“There are no new ideas, just new ways of giving those ideas we cherish breath and power in our own living.”
– Audre Lorde
Intention: To embody, embrace, and LIVE IN worthiness.
Intention: For no part of myself to scare me. To fall deeply in love with my life, and who I am, EVEN the darkest parts.
Intention: To return to who I truly am. To live in alignment with my highest self. To know my worth so I can fulfill my eclectic array of purposes while I am here on planet earth.
Intention: To remember that this is the ONLY time I will incarnate in this human form, as me. To view my life, and the lives of everyone else here on earth with me, as sacred and worthy.
Those are some of my overarching intentions. What are yours?
In order to fulfill those life-long intentions though, we must break them down into smaller action items, or goals. First we think of how we want to feel/be/show up, then we take the steps to get there.
So today we talk about the intentions for the present moment, and for the next chapter beginning.
Just as with yesterday, I reflected on 2023 and will be setting intentions for 2024, but you are more than welcome to use whatever time period/amount of time you’d like for your intention setting practice.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
– Maya Angelou
I recently learned (from CHANI Nicholas ) about the “12-week-year” and how breaking our goals down into three month segments can be incredibly beneficial because it flows with the seasons, and feels attainable: close enough to be within reach but far enough away to make substantial change happen. It allows us to grow and change and see what actually happens in those three months before we move on to the next block of time.
Every year is different. Last year I took it month by month because I had no idea what life would feel and look like (I mean, do we ever though?), but I still had a few “big” goals for the whole of 2023: Move states and keep working full time while single-momming full time, start a blog that has been a loooong time coming, write a rough first draft of a book (even if it never sees the light of day), go the whole year without alcohol, and complete the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge . There were some other mini-goals. I then set intentions at the beginning of each month through voice notes and/or journaling.
You can create SMART goals. If you never learned SMART goals in school or work, they are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
OR
If SMART goals stress you out, use The Desire Map type thinking (focus on how you want to feel/what you want to invite more of in your life) and go from there. To Be Magnetic also talks about using “Authentic Code” words which can change and evolve as we grow. So your desires or authentic code words might be connection, stability, freedom, growth, adventure, etc.
I actually recommend ALWAYS starting from desires/authenticity and then you can leave it there or if you like more specific goals and checklists, create SMART goals as subgoals for each category.
For example:
- I want to feel more CONNECTED. >>> I will start a book club, reach out to a friend to meet up at least 4x a month, spend more time in meditation and prayer, etc.
- I want to feel more STABLE. >>> I will make a budget and stick to it, pick up a side hustle, set a boundary, start seeing a therapist, etc.
- I want to be more ADVENTUROUS. >>> I will go on one day trip a month, try a new hobby, explore cooking new foods, do something that scares me, etc.
Do you see how each of these desires can be interpreted to mean different things depending on who is setting the intentions?
“Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways.”
– Glennon Doyle Melton
New Year’s Resolutions often don’t stick because people are writing what they think they SHOULD be doing and don’t fully know their “why” behind it, or they don’t know their “why” and set goals that feel unattainable and try to start with no real plan.
YOU are WORTHY of setting goals and intentions for yourself. You are worth taking action to create a life you love. Strive to live an intentional life and you will be rewarded, expanded, and inspired beyond your wildest dreams.
Action Step:
Spend time WRITING DOWN your desires, intentions, and goals. I recommend taking physical pen to paper for this one and then reading them aloud. If it’s your thing you can even light candles, gather crystals, say a prayer, do a meditation, and create a ritual out of this!
“Nothing will work unless you do”
– Maya Angelou
Resource: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
If you don’t get a chance to check out any of the other book resources linked, listen to or read the four agreements. It is a VERY short and easy read, and it has the power to change your life if understood and implemented.