Introduction:
This webpage is meant to work in tandem with a pack of baseball cards that was delivered to Karin Levi. These vintage cards are an outlet to document aspirational "stats". In the spirit of the new year,  and the knowledge that goals are more achievable when written down and quantifiable, I thought this would be a great exercise for personal growth and communal bonding. I envision these cards to be used during a small sandbox event where we can commit to and share our goals for the next year in a fun and tactile way.

Front of the Card
The card face is made up of the community logo, a photo of a Sandboxer, their name and the city they live in. In actual practice, each participant would have their own personalized card, but for this project I used people I have met and spent time with. One of the characteristics that draws me to Sandbox is the global network. I have met Sandboxers when I lived abroad who proved to be a large part of my social life; significantly enriching my travel experiences.

Back of the Card
The back side of the card has two spaces; one to write a goal and one to write a fear. Aside from the typical "be healthier and advance in my career", most haven't given much thought to any concrete resolutions for the new year. If we want to actually better ourselves It is important to take time to reflect on what to accomplish and where to direct our efforts. Fear can be a hindering or motivating factor and is therefore important to acknowledge upfront. (Great TED talk about fear and goals here)

Activity
Each person has two identical baseball cards. The idea is to take a few minutes to think about one or two goals for the coming year. Best practices for creating successful goals follow the SMART formula:

The card forces each person to be specific about what they want to accomplish. The action of writing the goal down is a forcing function to identify and commit to it. Goals are best when they are measurable, hence why I am thinking about this as a baseball “stat”. The goal should be quantifiable and attainable within the next year.

Next, we share. Each person should talk about their goal, their fear and why it is important to them. They should identify what the higher motivation is, because without this, it will not be made a priority. Next, we ask if anyone else can help or contribute to this goal. Do others in the group have similar goals? If so, how can we leverage each other to achieve the growth we desire?

Lastly, one of the two cards will go into a time capsule for safekeeping only to be opened 365 days after the capsule is closed. Leaving each Sandboxer with one baseball card to remind them of their futuristic stat. In one year, the same group will  get together again to see where they landed.

My Baseball Card Statistics
I went ahead and filled out my card as an example. A little context, I started out as a studio artist and now work at a large tech company (shocker). Over the past few years, I have prioritized planning my wedding, finding a new job and working on the projects I get paid for. However, what makes me feel truly fulfilled is making things. My goal for next year is to become a better artist by carving out time to fill my sketch book with at least 100 different ideas. I want to then pick 12 of the ideas to make into finished illustrations. My fear is that I will fall into my old ways and let my pragmatism get in the way of my creative gene. However, by quantifying my goal I will hold myself accountable to progress month by month. So far, I'm on track :)