Intentions are the new resolutions
“Everything that happens in the universe starts with intention.”
If you haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions yet, don’t panic! Firstly, it’s still January, so it’s not too late. Secondly - and perhaps more importantly - you don’t actually have to make resolutions if you don’t want to. If you want to make changes in your life, then setting intentions is probably a better place to start.
At this time of year, I always spend some time thinking about what I want to achieve and what changes I’d like to make in the coming year. It helps me to know that I’m moving forward with purpose and intentionality, steering my vessel through life’s choppy waters rather than just going with the flow, rudderless and without direction.
I avoid making hard and fast New Year’s resolutions because I don’t subscribe to the idea that we need to make changes because we failed at something the year before. Resolutions seem to mostly focus on things like trying to lose weight, spending less time on social media, running a 5k; instead of focusing on what makes us happier, the things we should embrace and nurture, and how we can adapt and grow as people.
I prefer to adopt a mindset of setting intentions for the year ahead and welcoming new things, instead of drawing attention to what I want to leave behind or didn’t achieve. I like to set goals for my future, make plans and work towards specific “themes” in my life which I find rewarding and which encourage growth. In the past, these themes have ranged from ‘nourish’, ‘integrate’ and ‘the year of me’, to simply ‘joy’.
One of the ways that I like to focus my attention on my goals is by creating vision boards. These are physical or digital collections of images, quotes or even objects that interest, inspire and motivate you. They help me to identify what really matters to me so that I can focus on what’s important and set goals - both personal and professional - for the coming year and beyond, and observe my progress as I move closer towards them. They also help me to tackle the barriers - both internal and external - that get in the way, so that I can continue to live my life in the way that I choose: day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year.
So far, 2023’s vision board is a work in progress and it might stay that way for a while. Because even though the new year is a great opportunity to take stock of what’s going on in our lives and think about what would make us feel more fulfilled, what’s the hurry? Living with intention is a long-term commitment, not a new year fad.
Life has a habit of throwing us curveballs, and plans don’t always work out. So changing the narrative around New Year’s resolutions and working on living with intention has the potential to make you feel happier and more fulfilled in the longer term.
