My Intentions for the New Year
Since I discussed the reasons why I believe most resolutions fail, I thought it would be fair to add how I go about that. Writing down goals leads to a stronger likelihood they will be accomplished, and with that in mind, I always have two lists: yearly goals and life goals (talked about it here in my Instagram video). Yearly goals are self-explanatory – it is all the things that I wish to achieve, experience, and be a part of in the upcoming year. Whenever a new goal comes up for me, I add it to my list. This helps me with keeping myself accountable and being intentional about taking charge of things in my life that are in my control. The life goals list is sort of a dream list (or a bucket list) of all the experiences and things I’d love to have and experience at one point in my life. Keeping my desires and goals on the forefront of my mind is important to me as I want to lead a fulfilling and rich life, filled with adventure, joy, and meaning. I don’t want to sleepwalk through my life, which can easily happen if we don’t make decisions and let circumstances dictate what happens next.
Goals aside, I do have an intention that I chose to help guide me through the year. This year, it is to be more courageous. In 2020, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone A LOT! This year I want to expand that growth and focus on cultivating and embodying the value of courage. So, this year I will keep asking myself: How can I be more courageous in my life?
Keep reading…
This question will be my guide throughout this year. I love questions because they can be so powerful, especially if we are willing to hear the answers. They require us to be creative, think outside of our conventional ways, and hear what arises from within, even if don’t like the answers.
My personal aspiration/intention/resolution, whatever you want to call it, for this year is to be BOLD & COURAGEOUS. This means that I will rely on the question above to guide me when:
I want to share/say something, but start thinking “how will this look, sound… to others”
I want to do something that I can’t stop thinking about, but it scares me
I’m about to say “yes,” but what I really mean is “hells NO”
I have an idea and start coming up with reasons not to follow through
I notice a limiting belief that’s keeping me stagnant and complacent
I feel like I should settle, so as to not be perceived a certain way (do men struggle with this?)
I notice old conditioning and beliefs that prevent me from fully being myself
I’m tempted to go against my intuition
I start “SHOULDing” all over myself because of what others are doing/saying
Any time I doubt or minimize my expression
I don’t feel worthy of success in any area of my life
I’ve thought about this a lot. I truly believe that my purpose and mission in life is to transcend my own limitations, break old generational patterns, and live a bold life beyond what I ever thought would be possible for me. AND to help and inspire others who want the same for themselves, who long to stop settling, and who want more from life.
I believe that if I am not brave in my life, I can’t inspire others to be brave in theirs. I know that if I’m hiding myself, I can’t show others what it’s like to be authentic. If I am settling and abandoning my desires and ambitions, can I really tell someone else to dream big and that anything is possible for them?
To me, what courage really means is being my true, authentic self, discovering parts of me that I abandoned or felt unsafe to show, and trusting myself. This sounds easier than it actually is. We become conditioned by our circumstances in so many ways. This can be particularly difficult for those of us who weren’t encouraged to trust ourselves, who learned to hide, not have many needs, and rely on others to give them, tell them, and show them how to live.
In order to unlearn these ways and become free of this conditioning, we must wake up to our own life and ask ourselves: Did I choose this, and do I want to keep choosing it? Am I living my life, or do I feel more like a character in someone else’s story? How can I claim back the power over my own life?
I know this is a journey and there is always something new to uncover and learn (which makes it exciting). I want to be fully awake for my life with everything it has to offer. Who’s with me?