I am not a resolutions person, nor am I a true vision boarder. In truth, I don’t like resolutions. I've come to realize that I want to build lasting habits and not focus on changing the things I hate about myself, but rather on becoming who I want to be. For me, this involves not making resolutions. To fully understand what a resolution is, let's dive deeper into the word "resolution".
Because I have to pay for the Oxford English Dictionary, I present to you, Mrs. Mirriam-Webster’s Definition of a resolution: “New Year's resolution noun: a promise to do something differently in the new year.” (“New Year's resolution.”). Also, let’s not talk about how sad this example of what a resolution truly is: “Her New Year's resolution is to exercise regularly.” (“New Year's resolution.”). A resolution whittled down to its core is a “promise”, how often do you keep promises you make to yourself? I, for one, have found that I have broken promises I have made to myself, and I almost always hold myself to a higher standard when keeping promises I have made to other people. On the flip side of this, in the effort to keep promises I have made to myself, I have stressed out so much about a resolution that I feel immobilized by the pressure I put on myself to achieve it.
I think the hardest part about making a promise to yourself is that sometimes the promises feel unattainable, and often they do not have a finite end. For example, I have promised myself that I will not eat sugar so many times that the ship has sailed so far out of the harbor that it has not come back in three years.
Why is that?
I think it is because the promises we make to other people are different than the ones we make to ourselves. I have noticed that the promises I make to other people are often task-related and have a specific end time/date, “I can do the dishes tonight,”, “I will definitely be attending your wedding!”, and “I promise, I will be at your party.”. Now all of these promises (this includes ones made to significant others at weddings, their finite end being death) all have one thing in common: they come to a close at one point or another. The promises, or rather “resolutions” we make to ourselves, in my experience, often do not have that. “I am cutting out sugar starting January 1st”, “No more DoorDash starting the 1st”, and “I WILL be going to the gym starting the beginning of the year.” I feel like I see so many iterations of this all over social media that it feels strange.
I give credit to those of you who stick to your resolutions, but I think the biggest reason most of us, myself included, end up falling short is because of two reasons:
1. We put a start date on something we could immediately start working toward, making it feel bigger than it is.
2. A resolution is merely a start without an end in sight. I believe it needs to have a goal attached.
That being said, I have coined myself a designated New Year’s Goal Girlie! If anyone wants to join me, feel free, as this is a non-paid, non-existent club that you can start your own chapter of today…and it is TOTALLY not a pyramid scheme.
In all seriousness, though, goals are things that help me keep momentum and move forward. Why? Because they are attainable. As a current recovering (trying to recover) perfectionist, attainable goals keep me from mentally pummeling myself when I always inevitably fall short. This is also where my non-traditional vision board comes in.
Now…Let’s Tackle “New Year, New Me”
As a Christian, I felt strange making a vision board of images to stare at, think about, and focus on praying to obtain that type of life that I envision for myself. It did not sit right with me, and that is my own conviction, but I also found myself wondering how people who made vision boards actually attained those things and what steps they took to get there. So, I decided to make a goal-based vision board. In reality, this past year’s 2025 board had eight sections with a few Pinterest images, inspirational quotes, and personalized non-specific goals that I revisited every few months, as well as at the end of the year, to check off the goals that were accomplished. It is more non-committal because you can visit as often or as little as you want, but there are small changes that stick with you.
Because your girl is kind of broke, or as my fellow Gen Z say ballin’ on a budget, I use Notion. It's free, sometimes irritating, but it is malleable, and can be accessed through your desktop or on any device that has the app. I can't post a picture of what my board looks like because I do not have the credit for the images or quotes. But here is an idea of what one section layout from 2025 looked like (Use your beautiful big imagination, please):
Graduate and Begin a Career. (Heading)
C.S. Lewis (Insert quote)
Jane Austen (Insert quote)
(Insert four images here to make a giant square of inspiration.)
[] Speak at a conference (Checklist of goals)
[] Graduate in May 2025 (Checklist of goals)
[] Apply for jobs and internships (Checklist of goals)
This year, I have seven smallish sections like this, but they all correlate to something personal, like projects I am working on, the DCP, and my physical health goals. I like doing it this way because I can check things off as I go. In all honesty, I did not complete much of my list this past year, but I am glad I tried.
Goal-Based Vision Board
For 2026, I decided to have a motto for the year and 5 large but attainable goals. As someone who overthinks, stresses out, and is a perfectionist, I am trying to put more trust in God and his plans. While also making sure I am living my life to the fullest potential, that I can.
So, my motto for 2026 is: No Backseat Driving.
I am taking everything and placing it all in God’s hands, not my own. This doesn’t mean I won’t take steps in certain directions, but I will walk through the doors he opens and trust him to drive my preverbal car, while I try to chill and eat French fries in the backseat. I also understand that many of you reading this might not be of the same faith. I don’t want this to turn you away from this blog. I am mainly trusting the process instead of thinking three steps ahead in the hopes that I won't end up as exhausted as I’ve been the last few years.
Things I am Doing Differently in 2026
My Five Big, Yet Attainable Goals are as Follows:
1. Finish my long-form project, at least the first draft
2. Spend more time exploring this blog and my writing interests.
Post blog/articles one-two times a week, which is anywhere between 52-104 posts by the end of 2026. If I post during holiday weeks.
3. Work on building muscle and continuing to have a healthier relationship with food.
Remember, there is no “bad” food, just eat to fuel your body and pay attention to what you choose to fuel it with in moderation.
4. Have fun exploring the DCP, what opportunities arise from it, and say yes to what feels right but makes you a little uncomfortable.
5. Spend more quality time training Remy (my labradoodle)
The most important thing to remember when creating these goals and jotting down what you want to complete within the new year is to have grace for yourself. Do NOT expect to complete them all or use them as a strict guide that your life must follow. If you approach it that way, you might be shutting doors that would otherwise be open for new hobbies, job opportunities, events, and people. So I guess what I am trying to say is, do not use it as a road map, but a list of stops to make if you pass them on the journey. Take it from someone who has used it as a road map; it makes the year not very enjoyable. Don't be afraid to go off the beaten path if you see something cool!
I want to end by saying in no way am I a professional or expert on these subjects. This is just how I approached the new year at the beginning of 2025, and I liked it enough to continue it into 2026. These goals also aren’t the only things that I do; I also have a prayer board that helps me sit down and focus my requests/feelings, pray over them, and putting them on the board almost works as a release since they are no longer physically in my hands. I also journal sometimes. My point is that this is just one thing. It is not something to live your life by, but to help you stay motivated and see if your goals even stay the same throughout the year.
I had goals of learning to play an instrument and getting better at art during 2025; those fell to the wayside as I began to focus more on writing. So my goals ultimately shifted and morphed into this blog in a roundabout fashion. Be flexible, don't be so strict with this that you forget to follow the side quests, or things that might interest you. Be kind to yourself this new year! Just see where life takes you as you learn new things.
Side note: Don’t forget that this is truly just my opinion and nothing more. I quite literally went to dinner with family on New Year’s Eve after writing this, and realized that resolutions might be very similar to goals after talking with them about theirs. So… this is just me thinking things out, I guess. Let me know if you try a Goal-Based Vision Board or New Year's Goals. I would love to hear how it's going.
Happy New Year!
I wish you well as we embark on this journey together.