It’s the time of year for New Year’s resolutions. The holidays are over and the cheesecake and cookies weight has piled on. It’s time to eat healthy, exercise, quit a bad habit, read more, watch less Netflix… and so on. But if we take a look back at January, 2016 how many of these resolutions were the same or similar? If you are one of the few who successfully accomplished your 2016 resolutions, congratulations. This blog is not for you. But if you are one of the many of us who resolve to make changes and then slip back into old ways, consider this: make an intention, not a resolution.
When you set an intention to do something, or be some way, you are making a choice to make better decisions, to be mindful of your choices, to take time to consider options when deciding. You are being the captain of your life and making the choice every day to live your life with intention – consideration for yourself and your family. At times you may decide to act in opposition to your general intentions (having cake at a birthday party or lying around in front of Netflix on a snow day), but you are making a choice to give yourself a treat while still choosing to live your life with intention.
Making a resolution implies NEVER doing something again, or a strict number to achieve (I will lose 20 pounds or I will go to the gym three days a week for a year). See how easy it would be to fail? Once you fail, what happens? “Well, I failed. Might as well eat this entire box of doughnuts while I binge watch Downton Abbey.”
Dictionary.com defines resolution as: a firm decision to do or not to do something. I say, love yourself more by setting an intention. Decide on a general aim for your life and every day make some choices that support that aim.
Be intentional every day and next January see how far you’ve come.