2020 vision board

A new year has snuck up on us. “Snuck up”? you ask. Not possible: it comes every year. Same time. True, but man, 2019 flew by, didn’t it? The older I get, the faster time flies, and in the metaphoric blink of an eye, we stare into the face of 2020. What do we see?

It wasn’t that long ago, it seems, when we were talking about “the year 2000.” It was so mysterious and foreboding. “The world is going to end.” “Y2K.” “All of our technology is going to fail.” I remember when the calendar crossed over — and nothing had changed, except, well, it was “the year 2000,” which was kind of cool to say.

Now, here comes 2020. It marches in with all kinds of slogans about “2020 vision.” I’m right there, expressing positive phrases about the potential it brings, encouraging us to set our sights on what could be. And what exactly can be? Nothing — and everything.

Every year, people get excited about the new year. When landmark years hit — the 2000s and 2020s, it creates even more of an excitement. But nothing truly changes if we don’t change. The calendar flip can’t flip our lives from shipwreck to success. It can’t even take us from good to great if we don’t do something different. The saying goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” It’s not rocket science. Yet how many of us do the same thing and expect different results simply because we stayed up all night, watched a ball drop, sang “Auld Lang Syne,” and ate a pot of black-eyed peas several hours later? It’s the definition of insanity: “doing the same thing and expecting a different result.” Nothing changes for us just because the day, year or millennium has.

However, everything can also change. I do believe there is a shift that takes place as we enter new seasons of life. Something in the atmosphere changes, but it’s not automatic for us. It’s there for those who see it and are willing to embrace it. This is where vision comes in. And this is the perfect time to embrace vision. I mean, “2020 vision,” right? What we could do with that!

How do we step into 2020 with a vision that will actually yield the kind of results we desire? Intentionality. When I have not succeeded, it was often because I wasn’t intentional or didn’t remain intentional. There’s no pedestal I stand upon — having done it all right. I have plenty of drop-the-ball moments, and though I’m a native New Yorker, I’m not talking about the New Year’s Eve ball-dropping. I’m talking about failure-to see-it-through ball drops. But I have also had many successes. When I succeed, it’s usually because I was intentional. No secret formula.

What does intentionality look like? For me, it looks like words on a page and pictures on a board. Things become real for me when I write them. I hesitate to write something I am not committed to. That’s because I feel like when I write it, it becomes real, and I am now accountable. When I am not all-in, that kind of scares me, so I don’t write it. When I do, the likelihood that I will follow through skyrockets. I’ve facilitated leadership training and life coaching, and I have found most people echo that sentiment, even if it took them a while to realize why they were hesitating to write a goal. Writing is a powerful tool when utilized. The Bible says it this way: “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 2:2).

You want to run into your destiny? Write it. It could be a sentence, a paragraph, maybe a word. Write it.

A couple of years ago, I also embraced the vision board phenomenon. Right in my eyesight, across from my desk, my vision board hangs. It has pictures and words that represent my goals, my dreams, my beliefs, my passions, you name it. It’s right there for me to see. It is my vision. People actually have vision board-making parties; that’s how effective these boards have proved to be. They bring their poster board, corkboard, or whatever they want to use, along with their magazines and other supplies, and they get to work — creating a visual they can latch on to. So I ask you: “What is it you see that you want to see?” That’s not a typo. Create the image you see within yourself so you can see it come to life. I’ve heard it many times, and I believe it: “You’ve got to see it before you see it.” That’s where a vision board will help.

My board needs updating. Some things will remain, but some things must change. So heading into this new year, I want to put that vision before me.

What about you? Remember, no matter your age, no matter your stage, vision is important. No matter how many times you’ve “failed” or your number of successes, if there were no reason for you to have a vision in 2020 — a 2020 vision — you wouldn’t be here still, but you are. So will you join me in writing the vision plainly and creating your vision board — and then going after it?

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.