Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Maybe your list contains items like losing weight, getting fit, saving money, being more organized, or spending more time with family and friends. Whatever is on your list, unfortunately you will more than likely fail at keeping those resolutions. Sorry for the harsh reality, but most statistics reveal 80%-90% of people will not succeed, with up to 25% falling off after the first week, ouch.

So what’s the point? Why do we keep making resolutions year after year when we so often fail at making any consistent changes? Hope. There is a part of us that hopes this year will be different. This is the year we will stick to our diet, workout past January, and be more intentional with our kids. This is the year we will adhere to our budget, keep the hall closet organized, and learn a new hobby. This is our year.

But we inevitably fail, myself included. So in order to make 2017 THE year, I decided to change things up and make a vision board.

Back in the day when I competed on the track and field team in college, I was always told to visualize a race before stepping onto the starting line. I’m sure you’ve heard of the concept.  Visualization helped me focus on my goal, anticipate obstacles, and ultimately picture it coming to fruition. The exercise would leave me feeling motivated, confident, and ready to race. So why not take that concept and apply it to everyday life, or in this case to my New Year’s resolutions. Queue, vision board.

How to Make a Vision Board

Set Your New Year’s Resolutions

First, decide on your resolutions or goals for the year. Don’t rush into it, make a list and mull it over for a while. For specific goals, like losing weight or saving money, I love using the acronym SMART. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

I also created resolutions around qualities or characteristics I want to focus on this year. I want to be more intentional with my family, more confident in myself, bolder with my actions, and brave enough to just be myself. 

Gather Your Supplies

Find a base for your vision board. You could use a poster board, blank canvas, or picture frame. Look around the house for items to help visualize your goals. Rummage through your kid’s craft bucket, collect scraps of fabric or tulle, gather old magazines, newspapers, and photographs.

I also collected items with sentimental value like notes from my husband, and decided on words of affirmation and inspirational verses that would better represent the attributes I’m focusing on. 

Lastly, grab some glue, mod podge, tacks, or other adhesive to help hold it all together.

Build Your Vision Board

I spent an evening after putting the kids to bed, when my husband was out, to build my board. I had my list of resolutions, laid out all my supplies, grabbed a glass of wine, and set to work. I will not lie, it took a bit of time, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Taking the time to really focus on each goal and determine the best way to represent them was a great way to start the new year.

Display Your Masterpiece

This is probably self-explanatory, but you’ll want to display your board in a place where it will be seen every day. This could be your nightstand, bathroom, or even your closet. You can also take a picture of your board and set it as the background image on your computer, phone, or tablet.

Mine is currently displayed on my bathroom counter where I can look at it every morning. It’s great to take a moment and visualize my goals and set my intentions for the day.

If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution for 2017, why not try building a vision board to help you stay on track and daily visualize your goals? Maybe this will be YOUR year. 

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?