Plan your 2024 goals on National Vision Board Day – January 6th, 2024

Oprah credits much of her success to this, and so do Jim Carrey, Will Smith and Beyonce. They’ve all created a vision board in one version or another. Also known as a “dream board” or “inspiration board,” this has become a powerful tool to visualize or manifest the changes one wants to make, or habits one wants to incorporate into their life. 

At this time of year when thoughts turn to resolutions, maybe you want to try your hand at a vision board. Perhaps writing a long list of changes to make or new habits to start isn’t your thing or hasn’t worked. Maybe you’re a more visual person, need to see a picture of it rather than words on the page.  For years you may have ignored your resolution of “saving more money,” but may be more inclined to take action when seeing a large green dollar sign in your face every day.  

According to the nationaldaycalendar.com National Vision Board Day began informally around 2010 when friends got together and made goal setting into a party game. In 2015, it became an official national day and rather than have it land on a weekday – what would traditionally be a workday — they have it scheduled for a Saturday! And what better time of year than the week after the major December holidays have ended, and a new year filled with possibilities is on the horizon. By January 6, the dust has settled from the holiday chaos, and the changes that we’d like to make, or new habits we’d like to introduce are becoming crystal clear.   

Psychology Today says this about vision boards: “Vision boards are typically poster-sized and include a collage-type arrangement of images that symbolize different facets of your goals and intentions. Vision boards are useful for ensuring that your goals remain salient. That is, by creating a visual representation of your goals, you can easily look back at your vision board and remind yourself of the intentions you set. When your intentions are at the forefront of your mind, you are more likely to act in accordance with them.”

So now you’re in luck. January 6 has been designated National Vision Board Day. Take your old way of making resolutions and instead, load up on crayons, magazines, a pair of scissors, get yourself a folder and decide where would be the best place to see this board in a daily basis: on your mirror, your fridge, or your phone. Goals can be career-minded, like getting further ahead in your job, or personal, like spending less time channel surfing the TV and more time outdoors.  

If your goal is to be further along in your career, for example, it may be achieved by taking additional classes or training.  Find images in magazines or online of school graduates or someone easily climbing a ladder – whatever resonates with you. You want to spend more time outdoors?  Find photos of hikers in the woods or strolling on the beach.  Print and store the clippings in a folder for now.  

The vision board can be as decorative as you like. If you have an artistic flair, you can use a sketch book and draw your goals, and then color with markers or colored pencils to bring them to life. Know calligraphy? Spell out your 2024 intentions with big, bold, curly letters. Cut them out with artsy scissors to give them a decorative border. You get the picture. Do it every year, mix it up but most of all, have fun.

A couple of tips: 

1. Consider what’s important in your life and prioritize your goals.  Mix up your intentions with what may be easy to accomplish along with what may be difficult. That way, you will see some early success to keep you encouraged through the year.
2. Remember, this is more than just an arts and crafts session – you’re also expected to back up your goals with serious intentions to see them through. 
3. Keep it handy so you will see it every day. Take a few minutes to review every picture and take a little inventory to see how far you’ve come. Or, what you need to work on. If you want to keep it private, take a picture of it and put it onto your desktop computer.
4. When you accomplish a goal, celebrate!! Remove that visual and add in something else that may have come to your attention. 
5. If you’re more tech-savvy, visit sites like Canva or Etsy to create a digital vision board.  YouTube also has a treasure trove of videos on crafting a variety of boards. 
6. Your local library may have outdated magazines which offer plenty of vision board material.

Top photo: Bigstock