As a girl with ADHD and an ever-evolving sense of purpose, I’ve historically struggled with setting too many goals for myself. One might assume that it’s due to high personal expectations. Perhaps there’s some truth to that, but I believe the heart of the problem lies in my desire.
I have a gargantuan amount of interests.
I’m exaggerating, right? How many activities can one person be interested in?
Well, over my lifetime, I’ve had interest in…
Skateboarding, longboarding, soccer, dancing (in general), ballet, speaking French, speaking Spanish, dog agility courses, recurring volunteer work, pickleball, tennis, speed skating, rollerskating, guitar playing, piano playing, baseball, writing books, having a blog, creating vlogs, poetry, songwriting, color guard, cheerleading, softball, show choir, theatre acting, film acting, journalism, anchoring, divinity school, psychology, weight lifting, running, marathons, swimming, sewing, painting, archery, horseback riding, fashion, having a family, and selling stickers.
I’ve likely forgotten a thing or two.
If you can relate, then the new year might have transformed from a dazzling time to a discouraging time for you. As a kid, I used to love the idea of new possibilities, but without a clear direction to head in, I faced failure over and over again. How could one go through that and not feel some dismay at dreaming?
This year, I wanted to change that. For the first time, I created a vision board.
Vision boards have gained popularity with Pinterest and the widespread idea of manifesting—willing something into happening through belief. As someone who likes crafting and someone who highly benefits from visuals, it seemed about time that I created one of my own.
I started by going to Pinterest and collecting images that represented my hopes for the year. The pins I gathered grew larger than I anticipated. Eventually, I didn’t even know if I’d be able to fit everything onto the board I had purchased.
Some people claim these vision boards date as far back as the Bible, and God knew I needed help with mine. Call it revelation or good fortune, but while strategizing how to piece it all together, I had an idea.
What if I split my goals up by season?
Like usual, I had many things I wanted to accomplish. To list a few, I wanted to become fluent in Spanish, workout consistently, finish writing my manuscript, travel, go camping, refine my soccer skills (again), and I’m already overwhelmed and that’s not all of them.
If I tried to tackle each goal every week of the year, I’d have a full year of failure (in at least one area, if not more). I might get to the point of stagnation due to the anxiety of having too much to tackle, and that would mean I wouldn’t progress at all.
However, if I split up my vision board by seasons, then I could divide and conquer my goals. I didn’t need to refine my soccer skills yearlong—heaven knows I’m not going professional any time soon, if ever. But I could use the warm summer as a time to get out on the field and focus on drills I used to practice.
The same went for most of my other goals. If I spent springtime going to the gym, the habit would likely continue throughout the rest of the year, with some flexibility for other goals, like the previously mentioned soccer. In autumn, I could focus on lifelong financial goals, and in the winter I could focus on travel plans.
Maybe you’ve already seen a few flaws, no? If I want to travel in the winter, then wouldn’t I need to plan ahead of time for that (i.e., save money, buy tickets, make reservations). So, wouldn’t that seep into the other seasons?
True! It would. But organizing the timing of my goals strategically would help them support one another. For example, by focusing on finances in the autumn, I could have the money needed to travel in the winter.
When it came down to it, the vision board was serving as a guide, not a pedantic despot. I couldn’t completely ignore finances until fall, but I could have a season when I put more energy and focus into that area.
Picking a corner of the board for each season, I pasted down the images. The goals were split up and I almost had my board completed. The only empty space was in the center.
Out of all my goals, I wanted to pick two that I could focus on the entire year. I considered my values and ultimately what mattered the most to me. What outcomes did I want, and what were the logistics of getting those outcomes?
Because family mattered the most to me, and because of where I was at in my life, I decided to prioritize speaking fluent Spanish and finding ways to have an even stronger relationship with my partner.
Once I finished pasting in all the pictures representing these goals and outcomes, I sat back satisfied. This felt manageable. This, I could do.
I placed my vision board in a visible area I would walk by often. Now, from time to time, I glance at it to remind me of my current priorities. Studying it sparks hope and motivation within me. It makes me feel like I can grow into the person I want to become this year.
Once I’ve lived through all the upcoming seasons, I’ll recap you on how effective my first vision board was. So far, it’s been great, but it is still January.
Regardless of how much I achieve, this approach has not only calmed me about the future, but it’s given me enough structure and flexibility to encourage me about it too.
So, thank you, vision board. I appreciate what you’ve done for me.
2026, I’m ready for you.
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