With a word, symbol, or phrase you might know a company’s vision. Having a brand shows what a business represents, and what they can offer. There’s no reason you can’t have your own life brand this year, and sell yourself success with progress towards a better you. Brand your year and live your resolution for change—with a vision to guide your actions and decisions toward what you want.

Many will tell you that lasting change requires hard work, setting measurable goals, and lots of sacrifice. These things have their place in self-improvement, but they don’t sound very sexy, and might make you want to quit before you even get started with a New Year’s resolution. It can also be tough to find a goal worth working for. You might already know who you want to be, or how you wish things were different, but it is hard to articulate those things in a way that brings results. Branding is one way to put a stamp of intent on the priorities that drive you.

Develop your brand

Finding your brand requires knowing what you want out of your year. Then you can focus on the essence of that want and put it into something you can remember–this will be the standard that guides you through your decisions and actions and keeps you on track.

What do you want this New Year?

You may already have an idea of what you want, but if not there are ways to find out. Answer a few questions to get the ideas flowing:

• How do you wish things were different in your life?
• What are the biggest obstacles to getting what you want?
• What feelings do you want to have more of? Less of?
• Are there experiences you want to have or avoid?
• What are your biggest priorities?

Making a statement with your goals

Now that you’ve described the desire for change, you need to find the themes and values that exemplify your goals. It may seem challenging, but there is always a common thread, something that calls to you like a beacon of change–this should be positive, motivating, and something you can be proud of.

My 2018 brand was “Lighten Up”. I felt weighted down with obligations and negative feelings. I wanted to declutter my life and ease some burdens, but have fun while doing so. Both the image and the statement I chose fit into my goals. This brand developed when I thought about what I didn’t want, as well as what I did. My idea was “heaviness = bad”, so what was the opposite? Lightness? It worked for me and felt right.

Your brand can be built upon a phrase, word, picture, quote/statement, or anything else that solidifies your priorities and intent. Pick something meaningful to you and your individual motivations–this has to be something that is personal to you. No one is going to be doing the work for you, and nobody else will make your decisions. This is your brand to own and develop.

Here are some ideas for picking your brand:

• A song or poem that carries your theme and reminds you of what you want
• A string of verbs that relay the actions you want to take
• A phrase or sentence that has meaning and relevance to your plans
• A picture or piece of art that embodies your ideal state
• A quote that sums up your feelings or motivations

Still having problems picking something?

• Try brainstorming all the words you can think of that describe the life you desire. Pick 1-3 of them as use these as a brand statement.
• Write your mission for a better life a few different ways using only a sentence or two. Pick the best option as your “mission statement.”

Release your brand

Glad you’ve picked something; now make it official. Commit to this idea, no matter how you’ve chosen to represent it. This is now your mantra, so make it stick. You will want to keep the impetus for change throughout the year, so consider making reminders accessible to you. I chose both words and a visual to state my brand last year. I could refer to these later, and they helped guide my efforts.

Ideas for releasing your brand:

• Screen saver (or ringtone/power-on sound) on your computer or phone
• Cover for your journal, calendar, or planner. (Or an entry marking the start date.)
• Title on your physical or virtual bulletin board
• Post on social media announcing your year of change
• Visual cue placed on your desk, wall, or nightstand
• Statement to yourself as you start your new year, with reflection and thought

Whatever you do, own your choice to change and tell yourself why it is important to you. Let your brand be the guidepost for your year, and make it clear which direction you want to take.

Live your resolutions

Now that you have your brand, put it to work. It’s time to live your resolutions like you mean it, because you do. Your year now has an identity, and it’s your job to help it be what it’s meant to be. Your brand can serve your goals in different ways, so let it.

Your brand as a choice barometer

Let your brand be the standard for ideal decision-making. Measure your choices against this, and decide if they are right for you.

When confronted with taking on more projects at work this past year, I thought about whether or not the decision would fit with my goal to “lighten up!” This prevented me from taking on a few things that I maybe would’ve done automatically in the past and suffered for later.

Your brand is a reminder of what’s important to you. You’ve already made the decision to make your brand a priority, so let this decision flow into the other ones you make throughout the year. New opportunity doesn’t fit with your ideal? Maybe it’s not right for you. A decision feels right with your brand? It’s probably working for you, rather than against you!

Directions for growth

Your brand can guide you as you learn and seek new opportunities. Staying true to your brand might help you decide what books to read, people to hang out with, and activities to do. If you have a mission it is easier to choose where your energy and time should go.

I carried my brand, and what it represented, to the library with me, in my internet clicks, and on my family vacation. This let me transform my goals from ideas into action by giving me direction for growth. I wanted to learn things that would serve my intentions, and experience things that followed my vision.

This is what my brand helped me do this past year:

1. Perform 3 rounds of house decluttering, including a big dumpster fill at the start of the year
2. Start practicing meditation more regularly
3. Take both a nature park family road trip and a much needed getaway with my friends
4. Make regular breaks a part of my standard work and life routine
5. Say no to unnecessary extra projects and hours at work
6. Turn down job offers that were a trade of my sanity for money (and making others happy)
7. Eliminate an external worry factor by erasing the news app from my phone
8. Try shinrin yoku, the therapeutic practice of “forest bathing”
9. Learn a lot about decluttering and discarding, both emotional and literal
10. Complete over 300 miles of outdoor street and trail running

Staying motivated

As long as your choose your brand wisely, you will be better prepared for success throughout the year. It is usually easier to stay motivated at the start of a new year than it is at the end. This is because old habits die hard, and it just isn’t fun to feel like a failure all the time. Giving up can mean self-preservation. Or, sometimes our priorities change and what feels exciting at the start gets dull and needs replacing.

What helps me is to have regular check-ins about my progress. I used my brand as a theme to help guide my journal entries throughout the year, as well as nudge me on a daily basis. I use both a free-hand journal and a Panda Planner to write down my thoughts, to-dos, and to remind me of what’s important. My Panda Planner has room for Monthly, Weekly, and Daily goals. I made sure that these fit with my brand for the year.

In the past, I have used pre-scheduled action items that fit with my overall intent. Picking one mini-goal to work on each month helps prevent things from getting stale, and lets you spread your efforts over the year.

As for habits, just remember to make your choices in line with your brand. If you want to work on specific routines, be true to your mission and be ruthless about it.

Get inspired

Although you want to keep the energy flowing for 12 more months, it is nice to take advantage of this New Year’s momentum. There is no better time to get ideas written down and talk to people about your plans.

This year, I will be making a new Pinterest board (just like last year) that gives me ideas for what I want to do. I also plan to map out some mini-goals for each month and make a list of things I would like to accomplish (in line with my new brand, of course). Visit my post New Goals, 5 Ways for more banter on fleshing out your ideas.

Just because you have a big picture plan doesn’t mean you can’t work on the details too. The brand should work like a lens that you can focus in and out of: zoom out when you need perspective and to remind yourself of what you want. Zoom in when you want to make real change by taking concrete actions that are in line with your vision

The New Year’s brand I’ve chosen this time is “I’m ready.” This should fall somewhere between the tenaciously annoying Sponge Bob version and the warrior’s strength of je suis prest (Jamie from Outlander‘s clan motto). Either way, it’s about thinking ahead and setting myself up for success on a daily basis, and in my life overall. It’s about being less reactive, more prepared, and open to new opportunities.

Here are some brands I also considered:

Making Space—carving out time, energy, and physical space for what I want to do

Level Up—taking accomplishments to the next eschelon by setting higher goals where it matters most

Hygge (the Scandinavian concept of coziness)—celebrating authenticity, relishing in simplicity and comfort, and feeling at home in my life

Where can your brand take you?

Is my life perfect after branding my year? No. Do I always stay on track with my brand and what it stands for? No, but I mostly do. Is branding my year worth it? Totally. Even though it’s nerdy and can seem overly simple, it is a technique that CAN work to help you stay on track.

Businesses have built success with their brands by knowing what they stand for and marketing appopriately. Know what you stand for. Remind yourself often. And stay true. Do these things and you have a chance at success too.