My Visioning Process for the New Year

Life often moves at a relentless pace, pulling us in countless directions. And before you know it, it’s May and you’ve barely come up for air!

I want to give you permission to pause and dream big. To stop and actually think about, visualize, feel, and plan out what you want the upcoming year to look like.

And by pause I mean a scheduled hour (or more) chunk of time, before the end of the month, where you can sit in a cozy, quiet place with your journal and your thoughts. Maybe block the time in your calendar right now.

As we all know, the beginning of every year is filled with resolutions made and just as quickly dropped. I’m instead in favor of envisioning the year ahead. Not just the vague ‘eat better’ goal but getting granular on your vision for the next year of your life. What you desire? How you want to feel?

And then if eating better fits into the vision – great. If that resolution doesn’t help you attain the vision you want for your life – then, no surprise, it gets dropped by February!

For the past several years, I’ve had a visioning process that I truly look forward to. No fluffy resolutions I know I won’t keep. But a plan. I block out a Wednesday afternoon mid-January every year and walk though my process. An hour might be all you need. But you might just get into it and, like me, turn it into an afternoon of brainstorming, journaling, calendar planning, and crafting!

My Visioning Process

Let me walk you through my annual visioning process. If it resonates with you – give it a try!

Step 1: Pause and Reflect

Start by reflecting on your prior year. Consider dedicating a page in your journal to making a bullet list of the things that happened, projects completed, and milestones passed that you’re grateful for or proud of.

If it is hard for you to get started on this list, make it easy for your brain. Write down 3 accomplishments for each of these areas of your life: Health, Relationships, Fun, Career/Contribution. Once you get started, if there are more than 3 – keep going.

This primes your brain for joy and gratitude and sets you up for your next step – visualizing a beautiful future.

Step 2: Meditation + Big Vision + Vision Board

I love Tara Mohr’s inner mentor meditation. It gets us into the head space to dream big. Asking, what does my future self look like and what can I learn from them. You need to sign up on her email list to get a copy of this meditation. But I’d encourage you to give it a try, and journal what comes up after, as this sets the stage for your Big Vision and Vision Board. (There are also several similar free future-self meditations available through Insight Timer that fit the bill.)

After finishing the inner mentor meditation, it is time for some stream of consciousness writing of your Big Vision. Dream big here! Begin by describing what your ideal life looks like. Where are you living, what does your home look like, what are you doing with your time, who are you surrounded by, what brings you joy, what do you look like….

Then help your brain see this vision as if it is already real. This is the roll of your next step – a Vision Board. A visual manifestation of your dreams and goals. Now it’s time to get crafty. A piece of poster board, magazines to cut up, glue/tape, markers – whatever helps you get your vision down on paper.

Put on some upbeat music and give yourself 30 minutes or more to make your board. This is even more fun when done with friends and snacks!

Step 3: Objectives

Your next step is to take the Big Vision and Vision Board and start to turn it into more tangible plans and action items. Now I am a planner. I love lists and checking things off lists! If that is not your jam, I would still encourage you to do this step. Why? Because when we write things down we make them happen.

Consider chunking out your objectives for the year in several categories. Perhaps Family/Relationships, Home, Health, Financial, Career/Contribution, Fun as starting points.

Under each category, list out what you would like to accomplish in that area during the upcoming year. You can have multiple things listed under each category.

For example under Contribution you might write volunteer at my kid’s school. Under Home you might write replace the grass in the yard with native plants.

Once you have your main objectives listed for each category, we get even more granular!

Step 4: Quarterly Plans

This is where the vision really begins to become a reality!

Divide your next journal page into 4 sections. Titling the sections Quarter 1 (Jan, Feb, March), Quarter 2 (April, May, June), Quarter 3 (July, Aug, Sept), and Quarter 4 (Oct, Nov, Dec).

Then list the action items you are going to take to make the objectives a reality. List those action items in the quarter you plan to take action.

For example for the Objective replace the grass in the yard with native plants:

Under Quarter 2 you might write hire the neighbor kid to rip out the sod in the yard.

And under Quarter 3 – fix the drip irrigation.

And under Quarter 4 – plant native plants.

Step 5: Weekly Check List

The weekly planner is the last step and the place to give ourselves little hits of dopamine every day. Because our brain likes it when we check things off lists!

There are so many ways to plan out your week and so many beautiful weekly planners. Get yourself a planner you love and then consider sitting down each Sunday night and listing out your To Do items for the week and then assigning them to days of the week. That way you see the steps you need to take to accomplish your quarterly goals and you get a mini reward every time you check something off your weekly list.

Writing out your weekly plan and To Do lists by hand can help it stick in your brain as an important item to complete. But putting your tasks in your electronic planner is good too!

Making It Happen

Now the fun part.

Keep your journal, goals, weekly planner, and vision board in places you see them often. Check off items on your weekly planner, quarterly list, and objectives list as you accomplish them. Look at your Vision Board and reread your Big Vision often – particularly when you feel like you have gotten off track. This solidifies your vision as reality in your brain.

And at the end of the year, make a ritual out of review your vision before starting the next years vision.  You might be surprised how many things you envisioned that you made happen!

Resources for Dreaming Big

This is the visioning process that works best for me, but there are so many other equally as valuable approaches to visioning a life you love and taking action towards making it happen.

So, I made a resource list of other tools that have helped me dream big. They might help you too!

Books

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

Meditations

• Insight Timer App: Offers several free future self-guided meditations
• Inner Mentor Meditation with Tara Mohr

Podcasts

• The Gathering Room with Martha Beck
• Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
• We Can Do Hard Things with Abby, Glennon, and Amanda

Get Started!

So, take a deep breath, schedule your visioning hour (or half day!), and ask yourself: What do I want to create this year?

Have a health Objective for the year that you need support to achieve? Schedule a discovery call today, and let’s check things off your list together!

• Dr. Emily Livengood