The Power of Priming and How to Make a Vision Board (feat: PhotoWall)

At the start of each year many of us write goals, intentions and resolutions but most people don’t achieve them. 

One study found less than 8% of people stick to their new years resolutions, while another study found only 12% actually achieved their goals. Either way, it is fair to say the majority of us don’t fulfil out ‘new years goals’ even if we are confident that we will be successful.

The success rates may be low, but don’t let that deter you!

There are many suggestions for improving your chances of sticking with a new years resolution, one of the key ones is: SMART goals. Although I am all for goal setting, it is not the easiest route and requires effort so….

Want to achieve your New Years resolutions without too much effort? One way we can do this is through priming.

In my social psychology class I’ve been studying the impacts of goal priming on behaviour and even if we only view the prime subconsciously, it can help remind you of your intentions… which can reinforce your goals to influence your behaviour. 

The positive effects of priming have been found in a range of areas from encouraging environmentally friendly practices to dieting and weight-loss goals.

So you may be wondering how do we prime ourselves to encourage goal achievement?

Vision Boards

This year I’m creating a vision board to try ‘prime’ and surround myself with reminders of my goals and aspirations for the year ahead. There are many of ways to create vision boards, but I have opted for a simple, clean look that doesn’t require heaps of time and effort. I got inspiration from @rrachelcatherine. 

Step 1: Find the Right Pictures 

You’re going to want to find pictures that inspire you and represent the goals you want to achieve. For example:

• if you want to live in the present more this year, you might find pictures of the sunset to remind you to stop and check in with yourself every evening.
• if you want to eat healthier grab pics of the foods you would like to try eat more.
• if you want to try catch up with friends more, find pictures of people going on adventures and hanging out.

Yeah … it’s that simple and pretty self explanatory. 

I got most of my pictures from Pinterest but I also included a couple of my own pictures too. I chose pictures of studying, day trips and graduation … essentially all things I am working towards and hoping to achieve. 

Step 2: Find Inspiration Words 

I have seen many people on my Instagram pick a “word for the new year” and this word is usually something they want to try emulate or focus on throughout the year. 

So you can pick some words like; creativity, balance, peace or hope. For this part, I personally picked a bunch of quotes that I felt I needed to be reminded of … especially on hard days. 

I ending up picking my favourite quote and made it into custom a large canvas print from Photowall so I could be reminded of it regularly and keep it for years to come. 

If you would like to print some of your vision board pictures onto canvases to keep around your house as some aesthetic decor, you can use the code: pwfindyourownhope25 to get 25% off your order (offer ends 8th March 2021).

This was the quote I chose:

“For what it’s worth… it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.”

— F Scott Fitzgerald

Step 3: Print Your Pictures & Start Arranging 

The rest of my vision board pictures I printed at Big W but you can buy photo paper or print in colour at home. I chose square prints because I thought they looked cute and give the illusion of an Instagram feed.

Arrange the pictures in which ever way you like and try find spots around the house you will see them regularly like, next to your bed, near your work desk or by the front door.

I have put a bunch next to my study desk to keep me motivated and to remind myself what I am working towards.

Thanks for checking out this post and I hope it might help encourage you to achieve your goals this year. If you try it out be sure to tag me on instagram @findyourownhope so I can see your lovely work!

Have you ever tried a vision board before? Or do you know someone who you think should? Be sure to send it to a friend!