“Intention is the starting point of every dream. It is the creative power that fulfills all of our needs, whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening, or love. Everything that happens in the universe begins with intention.” - Deepak Chopra
Power of Intention:
At the start of something new, a lot of people set goals, resolutions, and intentions. When we state what our intentions are, dedicate a little bit of time each day to thinking about our intentions, our minds and bodies start to subconsciously make decisions aligned with our intention, even though we may not even realize it. This is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is how our nervous systems produce and create feelings, thoughts, and behaviors through a process of structural, and therefore functional, change. How? Every time we think a thought and generate a feeling, we install neurological hardware that impacts our well-being in all moments.
Reflect on where you've been
To move forward we have to reflect on where we’ve been, we have to actively choose what we want to take with us, what we want to keep up and, w hat we want to leave behind.
Thinking about the last season:
- What experiences or situations did you love this last year? Write down a few examples first, in list format without a lot of description. Don't have to be big events, CAN be, but can also be reading a book, taking a yoga class, etc.
- Now look at those, and think a little more deeply. What was it about those experiences or situations that you loved? Why did you love them? Include the feeling here - you felt at ease, or energetic.
- What was one of the best decisions - or just a really great decision you made this year? What gift did it bring to you?
These questions are meant to reground you on what went well about last year, so you can choose if you want to pull some of these things forward into this year. You may also notice some underlying values embedded into your answers.
- What was a challenge you overcame this past year. In hindsight, was there an unexpected gift in it? Or a realization that came out of it?
- What do you want to leave behind? Maybe this is something you’ve grown out of, or something that’s no longer serving you. Spend a few minutes taking stock in what no longer brings you joy. Some areas to consider are belief patterns, habits, relationships, environments, and or day-to-day clutter or actual things.
Look at this list with complete compassion and without judgment. No shame here! Whatever this was, has led you to wear you are today, and is part of your story. Look at the words on your page and with gratitude for serving their purpose up to this point, allow these things to come to rest. Maybe you visualize them evaporating or floating away.
Moving forward
Now it’s time to start thinking about moving forward. It’s not wiping the slate clean, that downplays all that you have done, you’ve been through, endured, succeeded, failed and learned. You might have healed something, allowing you to go deeper into another level of healing because of it. Think of this intention setting practice as adding another layer of depth and growth to all that you’ve already done. Planting a new seed in a fresh garden bed, with compost made up of all the experiences of the previous year that have settled into their place.
- What do you want to call in this year? Something new or foreign/rare to you.
- What do you want to do more of this year? (Something you’re already doing, but want to continue to do more.) Think of what’s MOST important to you.
- How do you want to feel on any given ordinary day? Describe it. Maybe you even describe what you look like as you’re feeling a certain way.
- What are you curious about or what do you want to be curious about this year?? Day dream a little here.
- What is your secret wish for this year?
Picking your word
It’s time to start narrowing down all these thoughts into one word for your intention. Remember: Intentions are how you show up in pursuit of that goal – they are about your relationship with yourself and others. Ex: my goal is to get a raise this year, my intention is to live my days with confidence and self-worth
As you’re narrowing down on your one word, think about it as a personal mantra, a touchstone of choice, that inspires and helps guide decisions and actions in the upcoming year. Of everything you’ve written down, what word or words are sticking out to you? Write a list of a few words that are coming to mind. Think through the meaning of each for you.
- Write out your short list of words.
- Once you’ve got your word, write it down at the top of a new page.
- Below it, you’ll write two things: 1) your definition of that word, what it means to you. 2) Your WHY.
