January topic: INTENTION & 2010 (and we need your input!)
December 15, 2009
Oh boy. To say thank you does not even begin to express our gratitude for your amazing, supportive, and thought-provoking comments and emails these past couple of weeks. Spring is off to an incredible start thanks to you all, and we couldn't be more thrilled!
January's conversation topic is a big one: Intentions and the New Year. As you can imagine, we all have *much* to say about this subject, but we'd also love to hear your thoughts! Do you set intentions? Do you have any tried and true resolutions? Do you think there is a difference between intentions. resolutions, and goals? We would LOVE to know what thoughts, fears, ideas, and insights you brilliant people have around this topic. We'll be taping our video later this week, and it will be released in January, so please comment below, the sooner the better!
2010 is going to be a fabulous year for so many reasons.
What is your year going to be all about?
Reader Comments (9)
I definitely believe there is a difference between resolutions and intentions. While I do believe that a fresh start to the new year & resolutions can be a way to renew your commitment to an intentional life, there is something much bigger about living purposefully. This becomes especially apparent when we think about how many resolutions are kept & completed; unfortunately resolutions have a nasty reputation for being just a passing phase. I'm sure it will be mentioned many times here that often people start out with the best of intentions (ha ha) when setting resolutions, but it's almost expected that we'll fail at keeping our resolutions.
What I would love to hear/talk about is how to use the renewal that a new year brings in a more functional & meaningful matter. That is, how can we use the arrival of a new year to build a more purposeful and intentional life? I've written down some 'intentions to live by' lately, and I'm really interested in hearing how to incorporate them into my life sustainably and for the long term!
Thanks again for all you do, ladies! You're all so wonderfully lovely for giving your time to such a meaningful project!
I believe the reason most of us fail at "New Year Resolutions" is that we take on the biggest, least attainable, thing we can find, or the biggest list we can find, or biggest flaw we perceive, and overwhelm ourselves with the need for the resolution to be met with immediate results. We fail before we even start because the mountain is just too high to clear in one leap.
I think resolution, intention, goal can be used interchangeably, but "resolution" has been given a bad rap.
I don't necessarily set resolutions. Though, for 2010, I have set forth a plan, a real one, with coloured markers and calendar, with a beginning, middle and end. I am learning to keep the goal attainable and work toward it in manageable chunks. Some months, I expect, will be better than others. For example: one goal for next year is to lose 100 pounds. If I constantly wrote down 100, I'd scare myself half to death; and, eat a bag of really salty chips to soothe my fear! So, I've given myself a year to lose +/- 10 pounds each month. The focus is on the 10, on the process, not on the end. My need for gratification will be greeted each month rather than waiting for the end. This process may start on January 1, but I've spent the last six weeks or more, researching the best way for me to succeed, I've laid a path for me to follow in order to insure my best chance for success.
It keeps me accountable. It keeps my goals manageable. Achievable. It keeps me mindful, intentional on a sustainable path.
I'm looking forward to your January installment. Thanks ladies, love this place :)
As someone that has failed miserably at New Year's Resolutions, I resolved to stop doing them. Then a little over a year ago I stumbled across a blog where someone was talking about intentions and I liked the idea of intention. It was just before my birthday and I decided right then that I would set my intentions for the year ahead on my birthday instead of during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Doing so took a great deal of the pressure off and left me feeling optimistic about sending my intentions out into the Universe.
Back in November, I blogged about my year in review and my intentions, dreams and goals for the coming year. You can read more here: http://www.carmentorbus.com/blog/2009/11/29/my-mondo-beyondo-dreams-and-intentions.html
xo,
Carmen
Wow, if all the comments that come in are like these first 3, I think we'll be able to talk for about 5 hours straight on this topic! Thank you all so much for your insight into resolutions and intentions-- you've got me thinking!
@Lee: WOW. You can *totally* do it.Good for you!
@Krista: I love this: "how can we use the arrival of a new year to build a more purposeful and intentional life?" We'll be sure to address that.
@Carmen: Jess LC was just saying on the phone yesterday that she sets intentions on her birthday, too-- we'll be sure to talk about this as well! I love it.
I used to LOVE doing resolutions! I remember when I was in high school, I had 2 pages of resolutions for the next year. But the funny thing is that I would put them on my wall and forget about most of them by February.
But I still like the idea of bettering myself the next year. So I make intentions and goals, there is less pressure that way. Last year my goal was to run a 1/2 marathon and I intended to eat healthier. And it worked.
I think just saying that you intend to do something makes it more relaxed.
Regarding goals, I found it helpful to have vaguer goals. Eat healthy is so vague but so much easier to do than, say, eat a serving of veggies every meal. By going with the goal that I was going to eat healthier, I had ups and downs. But I can say that I've ended the year with the habit of healthy eating instead of forgoing the veggies halfway through.
Can't wait to see the next topic discussion!!!
Hi! Intention is something I visit frequently throughout everyday. For example, when I run in the morning, I set my intention to feel connected to my body and to experience joy as I run through the city streets. I also set my intention for the day as I sit down to start working. Sometimes I even set an intention to experience peace as I walk through Walmart just before I enter the store (that place can make me crazy). I believe Intentions can be set for anything and everything and can be used all the time. For me it is focusing and getting clear about creating my life the way I want to live it...even with the details. Now on to the actual topic - New Years intentions and resolutions....I feel like I have found a solution to this that just may work for me...I just found it so I can't say that I have personal experience with it but I have been reading about other people who do this every year and have had great success with it - Instead of choosing an intention or a resolution you choose a word of the year. That way you can hold that word in your mind throughout the year, and let your word guide you to take action. There is a really great blog post about it here http://christinekane.com/blog/you-say-you-want-a-resolution%E2%80%A6/ and a follow up post to it here http://christinekane.com/blog/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/ if anyone is interested. Also, on the same blog this past week Christine (the blog owner) has been posting a variety of personal stories from readers who chose a word of the year last year and how it impacted their lives. The stories are really beautiful and I encourage reading them.
That may not have been an answer to the questions you asked....but it is another way to think about this topic. I am SO excited about this blog and the conversations that have begun. Thank you for being an inspiration!
I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions because it doesn't work. In January, we make a list of our resolutions and then we get discouraged when we do not see results right away and go back to our old habits. Or we forget what our resolutions are by March because we don't see the goal on a daily basis. Usually, our New Year's resolutions are BIG goals that need to be broken down into smaller goals.
Gretchen Rubin has a blog and now a book on The Happiness Project at http://www.happiness-project.com/. In her blog, her goal is to pursue happiness. She created a yearlong plan and every month has a different resolution or challenge. Each month she explains to only attempt that month's resolution/challenge. For example, in the first month, only attempt January resolution/challenge. January is Boost energy - do activities that boosts you energy. In second month, only attempt the February resolution/challenge. February is Remember Love. In a way, each of these are "Words of the month" or "Intentions of the month."
Intentions are different for me. I make intentions every morning and write down my intention of the day and for every activity I do. For example, before I go to work I will set an intention to finish one of my many projects. Then at work, my mind is set on that one intention. Intentions keep me focused on my day and helps me to accomplish my goals and what is important to me.
I look forward to seeing your January video!
We're taping in an hour, & are thrilled for all of this food for thought! Be warned though: the Jan installment just might be 6 hours. So much to talk about!
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