Goals. We all have them.
And they start weighing heavily on our mind around this time of year. In about a week, everyone will start asking you, “Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?” And many of us will enthusiastically say yes and then forget all about them by the end of January.
But now there’s an easier way to stick to your goals.
You may have heard of vision boards – a tangible collage of pictures designed to help you clarify and focus on things you want or want to happen in your life.
But you probably haven’t heard of an audio vision board – an audible collage of songs designed to help you clarify and focus on the things you want or want to happen in your life.
First, decide on your goals, wants, resolutions. They can be very down-to-earth like drink more water or pie-in-the-sky (we prefer cookie-in-the-sky) like winning the lottery.
Second, choose a song to represent each goal/want/resolution. More on this in a minute.
Third, make a cd or playlist.
The beauty of the audio vision board is that you can take it with you anywhere and refocus on your goals.
In traffic? Listen to your audio vision board.
On a walk? Listen to your audio vision board.
At the gym? LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIO VISION BOARD.
It’s a musical mantra that allows you to refocus and rededicate yourself to your goals with each listen.
Think through the past year. Is there anything that worked really well for you? What about what didn't work?
Goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. For example, a regular goal could be "get rich." A SMART goal would be "Put $200 in savings each month for the entire year."
What are some realistic things you can accomplish in a year? Think through what you would like to see in a variety of "life buckets":
You get the idea. It's perfectly ok to set a goal to see your friends more often or to take more time for yourself.
This part is very personal.
Some of you will need the song to be extremely close to the goal. Let’s use the example of drinking more water (a really great goal, btw). You may need a song like this to remind you:
It’s catchy…if you’re 5.
We recommend choosing something a little more listenable, but that still reminds me of water. Like this:
Or something like this, a song literally made from water:
It’s all about what works for you.
Choose songs that pump you up, create the vibe you want for the year, and keep you focused.
And most importantly – create a mix that you want to keep listening to. For example, if you’re torn between the very literal “drink more water” song and TLC’s Waterfalls, but you know you’d never listen to the literal song more than once, go with Waterfalls.
Have fun and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
