Make the most of the New Year with Intention

Blog Layout

Make the most of the New Year with Intention

Rebecca Jackson • December 23, 2020

A new year is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Right? Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, getting back in shape or tackling a new project you have always dreamed of. A new year has a way of making us all want to do better in the next 365 days. So we set resolutions. We set out on January 1st ready to change it all over night, and if you are anything like me, we leave it all behind before the spring cleaning begins, and we chalk it up to yet another failed New Year's Resolution. If that sounds like you, every year, or maybe you actually make it until summer before slipping or quitting, that's ok, you are in good company. This was my pattern too. Every year I would tell myself this is the year, every year I would decide on a resolution, and every year I would fail.

Until 2020.

I went into New Year's Eve 2019 prepared to throw out the entire "Resolution Tradition" as a whole and I was convinced I would be better at the end of 2020 for doing so. I celebrated the ball drop (at 12:03 a.m. because we paused the countdown so my 3rd daughter could run to use the bathroom, parenting...) and enjoyed my evening heading to bed with a light heart, full of joy that I'd wake the next morning to a new year with no silly resolutions pressuring me in this new year. This new decade we were starting. Then I awoke on New Year's Day and all day long I had a series of thoughts plaguing me, popping up randomly throughout the day. Nagging in my head & Plaguing me, or so they felt at first to plague me, but they were too kind, too patient, and too filled with grace to be my "internal voice". I realized they weren't there to plague me, they were there calling to me from my heart, and I needed to not just HEAR them, but LISTEN, so I did & they sounded like this...

"why do you think you can only fail yourself?"

"Intention Matters."

"it's not always about the finish, sometimes it's about the journey."

"Trust your Heart Daughter..."

It was this last thought that made me pause & realize where these "thoughts" were coming from, not my head, rather my heart. I said earlier that I knew it wasn't my "Internal Voice" and I knew this because, truth be told, my "Internal Voice" is rather mean, quite ugly, and sometimes down right evil. I know we can all be our harshest critic, but that is an understatement most of the time when it comes to me, and my head voice calls me lots of things, but it never calls me Daughter. That is reserved for my earthly father, and my heavenly father, and on January 1st, 2020, my heavenly father was trying desperately to get through to me, and miraculously, I wasn't too stubborn to let Him. It was then that the magic... or miracle began to happen.

He gave me a few single words to meditate and pray over, the first was:

intention

[inˈten(t)SH(ə)n]

NOUN

a thing intended; an aim or plan.

"she was full of good intentions" · [more]

synonyms:

aim · purpose · intent · objective · object · goal · target · end · design · plan

...and just like that I had a new tradition... There would be no more RESOLUTIONS, instead they'd be INTENTIONS.

Though they are similar words, to me they deliver a similar message in very different ways, and the difference in their implication, made all the difference to my head AND my heart. Look at the difference...

resolution

[ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n]

NOUN

a firm decision to do or not to do something.

"she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more" · [more]

synonyms:

intention · resolve · decision · intent · aim · aspiration · design · purpose · object · plan · commitment · pledge · promise · undertaking

You see, to me the difference in their implications was the addition of grace in the definitions.

See, the definition of a Resolution focuses on the FIRM decision TO DO or NOT TO DO something. Very strict implications, which my mind quickly equated to failure in the past when a misstep occurred. The definition of Intention focuses on the thing INTENDED; the AIM or PLAN. Simplified, I translated it to mean:

Resolution = Focus on The Result

Intention = Focus on The Process

With that realization I was able to put my focus on my effort and my journey to the finish, instead of determining this, likely unattainable, "Finish Line" and feeling like a failure if I felt short of it. For my brain, this shift in vocabulary made all the difference. I was able to successfully complete my first New Year's Intention, it took me 38 years to do it, and I pulled it off in an unprecedented pandemic year, but with this change in thinking, I was able to. I now truly & wholly believe, ALL things ARE possible, when our focus is clear and on the right thing. One thing to remember is, we just may not always know what, all the things are, so we must also be willing to be flexible and extend grace, to ourselves and others on our journey through life.

I hope this revelation I had last year, helps you remember that the focus, when trying to make big change, in your days, in your years, in your life as a whole, and in this world, should remain on the process. Life will happen around you and to you, without any warning, and not always in ways we would wish for, so the finish line may likely move and change, and that's not failure. Just because the "Finish Line" changes, doesn't mean you won't still get there. Plus, it's in the process where all the good stuff takes place anyways.

Now, below, you can take a look at 4 simple tips I put together to help you keep your #NewYearsIntentions in perspective so that you can #STAYFOCUSEDin2021 and make it your most #Dazzling one yet!

1) Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track, but they can easily become overwhelming in the wrong context. So write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too. BUT, then you must meditate or pray over these things on your list, to narrow it down to one thing, from the whole list. Take that one idea and meditate or pray over it, until you have a single word filled with INTENTION, and a FOCUS on ONE thing to PLAN towards.

2) File the list away until next year

Don’t forget where you file it, so that you can touch back with it and see how your goals grow or change, but focusing on a list all year will become all too much, and you will likely, become overwhelmed or just quit altogether. Just because you don’t achieve all the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress, but progress takes time and as they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day" so you CAN'T expect to CHANGE YOUR WHOLE WORLD over the course of ONE YEAR either.

3) Reward yourself, OFTEN

When you have your word, and you've planned how you intend to focus on implementing it, you will see yourself gain confidence as you keep choosing to work towards your intention, and with that confidence will come smaller successes. As you achieve these successes, make sure to REWARD yourself and CELEBRATE the PROGRESS.

4) Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in obtaining the success you are working towards. Stinkin' Thinkin' will only ensure failure. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, beating yourself up with guilt or shame, and wallowing in your disappointment, when you find yourself inevitably feeling this way at some point, just remind yourself that you are working towards progress and that in order to succeed you must first fail. Then look back at your rewards earned through your journey to remind yourself of the things that have gone well. Next, take a minute to meditate or pray over your Intention word again, to remind yourself where & why you started in the first place. Finally, shake it off and keep PROGRESSING towards the finish, ADAPTING to any changes that arise, and giving ENCOURAGEMENT to yourself along the way.

Best Wishes, for a SAFE, HAPPY & HEALTHY New Year!!! Come on in 2021, we've been waiting for you all year!!!

#HaveADazzlingNewYear #DazzlingInto2021

< Older Post

Newer Post >