Setting new year’s resolutions versus intentions
As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the air can be tinged with anything from eager anticipation, hope and optimism, to a sense of trepidation, sadness and uncertainty. Just as it’s a time for some to be embracing new beginnings, setting intentions and feeling empowered, for others it will be a time of introspection, mourning and letting go.
What ever it is for you as 2024 dawns, know that it is all part and parcel of the rhythm of life and unique to you and your own personal growth.
Do you write new year’s resolutions? As a teen I remember writing the same list over and over again, year after year, and by around the fifth of January I was so disillusioned, the sense of a renewed optimism well and truly gone and headed into January with the same stuck-ness as I’d left the year before.
There felt so much pressure for the new year to be this magical occurrence where you got to reinvent yourself and decide who you wanted to be in the coming year – basically another way of saying I will be happy when … but when never came. It’s a vicious cycle isn’t it?
The definition of a resolution is ‘a firm decision to do or not to do something, the quality of being determined or resolute’. An intention can be defined as ‘an idea you plan and intend to carry out, what you want to do, your goal, your purpose’. Read those again, do they feel different? Why?
For me, a resolution feels more of a ‘should do’, and an intention feels more like a ‘want to do’. My experience of working with clients is that ‘shoulds’ very rarely motivate but a ‘want’ really does. True motivation feels like nourishment to the soul – it’s a powerful force!
Setting intentions feels lighter to me, and to be honest, much more enjoyable. It feels more flexible and freeing. There’s definitely a place of accountability, but perhaps that comes later on once the intentions have been set.
Your new year personal workshop: Setting intentions for the new year
Take some time to yourself, make your favourite drink, get cosy and comfortable, pick up a notebook or journal and pen, light a candle or two and ask yourself the following questions.
Ease your way into 2024, really connect with your intentions, what you want and be truly honest with yourself – it’s actually harder than you think!
What are your top three goals or aspirations for the upcoming year?
How do you envision your ideal self in the next twelve months?
What habits or behaviours would you like to cultivate or let go of in the new year?
What steps can you take to prioritise self-care and wellbeing this year?
Once you have worked through the questions, take the time to draft a letter to your future self. This is a great way to sum up on paper how you want to feel in a year’s time.
Write a letter to your future self, expressing your hopes, intentions, and aspirations for the upcoming year. Seal your letter, choose a date to open it in the coming year and mark it in your diary. Put the letter somewhere safe, out of sight, smile and let it go… until you read it again!
2024: A gentle reminder to live one day at a time.
I truly hope 2024 is a good year for you. I hope it brings you a renewed sense of love and respect for yourself. I hope it brings you joy in lots of small and unexpected ways. I hope you connect with your own self worth more and more each day and that you feel life opening up for you in ways you never new existed.
I’m off to set my intentions and write my letter!
If you’d like to start the new year with a fresh perspective, book in for an initial chat connect with me at www.laurenjanecoaching.com