How to Set Intentions for This Year
What are your intentions for this year?
Have you set any?
Without set intentions, you’re bound to create more of the past, as opposed to aligning with your future self.
You must have intentions if you want to experience something you’ve never had before.
Many people don’t have the self-awareness to realize that because they don’t set intentions for what they want their life to be like, they never progress forward.
Try filling in the blank in this sentence:
“I intend to ________ this year.”
As an example, one of my intentions is to spend even less time on social media than I did last year. I already got started by deleting one of my accounts.
But this is just one example. Let’s talk how to set intentions for this year.
Resources:
- Grow You (online coaching!)
- Dream Year (goal setting + planning)
- How to Plan Your Year Intentionally
How to Set Intentions for this Year
Rewrite Your Story About 2020
This is a game-changer.
There’s no sugar-coating the challenges and hardships of 2020.
BUT(!)
You don’t have to write off 2020 as a wasted year, either.
You can change your story about 2020.
There are valuable lessons tucked away in even the worst circumstances.
2020 was very unkind to myself and my family and loved ones. I lost three people unexpectedly in 2020. There were also other hardships that occurred within my family that impacted me, that happened in a cluster in November, followed by the unexpected passing of two of the three people I lost.
I know many other people’s 2020 was tougher than mine, and I only share this info for you to see where I’m coming from, and that I get your negative feelings about 2020.
But you have to re-write your story about it.
What lessons did you learn about 2020? How did 2020 work for you?
I know for my husband and I, it allowed us both the opportunity to really hone in on our dream careers.
The both of us have undergone a lifestyle change that is reflective of the things that truly matter to us.
2020 allowed us (and likely you, too) the opportunity to weed out what wasn’t a priority for us.
I also spent a lot of quiet time in the early morning or outside on my porch practicing gratitude, and focusing on the little things that bring joy to my life.
All of these realizations and life lessons have made me strong and resilient, and I wake up excited in the morning for the day ahead, aware of the endless opportunities that are available for me, and also for you, too.
My story about 2020 is one of strength and resilience.
Allow your story about 2020 to inform your intentions for this year.
Resources:
- 6 Ways to Improve Your Life Right Now
- Didn’t See that Coming: Putting Life Back Together When Your World Falls Apart
- 3 Ways to Practice Gratitude and Feel Better Today
Find Peace Amid the Chaos
Don’t allow drama, external chatter, world circumstances, social media noise, etc., to disturb your internal peace. Cling to the life you want to have and stay focused on your life’s agenda.
You can’t control what goes on around you, but you can control what you input.
Last year, not only did I reduce my time on social media, I reduced my time consuming the news.
It’s not that I don’t pay attention at all or have no clue what’s going on. I just know consuming endless news cycles wasn’t going to improve my life in any way, so I avoid the news almost entirely.
Resources:
Schedule Your Dreams
While you’re blocking time for the simple to-dos of life-grocery shopping, dropping the kids off at school, etc.-don’t forget to make time to schedule your dreams.
If you have a goal or dream, you must plan the time to pursue it, or it’ll never happen. Even if it’s just a half hour a day, that’s huge. That’s 15 hours a month spent toward your goal!
Resources:
- How to Set Goals the Right Way
- Sunday Routines for a Productive Week
- How to Create Your Perfect Daily Routine
- Time Management Tools
Judge Less, Feel Better
The more you judge other people, the worse you’ll feel.
Let other people live their lives and let life be their educator, not you.
How often do we want to give our two cents to someone we don’t agree with?
I’m sure you see it constantly just by scrolling through your social media feeds.
If you have grace for those who think or look differently than you, you’ll experience more peace.
Resources:
Form an Invincible Resolve to Win the Day
Know your top 3 priorities and review them in the morning before you start your day. What is a must-do for today? What do you need to do to win the day?
This is helpful in keeping you focused and on track as the hours tick by and you experience frustrations or unexpected bumps in the road. They are bound to happen, but do you let them derail the rest of your day, or do you hold your head up and keep moving forward?
Resources:
- 3 Mindset Makeovers to Make Today
- How to Stop Sabotaging Your Dreams
- 7 Productivity Tips to Implement Today
- 5 Self-Discipline Tips for Success
Schedule “Reactive” Time
Social media and emails = organized systems of other people’s agendas.
Responding to emails or social media posts-even scrolling through-is essentially reacting to other people.
In small increments, this is pretty harmless. The problem is, our productivity is so easily derailed every time we open our inbox or social media apps.
The solution is to block out time for these specific tasks, and only engage in them during that blocked time.
If you spend two hours a day on social media and another two hours watching TV at night, that’s four hours a DAY of consumption and reactive time.
But production and creation are where the magic happens.
This is where dreams come to fruition and goals are achieved.
Less consumption, more creation.
Resources:
Bring Joy to Others with Your Presence
What is the energy you put out into the world?
There is an energy you bring to the world that you are responsible for.
Are you vibrant and joyful, or do you complain and drag others down with your negative attitude?
When you have the self-awareness that your energy impacts others, you’ll think twice about what kind of energy you bring to those around you.
Resources:
Make Health A Priority
Your health-physical, mental, and spiritual-should be as much of a priority as your life’s mission.
Taking care of your body and mind keeps you centered and aligned with the future self you’re working to become.
You can’t neglect any aspect of your health and hope to become more than what you are now. If you study the habits of high performers and successful people, they all take optimal care of their health.
Resources:
- 11 Habits that will Improve Your Life
- How to Enjoy Your Own Company
- High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become that Way
- 5 Things Successful People Do Before 8 AM
- The Best Personal Development Books for 2021
- The Truth About Self-Care
Before You Go
You must set clear intentions for how you want this year to turn out in order to get what you want. Otherwise, you leave yourself susceptible to whatever life throws at you, and you stay in “reaction” mode.
What intentions are you setting for yourself this year?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Love this, Lisa! I’ve set intentions this year to practice my guitar regularly and become a skilled player, to grow my business, and to finish up some house projects! 🙂
Hi Kristin,
That’s awesome! Sounds like you have a variety of great things you’re accomplishing in 2021! Thanks for reading!
<3 Lisa
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