F**k New Year's Resolutions
Lets Embrace Intentions
Let's start with a joke!
Tomorrow is the first day of 2022.
Whether that makes you laugh or cry, maybe even both, it's a serious matter. So how can we prepare for the New Year to make the most out of it?
Everyone loves a good resolution, but before you sit down to set your New Year Resolutions, which are rigid, stressful, and unforgiving, it's time we talk about intentions.
We either live with intention or exist by default.
Kristin Armstrong
What is an intention? These are guiding principles we define for how we want to live our lives. An intention is a commitment to yourself focused on a shift in mindset. Fluid and kind intentions are an attitude, a purpose, and an aim.
If resolutions are about action, intentions are about being.
Before you set out to declare your intentions for the New Year, let's get specific. Vague definitions hold no power, but distinct purposes allow you to focus your energy to create the outcomes you so desire.
Consider the following categories to help you get clear in the intentions you want to set.
1. Professional/Financial/Business
2. Mental/Spiritual/Emotional
3. Physical
4. Relational
5. Personal
These are also suggestions; there is beauty and freedom in identifying areas of your life that need love and kindness. Pinpointing these regions allows you to set out to heal and evolve them.
How to set your intentions
Ask yourself:
o What kind of person do I want to be?
o What matters most to me?
o What inspires me?
o What do I need to let go of?
o Who do I need to forgive?
o In my perfect life, what am I doing? Who is around me? What do I feel?
o What would I like to create or nurture in my life?
o What am I grateful for?
o What are my wildest dreams?
Your intentions are unique to your hopes, dreams, and desires. Setting them will help you identify what you want out of life. Once we know how we want to be and feel, we can dive into goals and plan to achieve them.
Here are some intentions to get your creative heart flowing and open.
o To honor, encourage, and inspire my authentic self
o To offer me the grace I offer so freely to others
o To discover who I am, what I enjoy, and what I desire
o To forgive
o To find peace
o To exercise consistently for my mental and physical health
o To practice gratitude
o To nourish my body with healthy foods
o To be present
o To find my passion and driving force
o To meditate consistently
Living with intention aligns your mind and soul. This is a means to help you recognize your values and honor them through your daily life. Setting intentions will provide purpose, inspiration, motivation, and clarity.
There’s no way to become great overnight, but in the marathon of success, it takes a lot of intention to see through each day of the journey.
-Lewis Howes
So here's to a New Year filled with loving kindness for you and those around you. Let's be intentional.
