Do you set yourself New Year’s resolutions?

I’m going to start this off by saying point blank that I do not make New Year’s Resolutions, and have not done so for years.  I don’t like them. And I suspect that most of the people who do make resolutions don’t really like them much either; as I write this it is the beginning of March, and most of the New Year’s resolutions that people so purposefully made as the new year rolled around have pretty much fizzled out by now. There’s a reason the gyms are so full in January… and there’s a reason why they’re not as full as the months move on. Have you ever really stopped to wonder why that is, though?

Reasons why New Year’s Resolutions don’t work

I gave up New Year’s Resolutions years ago because they never really made sense to me. Most of the resolutions that I’ve come across involve major changes to people’s standard routines; they’re kind of like diets that way… they work great at first, but unless you’re completely committed and willing to go through with a complete lifestyle change, that kind of massive shift from your regular habits doesn’t tend to work out in the long run.

More importantly, I’ve never liked the idea of “resolutions” because I tend to interpret the word negatively, as if the way I am right now is just not measuring up to some invisible set of standards . In short, I find that resolutions imply that I’m just not good enough, and I don’t like that feeling so I just don’t go there, as any good Law of Attraction student wouldn’t. Trying to make changes to your life from a feeling of inadequacy will never, ever work out the way you want. It can’t because, according to the Law of Attraction, we get what we give out. So if we approach a resolution from a negative perspective such as lack, or incompetence, or desperation… we’re going to get more lack, incompetence and desperation.

For example, if one of your resolutions is to lose ten pounds because you feel fat and you hate the way you look in your jeans, and you are focused on how much you hate the way you look now, you are highly unlikely to manifest the weight loss you’re after. What you’re far more likely to manifest is more situations that make you feel fat and make you hate the way you look. You might even go so far as to manage even more weight gain! (So much for keeping the New Year’s resolutions…)

Goal setting instead of resolutions

For me, “goal setting” works better than “resolutions”.

On the other hand, I also understand that goal setting isn’t really a bad thing; it can, in fact, help you to clarify what it is you truly want, and can also help with keeping you focused on where you’re going and what you want to achieve. But if you don’t use New Year’s resolutions, what can you do?

For me, because of the negative connotations that I have with resolutions, they are just not a good idea. What I use instead are goals, outcomes or achievements. I think about what I want to achieve and I frame it in positive terms, focusing on all the good things that will come from reaching those goals. This helps me to stay focused on the positive and keeps my goal-related vibrations high, which, in turn, makes it much more likely that I will achieve them.

Vision boards help with goal setting

Using a vision board can help you stay focused and motivated to reach your goal.

One of the tools that I find the most useful in goal setting is my vision board. What’s a vision board, you ask? A vision board is a collection of images, words and phrases whose meanings evoke the nature or personal meaning of your goals. In short, it’s kind of like a scrap book page showing all the things you want for yourself, in relation to your goal.

Vision boards can be tangible, like an actual piece of poster board or a journal that you glue and write your images and things onto, or a vision board can be electronic, such as a folder on your computer’s hard drive where you store all your images and phrases. Pinterest is also an awesome way to put together an electronic vision board that you can access from anywhere when you need a boost. And with the new “secret” Pinterest boards, you can even make your vision board private, for your eyes only, if you’re not yet ready to share your goals with the world!

The most important thing to understand when creating a vision board is that all of the images and phrases in your board should have some real emotion tied to them that inspire you, excite you and motivate you to do what you’ve set out to do. This is because, according to the Law of Attraction, it’s the emotion behind your desires that really pack the punch and kick your manifesting into high gear.  You want to feel awesome when you look at this board, so choose your images and phrases wisely, and feel free to update, add and prune as your goals evolve.

How to use a vision board

Whenever I start to feel like I’ve gotten off-track with respect to my goals, or if I start to feel frustrated, overwhelmed, or down about them, I like to pull up my vision board to remind myself of all the reasons I wanted to achieve those goals in the first place, and all of the excitement and enjoyment I felt when I set those goals for myself. Inevitably, browsing those images, key words, and inspirational quotes turns my mood around, re-energizes me, and re-focuses me on achieving all that I set out to do.

If this sounds like a better way to keep you on track with your goals than New Year’s resolutions, stay tuned for my next article, where I’ll be sharing details on how to create a totally awesome goal setting vision board that you can use for yourself!

Dream. Believe. Achieve.

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