New year, same me… with some new intentions! Just because we started a new year doesn’t mean that I need to become a new person or change all of my habits overnight. However, it is a great time to begin thinking about how I want 2023 to play out. What do I want to accomplish this year regarding life in general, business ideas and opportunities, or the places I want to travel to?
Being Intentional
What do you do to set your intentions for the new year? Are you a resolutions kind of gal? Do you map out your intentions? Or, do you just kind of think about what you want for the upcoming year and hope things will fall into place? No judgment… just curious. Every person is different and has a unique story to tell so if you want to share yours below, leave a comment! I’d love to know how you are setting your intentions.
Write It Down!
I’m a big believer in writing things down. When you write something down, it forces you to reflect on how to express it. Putting your intentions or goals in writing gives you the ability to explore what you really mean without just keeping it in your head.
There’s something gratifying about writing things down and being able to hold yourself accountable for the things you want to work towards. Leaving thoughts in your head allows you to disregard them. Whereas writing them down in your planner or a notebook you use daily, means that you see them continually throughout the year.
So even when you may not be thinking about them, you can stumble across them and be reminded of where your head was at earlier in the year. It can even be a great way to see how you have progressed or how your intentions have changed over time. Because it’s okay for your priorities or wants to change, just write them down and continue on your intention-setting journey.
Intention Statements
This year, I plan to write INTENTION STATEMENTS (hey, January’s not over yet!). The only time you are too late setting an intention is when you’ve forgotten it because you waited too long to write it down! I’ve been doing a little research on effective intention statements and thought I’d share what I’ve learned:
1. Affirm only what you want
You don’t want to write down intentions because you should want to work towards them or because you feel like you have to. Write down what you truly want to make happen and work towards this year, or even longer term depending upon your journey. Remember everyone is different, so never compare your intentions to someone else’s.
2. Write as if it is happening now
Present tense allows you to manifest the intentions you are setting and put your mind in the right place to actively work towards them. Phrases like I will or I should make statements seem unattainable or harder than they are. So start with phrases like I am or I’m beginning to, allowing the tasks and ideas to seem more normalized and common.
3. Focus on the feeling
You should be excited about the things you are setting intentions for. You should feel elated or excited as you write them down. Not as if it’s a chore you have to do.
4. Exclude the words “try” and “but”
You are not trying anything here, you are doing these actions so the proper phrasing makes a huge difference. Very similar to number two and ensuring that you are in the proper mindset when writing them down.
5. Begin with gratitude
While you are working towards new habits and intentions this year, take a second and think about everything you have to be grateful for. Sure you may not work out as often as you may like to, but there are a number of items to be grateful for. Such as your home, family, friends, job you have, and so on. While there may be room for improvement there’s also a lot to be grateful for.
6. Make it believable
Don’t try to set unrealistic intentions for yourself. While you can achieve things when you put your mind to them, don’t set long or crazy intentions to begin. They are allowed to change with you as you grow and change throughout the year. So think about short-term ideas and goals you want to achieve. Almost as if they are stepping stones toward larger goals you may have.
7. Eliminate any negativity
We are not placing blame on ourselves or others. We are only working towards bettering ourselves and celebrating how far we’ve come. There is no time or space for negativity in these intentions.
Let’s Get Intentional
Have you written down your goals, intentions, resolutions, determinations, or whatever you’re calling them for 2023 yet? And you know you should be writing those intentions down in our fabulous notebooks, right girlfriend? Everything is better with a pretty and motivational notebook.
Each year brings along 365 new opportunities for you to work on forming new habits and living life the way you want to. You can read about how I’ve become more intentional in the mornings here. So while it may be a new year, I’m still the same me just with some new intentions and goals! What intentions are you setting this year? How are you going to intentionally work towards them?
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Stylishly Yours,
Kalyn
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