A different approach to setting your intentions and keeping resolutions that don`t feel like pressure.
Could there be a better way to bring in a new year? That does not include resolutions and getting the same outcome, there is! you can set an intention or many intentions.
It is the end of the year, and we start looking toward the new year.
We think about what we want to call in for the next year or how we want to wrap up the current year.
You start thinking about the type of resolutions you would like to set.
It will either help us focus on the new year ahead. Or it gives us a sense of anxiety. Or even a feeling of pressure to outdo the year before.
How will they be better than last year?
Will we use the same resolutions as last year?
Can we be bothered to set intentions?
Do they even make a difference in my life?
Why do we set intentions?
We set resolutions to improve our health. Improve fitness, change or improve our diet. Find a new job.
I did some research on this topic. The results of the statistics were not that surprising.
An article titled: New Year's Resolution Statistics (2021 Updated) from the Discover Happy Habits website (You can find that link here: New Year's Resolution Statistics (2021 Updated) - Discover Happy Habits)
Research shows, that after the 1st week, 75% of people are successful in still keeping the resolution. After two weeks it drops down to 71%. After one month it drops down to 64%.
The research states that the main reasons for the failure are unrealistic goals.
These are some of them:
*Did not keep track of their progress
*Forgot about the resolutions
*Made too many resolutions
The research also states it is ideal we develop the right skills. And the right mindset to ensure the resolutions stick.
At the beginning of the year, the statistics are promising. As the year progresses, the stats start to decline. Keeping the resolutions gets harder. Life gets in the way. Before we know it, the original resolution we once created begins to lose its appeal.
We have all been there.
We all would love for our resolutions to last the distance. For many of us, they do not. They fizzle out like the sparklers at a New Year's Eve party. Only to later beat ourselves up when we do not reach those goals.
What if there was another perspective? A better way to see our goals make it to the following year? A habit you can do any day of the year? A habit that is also a practice of mindfulness?
Setting intentions
We are familiar with challenges, meeting goals, and checking off a to-do list. We run marathons, and we play competitive sports. Be avid runners, basketball players, or swimmers. We may be authors, podcasters, speakers, or artists.
What we decide to do with our life, and our achievements all have one thing in common. They begin as a seed and become an intention and then a manifestation.
They appear as a thought process, usually at the very beginning. An intention has formed. After this point, we then spend our lives moving towards that goal.
It is like being at the deli. You take a number and wait for an assistant to call your number. The assistant asks you what it is you want to have. You may order a salad or slices of prosciutto. Setting an intention follows a similar process. Except, it is not an assistant behind the counter. It is not the assistant asking you for your order.
It is the universe, waiting to hear your intention. You are speaking to the universe. You are setting an intention with the universe.
You invite the intention from your mind and ground it into the now. Into your existence, your life. The universe sees your request and works with you to bring that intention into the now. It becomes a manifestation.
You are co-creating with the universe.
There is no push or a pull from either you or the universe.
It is an intention.
There is no guilt or scolding if you change your mind or decide you no longer want that intention. The universe waits until you are ready to co-create. She is in no rush. Time does not exist. A resolution feels like you have to have it all sorted. Questions you already have answers to. We dream up different scenarios. As a result, they become resolved, even before it has had a chance to begin.
We can become overwhelmed. We add more pressure on ourselves by doing so. A resolution that has moved from an internal thought is now a projection that has become outside of you.
We already spend enough time worrying about tomorrow or the future. We are always trying to win a race. Making resolutions can morph us to compete with ourselves. Why do we have this desire to compete with ourselves?
It only separates us from ourselves. Spirituality teaches us that we are already whole. To become one, with ourselves. There is no resistance. Or a need to compete with others. It is an outdated belief. It keeps the ego very happy and content. Your soul is the one in the driving seat, not your ego.
Mindfulness teaches us about being in the moment. To set an intention is about the moment. At this very moment, what is your intention? What are you intending to do, be, and create? How do you intend to live? How will your intention match up with living in the moment?
Final Thoughts The intentions we speak become gifts to ourselves and will enrich our lives. We set intentions so that they bring more value to our lives. The universe already sees you as perfection. By altering your mindset, you will find that your perspective changes. You will find that you gravitate with more ease toward the intention.
It becomes integrated into your way of life. An instant manifestation, already in the here and now. These are my intentions for the new year.
*Be more in the moment. *Find what makes me happy and walk towards that happiness.
Can you be open and swap your resolutions with intentions?
I would love to hear your thoughts.