A NEW New Years Goal

All my adult life I have set goals on New Year's Day.  Sometimes I accomplished them, sometimes I didn't.  Last year I learned a new way of setting goals that has put me on the path to success!  Today I would like to share it with you.

The traditional way of setting goals is to write down what you want to accomplish.  (Yes, I did say write it down.)  Then write out details of how you plan to accomplish your goals.  Ideally, one should review those goals frequently and work on them.  Most people give up or lose motivation by March, if not sooner.  Every year at the gym I go to, it is suddenly packed at the beginning of January.  You can hardly find a parking spot, much less a tread mill.  Within a few weeks it starts to dwindle, and by March everything is back to normal.  This is a yearly pattern.

As I said, all my adult life I have set goals on New Year's day, then worked on them on and off throughout the year.  Sometimes I would forget to work on them throughout the year.  At then beginning of the next year I would go back and review my goals from last year.  Sometimes I had accomplished them, sometimes I had not.

Last year I learned something new about goal setting and how to actually have continuous motivation and SUCCESS!  It is called a vision board.  You have probably heard of it.  Last year I set and accomplished EIGHT goals.  Some were little, and some were huge and life-changing goals!

There are a myriad of ideas out there about how to do a vision board.  What I am going to share with you has worked for me, and for many people around me as well. Using a vision board has been revolutionary in my life!    A vision board is like goals on steroids when you do them the way I am about to describe.  This really works!

First you need something to put your goals on that has a border around it.  This can be as simple as painters tape on the wall in the shape of a square, or as elaborate as a frame with cork board or a metal backing.

Next you need pictures and/or words to put on your vision board.  The more senses you can appeal to with your brain the better, so I recommend pictures AND words.  It doesn't need to be anything fancy.  You can draw, cut pictures out of magazines, or print them off.  Make sure you have all positive pictures and positive words.  For example, if you were trying to overcome a fear of something, you would use a word like "fearless", which is positive instead of "no fear", which is negative.  Feeding your brain positive information will lead to positive results.

You can start with just one goal, or you can set quite a few.  They should not overlap on your vision board.

One thing that is different about this type of goal setting as opposed to the traditional way is that you don't actually need to know HOW you are going to get to your goal when you set it.  You know what you want, but you don't necessarily need to know at the beginning how you are going to get it.  Just set the goal.

Once you have your vision board ready with pictures and words you will want to find a place to put it that is close to your bed.  You are going to spend 3 minutes looking at it first thing in the morning right when you wake up when your  brain is the most impressionable, and 3 minutes looking at it last thing before you close your eyes to go to sleep at night.  This allows your brain to work on your goal while you are sleeping.  During these 3-minute time periods you need to employ as many of your senses as possible to envision that you have just accomplished your goal.  What does it feel like?  What does it taste like?  What does it look like? Is there a smell associated?  What is going on around you?  Envision your goal like you are re-living a memory.  Focus, repetition and intensity are key!  3 minutes first thing in the morning and 3 minutes last thing at night..... every day.

"Does just thinking about it make it happen?" you ask.  No, but the brain has immense power to make things happen in your life, and visualizing it as though it is already real is half the battle.

"But how do you figure out the HOW?" you may wonder.  Your brain is so amazing.  It is so amazing that it already knows the answer.  The problem is that you don't know that it knows the answer.  How do you find out then?  It is called meditation.  Meditation is a most amazing tool that I never knew existed.  Find a quiet time and place for 5-10 minutes a day.  I like to sit next to my bed by my vision board.  Get in a comfortable position.  Close your eyes.  Have a pen and paper ready.  Then clear your mind of everything except the thing on your vision board that you are working on.  Don't try to direct your brain, just let it go where it wants on the subject you are contemplating.  It is the strangest secret in the world.  As you sit and meditate and let your brain go where it will with your goal, you will find ideas coming to you.  Write them down as they come.  Then do them, preferably in the order you received them.  You will find that you will get ideas that you have never thought of before.  Ideas that are new and amazing.

As you concentrate on your vision board 3 minutes first thing in the morning and last thing at night, and spend a few minutes meditating every day, you will find that things will start to come off your vision board.  You will find that you will begin to have success.  You will start to accomplish your goals!

So this year try something different!  Try a vision board.  You will thank me later!

Happy New Year!  May it bring you great success!