Intentions…not Resolutions: Tapping into the power of ‘thinking forward’

New Year, New Resolutions

The beginning of the year is traditionally a time when we think about the year ahead – possibly starting with resolutions – promises we make to ourselves in January of the changes we will make…and mainly what we will stop doing.

As I sit here at the end of February, two things come to mind; one is how we got to the end of the second month of 2022 so quickly and the second is about my year ahead.

This year ahead having come after the strangeness of last 2 years, has seen us seemingly finally coming out of lockdown…and while we are not completely clear of the challenges of Covid 19, what it has done, is actually make us think about how we live our lives, what we taken for granted and what we want for ourselves.

There’s something about resolutions that seems quite finalised something that is often punitive and can make us feel that in some way we have to succeed.. and failures if we don’t.

Research indicates that very few resolutions made on the 1st of January are actually still in place come the end of February, or even the end of that first month!

I have always resisted making resolutions and prefer to take time to think and reflect on the past year and where I really want to focus my efforts in the year ahead. How I will act ‘intentionally’ towards the life I wish to lead.

Intentions

What I like about intentions, is that they demonstrate what we hope to achieve.

Intentions don’t ask for perfection, but actually take account of my human fallibility, my failures, and my need to treat myself with compassion.

With an intention, you can set out your plans without the pressure of an immediate start. The power of an intention is it helps us to express our plans as our whole selves – it is a to wish to move forward one step at a time – where each step, no matter how small, is something towards our goal

And if we fail today? tomorrow’s a new day we can take another step

Intentions allow us to be human.

At the beginning of January, I settled on my intention just for the month and that was to move more to become more mobile. What I learned about myself in the last 2 years of Covid19; living through lockdowns and working from home – is that my life has changed in ways I never imagined. I have become much more sedentary…. although weirdly… still very busy – continuously at work, sitting at a computer screen.

Doing all those ‘Teams’ meetings, zoom calls and speaking virtually to people has allowed my mind to remain connected, but my body to move a lot less. So, I set the intention with my sisters to walk 10 000 steps each day and combined this with attempting to do my usual dry January. And I succeeded – more times than less with both!

Intentions don’t ask for perfection, but actually take account of my human fallibility, my failures, and my need to treat myself with compassion.

Transition Are Like A Butterfly

I decided that I would set my intentions for 2022 in February and avoid the pressure of resolutions.

So here today, in February…albeit later in the month that I planned, I am looking forward to expressing my intentions for the year. I have learned many new ways of doing things, many ways of engaging with the world, not just in person, but also at distance.

In the quiet spaces of 2021, I found myself rethinking the focus of the next 5 years of my work and actually recognised that far from feeling stuck. Being cocooned through lockdown experiences has revealed that this point in my life that actually time for, emerging differently. A time of moving through, onwards and upwards. For all of us, it is a time of moving away from our Covid19 survival strategies and onto our purpose for the future.

A time for Transitioning.

Transitions is something reminds me of a butterfly’s, my favourite animal.

A butterfly takes time to become itself – it matures slowly.

There are many things that it does through its transition. Even when it’s quiet, a butterfly is still undergoing significant change and that’s what we have been through for the last 2 years.

Even when it’s quiet, a butterfly is still undergoing significant change and that’s what we have been through

How Will You Be Changed?

So how will you be changed by the experiences of the last 2 years? What have you learned and what will you do? Or what will you do differently? And what will you stop doing?

These are questions to ask ourselves in business, in our personal lives and in our own commitments. With more freedom, comes more opportunity for me – My business intentions are very much around bringing together the range of tools, business networks and services I provide. 2022 is for rebranding my company, a refresh, to restart.

In this year I’ve set myself two specific intentions towards expanding my business and my personal wellbeing:

One, to finally complete and self-publish my book, a semi-autobiographical reflection on my life experiences. Something which many people have asked me ‘when’ I will do this over the years.

And the second, is to do a Ted talk. Just, because.

You might ask yourself why I am putting my intentions here? and that’s because we know that when we voice or write down our intentions – We are more likely to do them, and succeed.

It is as if, in setting those intentions into the world to fly free as the butterfly, they become part of our life plan, going were they will, maybe not always in a straight line – but always with purposeful intention.

So, as we move towards the Spring – another time of restarting, I put my next foot forward and look forward to March. So let me focus on my next steps for today, all of which have a place in contributing towards my intentions tomorrow.

Intentions don’t ask for perfection, but actually take account of my human fallibility, my failures, and my need to treat myself with compassion.