Happy New Year! I actually wrote this post a week ago, but due to some blog backend trouble, wasn’t able to publish until today. But no matter – I think the topics I touch on today are pretty top of mind for most of us throughout the month of January.
We’re now 10 days into 2022, and how are you feeling? Excited and empowered to get started with the goals you set 9 days ago? Ambivalent because you have no clear goals to speak of? Scared because you don’t know what this year holds? Already stressed because you have too much you want to accomplish and don’t know how you’re going to do it? Or, maybe it’s some unique combination of the above? I promise you, you are not alone.
I always love a new year, a fresh start. That palpable sense of possibility in the air that tantalizes you, making you dream a little bigger than you’d normally allow yourself to. The feeling of wonder, as the unknown unfolds before you in all its hazy misty glory.
I love to reflect as a year comes to a close, looking back honestly at all the things that went really well and all the things that I wish had gone differently. Getting clear on what was/is in my power to control and change, and what I need to accept and let go of. Deciding what I want to keep in 2021 and what I want to take with me to 2022. And making lists – so many lists.
All along, I think of what I hope for the new year. How I want to show up given all I’ve learned about what was and wasn’t working in the previous 12 months. To be honest, I’m not always big on setting goals on January 1. I find that trying to put together this lofty set of objectives for the entire year can be a bit of a losing game and a recipe for feeling disappointed when you inevitably end up dropping some of those goals. Because the truth is, you’re going to change throughout the year – that’s just a fact. And goals are supposed to change with you.
For me personally, I’ve found I can usually hold only 1-3 goals in mind at any one time. These are tangible concrete specific goals that I’d been formulating for months leading up to the year, and they are intricately tied to my values and overarching intentions.
Intentions for 2022
For me, my intentions are much more general and abstract than my goals, and they are designed to be my guiding posts as I journey throughout my year. They encompass how I want to BE in the new year, rather than what I want to DO. They are my commitments to self that will allow me to move toward my goals consciously, and to set new goals intentionally.
This year, I set the following intentions for 2022:
- Loving and listening to myself – body, mind, and heart
- Prioritizing authentic and intentional creativity, joy, and connection
- Taking ownership over what I can control AND leaving room for magic
So, how do YOU want to be this year? What aspects of yourself do you want to bring forward and prioritize? What do you want to put your energy toward, and what would you like to let go of?
I hope this post inspires you to do some reflecting and perhaps some intention-setting, if it feels right. I find that once I have my intentions in place, I also start feeling much more clear on the 1-3 goals I want to focus on for the next few months. And I don’t feel all that pressure to figure out all my goals for the entire year because I know that if I just keep to these intentions, the right goals will come when I’m ready for them.
Wishing you a magical 2022, full of joy, purpose, and intentionality. Love you, and talk soon. xx
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