Setting goals, starting over, making resolutions for the new year–all so cliche. BUT, I love it and starting a new year is as exhilerating to me as sitting down with a fresh notebook and a new box of crayons. Setting goals for the year helps me stay motivated and move forward. It helps me look past the daily monotony and complacency I can get caught in if I’m not careful. I see starting a new year as a blank canvas and an opportunity to dream big.
For the past several years Jared and I have traditionally made “vision boards” as part of our new year celebration. Having a new baby kept us close to home this year, so we spent New Year’s Eve cozied up with re-runs of Bones, chocolate cake, and a stack of old magazines–and worked on our 2012 goals.
The idea behind a vision board is that when you surround yourself with images of your goals–who you want to become, what you want to have, things you want to do, where you want to live, etc. your life starts to change to match those desires. But because I’m naturally very visual, a vision board works for me as “seeing” my goals helps me stay motivated and gives me clarity and direction. In my day-to-day, it’s easier for me to keep priorities, set boundaries, and say yes (or no) when I know my “vision.”
I started making magazine-collage vision boards and doodled dream lists way before I even knew these visuals had a proper term. Actually, this is a pretty funny story–when I was 14 and totally boy-crazy I journaled about the “perfect guy.” I was very specific about qualities I thought this “dream guy” should have, all the way down to my preference for brown eyes. I ended up finding that list several years later–while I was engaged to Jared.
Reading that list again was hilarious, but also eye-opening when I realized my future husband fit every single preference on that list–from personality traits to looks–except that he had blue eyes, not brown. Now that I have four children with amazingly beautiful blue eyes, I’m definitely glad I overlooked that one factor. 
How fun!! I might try this some year… I’ll have to see if the library has some old magazines I can have though.
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