As the New Year comes and goes, so do everyone’s New Year resolutions. The failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is said to be an estimated 80% with most people losing their resolve and motivation just weeks later in mid-February, according to U.S News and World Report. A great way to increase your motivation throughout the year is through a vision board.

A vision board is best described as a collage of images and words representing a person’s wishes or goals, intended to serve as inspiration and motivation. Some examples of things that you could put on your vision board are pictures of your future college, goal career, favorite sport, family or things that you surround yourself with in life like pets and hobbies. You can also put words that describe your goals such as “persevere” or “content.” 

These are only a few ideas of things that you can add to your vision board, but in reality, the possibilities are endless. Mr. Davis, a physical welfare teacher here at LHS believes that vision boards are “a really powerful tool to create a different way of seeing goals.” 

Many people may find putting their goals, aspirations and dreams on a physical picture can be extremely helpful and therapeutic. This is also a great way to make new habits, build on goals and keep yourself accountable. 

“It’s important to take whatever someone wants to do and have it written down, or have it put on paper, just to have it so it’s not only in your head,” Mr. Davis said, “because this makes it more real and more likely to make a greater impact on your life.” 

Studies have shown that this is, in fact, true and that those who wrote down their goals and dreams regularly achieved them at a significantly higher level than those who didn’t. By simply writing down their aspirations, participants became 42% more likely to realize their dreams, according to UPM Communications.

A great part about vision boards is that the process is totally up to you. If you are more of a crafty person, you can take some old magazines and cut out pictures and words that speak to you. You can even print out pictures from your own life to glue onto your vision board. If technology is more your thing, you can create a Google doc and upload your pictures there. The possibilities are truly endless. After you have created your vision board, it is beneficial to put it somewhere that you will see it often. If your vision board is on a physical copy, you may hang it on a corkboard, your wall, or anywhere you see fit. However, if your vision board is online, it may be helpful to make it your screensaver on your phone or computer.

Although the new year has passed, it is never too late to create your very own vision board. This activity is an extremely helpful and important way to make your dreams and goals come to life. The best part is that you don’t have to have any specific talent to create a vision board, anyone of any age can create one designed to revolve around their life and goals.