatever you want with it as long as it motivates you for the next year. Personally. my vision board has a sad heap of books that I've been on my to-be-read list for an indescribable amount of time (maybe this year will be the year). The following are five strategies to help figure out the goal that'll be going on your vision board this year.
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Apply NowA Realistic View
This is not to say you should water down your goals. Have those ambitions but be aware of your surroundings, too. Know what you can achieve now to achieve everything else later.
For example, going back to my vision board mentioned earlier, my initial objective was to Read 50 books in a year. Doable for some but certainly not for me as someone who has not regularly read and is a college student. I narrowed it down to a starting point: one book a month. I'll get back into the habit of reading and then next year I'll raise it to two.
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Flexibility is Key
Inevitably, things change, and that means adjusting your goals as well. It can be easy enough to say, "I’ll complete my goal in one week or month," but if something happens outside of your control, go easy on yourself. If you’re determined enough, the goal will be reached more likely than not. Adjust to your surroundings and, as I mentioned above, be realistic.
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The Possibility of Wandering Off
Tie your goals down before they wander off. In other words, don’t let them get too broad. For example, the goal “Read More” is fine but it encompasses too much.
It can get overwhelming or easy to forget what your plan was in the first place. Be specific with what you want. Instead of saying “Read More,” it can turn into “Read 30 minutes a day.” or “Read one book a month.” Know what you want to get before you go on getting it.
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Small Bites
Break down big goals into small ones. This will help in keeping you both motivated and aware of where you are in your goal. My favorite strategy for this is “baby steps” Write down the things you could or did do today, however small, that lead to your larger goal.
For instance, I will make it a point to create a list of books I want to read one day then head to the library and check one out the next. It makes things more manageable in the long run and after each completion of the small goal reward yourself and keep going to the next.
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It's Me, Not You
It can be easy to follow online trends or to fall back on the expectations of others but the only way a vision board will work is if it's yours. What are your interests? What do you want to accomplish this year? Make sure the goals, pictures, quotes, and colors that end up on your vision board are only the ones you feel passionate about.
