I’ve never been huge on New Year’s Resolutions. However, for the past few years I’ve made them. I’ve made big, bold statements about my health, my business, and my finances. Then at the end of each year, when I sit down to reflect on my goals/resolutions, I realize that I didn’t really work towards any of them. That is why I’m switching it up and setting intentions in 2020.
Intentions
I was reading this article on inc.com about how setting daily intentions will change your life in personal areas and in business. There was something in the first two paragraphs that really caught my attention:
“Goal setting helps us to see the future, understand what we want, create a plan, and stay on track to get it done. Sounds wonderful, but for some, there is a downside to goal setting. It takes us out of the moment and creates an emphasis on what we don’t have. For those who set goals and sometimes fail to achieve them, the act of goal setting can lead to a sense of, not only failing, but of being a failure.
Setting and living your intentions allows you to focus on who you are in the moment, to recognize and live your values, and to raise your emotional energy, which in turn raises your physical energy.”
Over the past year I have been really focused on the way that I talk to myself when I’m alone and the words that I say about myself when talking to other people. For example: I’ll never tell someone that I’m broke, because I’m not. But if it comes down to spending money on something that I’m not ALL in on or not in my budget, the answer is no. So instead of saying, “No I can’t go, I’m broke.” I say, “That’s not in the budget right now.” or “I’d love to go, but I’m saving up for _______ at the moment and really want to save the money.”
So when I read that article on inc.com, something immediately clicked for me because I had been setting my own intentions throughout 2019 without even realizing it. That’s when I decided to actively set my own intentions for 2020. This is how I’m doing it.
I have a list of goals that I want to achieve. These goals have a plan and a timeline, but I don’t always follow the plan or meet my deadlines. That is where setting intentions come in. Let’s break it down:
Goal 1: Being debt free
I talk about my debt fairly often on my Instagram. This is the year I will have it paid off! I already have a plan in place for this through my business & budgeting. So to stay on track I’m setting these daily intentions:
- Increasing my awareness of abundance will result in a constantly increasing income.
- Stay focused on the small tasks that I know will lead to big changes in my business.
- Remain mindful of each dollar that I spend and constantly evaluate if my spending matches my goals and dreams.
Goal 2: Live a physically & mentally healthy life
I’ve never been in amazing shape. Even during my time in the Marine Corps I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. I have had ups and downs throughout my life when it comes to my overall health. Now, I am finally at a place in my life where I feel confident in implementing everything that I know about living a healthy lifestyle, while continually learning on this topic.
My main focus in 2020 is eating better for mental health and exercising for joy, not obligation. These are the two areas that I’ve always struggled with: depression and weight gain. Here are the intentions I have set for myself:
- Move my body every day to feel maximally alive and well, even if it’s something as small as 15 minutes of yoga.
- Be conscious of the food that I consume, not in an attempt at weight loss but knowing that everything that I put in my body affects my mental health.
- Be nice to myself when I look in the mirror knowing that this is the one body that I have been given and I must cherish it.
Goal 3: Making a life
Over the fall I read this blog post on Terrain’s website. It was a conversation with author Melanie Falick about her new book Making a Life. Reading that conversation was like having something awaken in my brain that I always knew was there but could never get to. I realized at that moment that everything that I had complained about before was really just part of making my own life. Dishes, cleaning, mundane work tasks, etc. Those were part of my life and instead of feeling burdened by them, I should celebrate the fact that those tasks are integral in building the life that I want.
At the same time, I knew that putting off my creative outlets until I “had the time” would no longer work for me. I needed to make time every day to read, write, paint and create. Here are my intentions for making a life:
- Find excitement in my daily chores knowing that I am lucky to have so much abundance in my life.
- Make time in my day to do the things that bring me pure joy.
- Use my hands to create and appreciate all of the women who came before me who blazed the trail.
Goal 4: Growing my blog
Here I am, writing a blog post, and I still find it hard to talk to people about my blog. I know that is crazy, but it’s a scary scary place in my head sometimes! My goal for 2020 is to dedicate my energy to this platform full-time. I want to grow this community and be able to blog as my career. If you’re reading this, thank you! Because you are the reason that I’m writing right now and you are helping me reach my goals. Here are my intentions for my blog:
- Write every day to bring knowledge, inspiration and entertainment to myself and the people who read my blog.
- Remember why I started and keep pushing forward.
- Stay in my workflow and find joy in every task.
Here is another article that I found helpful when learning how to set my intentions for 2020. Did you set resolutions, goals or intentions for 2020? I hope that this helps, even in the smallest way, to set yourself up for a successful year. I have a feeling it’s going to be the best year yet!
