Set Your Goals Creatively

Do you start the New Year with the same list of resolutions, year after year?  Try these fresh, creative approaches and set yourself up for success in 2025.

Listen to your Inner Self

Why do New Year’s resolutions often fail?  According to Mary Ellen O’Brien, a soul path alignment coach based in New York State’s Hudson Valley, it’s a matter of alignment. She has spent the past two decades helping people align with their deepest calling, and says, “The reason New Year’s resolutions often fail is that they tend to focus on external outcomes driven by a mindset of scarcity – like increasing finances, getting in shape, or losing weight. That approach doesn’t work.”

O’Brien’s method, described here, emphasizes realigning with one’s authentic self to overcome the disconnect many feel between their current life and their inner purpose. “When you approach intention setting by reconnecting with your true essence, the process shifts. It’s no longer about external pressure but about embracing who you truly are,” she explains. Her coaching helps clients identify goals, navigate obstacles, and stay in touch with their inner truth.

To begin this alignment, O’Brien suggests tuning into your energy patterns. “Spend a week taking inventory,” she says. “At the end of each day write down what energized you or what drained you. Over time, you’ll start noticing patterns. From there, list five activities that energize you and commit to doing more of them, while saying no to the things that deplete you.

Another powerful tool for reconnecting is spending time in nature. “Our modern world is so noisy that we lose touch with our inner voice. Taking a walk in the woods or even the park can help create the space you need to hear your thoughts.”

She also encourages listening to your inner guidance by taking small, actionable steps. “Your intuition leaves bread crumbs- follow them. When you’re on the right path, life feels easier and more exciting. You are no longer stuck, which is very draining.”

On a practical level, O’Brien advises starting small to build momentum.  “Rather than committing to clean the entire house, start with one drawer. Small steps lead to lasting change. When you focus on staying aligned with your inner truth, even the smallest shifts can create profound transformations.”

O’ Brien uses a metaphor of charging a battery to illustrate her philosophy. “When you charge your battery with activities and choices that come from a centered place, you’ll have the time and energy for what truly matters,” she says. “It will be easier to avoid slipping into the common scarcity mindset pitfalls such as procrastination, perfectionism, self-doubt, or over-giving.”

Make a Vision Board

According to neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart, visualizing important goals by creating a vision board is an effective strategy to manifest success. It’s basically an arts and craft project  – a collage on a poster board – with pasted on cut-out photos or words from magazines that speak to your dreams and goals.  (You can also do this digitally on Canva.) It’s important to have an idea of what you want in life before you start searching for illustrations, rather than being swayed as you browse through magazines.

A vision board might include pictures of places where you want to travel, or your ideal apartment,  or an instrument you want to learn to play. The content could address romantic desires, health goals, spiritual quests and could include phrases or affirmations.  After you have finished, keep your vision board in a visible spot in your home.

How to make a vision board

Senior Planet spoke to renowned collage artist, instructor and lecturer, Joan Hall, seeking her advice on making a vision board.  “Before searching for scrap images, have an idea of what you would like for your future. Then find photos to illustrate that vision,” says Hall.

“Vision boards can give clarity to what you envision,” Hall continues. “In the process of searching for pictures, you may find a new idea of what an ideal future may include.  And have fun with the project.,’ she adds. “Rather than just cutting and pasting separate images next to each other, try to tell a story by creating a fantasy collage.”

The Manhattan based artist shared what she considers the perfect example of a vision board. “It’s not just a cut and paste and line up images,” Hall  explained about her dazzling work (pictured at left) “but an imaginative way of putting your visions together in a collage. ”

 

 

Want more direction? Check out this blog post about vision boards.

Journaling

Another way to set intentions is through journaling. Your Senior Planet reporter does this and recommends it to her writing students. When you are putting down your goals or intentions, you leave a record that you can refer back to at any time.

One method is to free write using a prompt such as “What would I like to achieve during 2025?” Or “What did I accomplish in 2024 that I want to expand upon in the new year?” Put the prompt at the top of a page and just write for 10 or 15 minutes. No editing. No stopping to reread. Just let your pen fly across the pages. You may be surprised at what comes up during a free writing session.

After you read back your journal entry, you can use it as a springboard to create even more specific prompts or to create a list. For example, if your goal is to publish your writing, then you can then list of ways to do that: take a class, join a workshop.

When to Journal

You can be journaling all year long. Not just in January. You can find many writing prompts online. Treat yourself to a new journal book and a nice gel pen, find a comfy spot, and write your way through the new year…and meet your goals!

Have a technology resolution for 2025? Share it with Senior Planet here!

YOUR TURN

What tools and techniques do you use (or plan to use) to keep on track with your 2025 goals?  Share your tips and ideas in the comments!

 

Photo Credit:  Vision board created and photographed by Joan Hall@2024

 

Kate Walter is the author of two memoirs: Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter; and Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak and Healing. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, New York Daily News, AM-NY, Next Avenue, The Advocate, The Village Sun and other outlets. She taught writing at CUNY and NYU for three decades and now works as a writing coach.

Photo of Kate Walter by Su Zen