The beginning of a new year can stir up a lot of different feelings: hope, anticipation, dread, worry… Have you checked in to see how you are feeling this new year? If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by people talking about new year’s resolutions, new year new you, and not to mention the inundation of new workouts, new diets, and new wellness routines. The thing is, you don’t need to reinvent your life or yourself—and research shows that a complete overhaul is not sustainable and leaves most people feeling like a failure when they can’t maintain an overly rigid lifestyle.
Living with intention this new year can be the antidote to the stress of trying to make big changes really fast. When you live with intention, you create a theme for how you want to approach each moment, each day, each week, and each month, which will all add up to your year ahead. Living with intention allows you to become empowered to choose how you want to feel.
Creating a daily intention-setting practice can set up your day with a theme, a hope, and an opportunity to feel in control of your life. You can begin each day asking yourself, “What is my intention for today?” “How do I want to feel today?” Once you have determined these, you can then ask yourself, “What do I need to do to feel this way and to bring this intention into each moment of my day?” Get very specific about what actions you can take to create this feeling for yourself and to bring this intention to life so that you feel empowered and connected to your true wants and needs. Repeating this process as a daily practice will help to inform the days that will make up your year.
Practicing daily intention setting may be all that you need to feel that you are creating momentum to live your intentions. However, if you are desiring to prioritize an aspect of your health this year in a more intentional way, you can consider what pillar of health that would improve the quality of your health and life the most. Then determine how you can focus in on that specific pillar as you begin and move through the new year. Here are some of the most common pillars of health and wellbeing:
Sleep
Nutrition
Movement
Connection/relationships
Intentional relaxation
If you are hoping to focus on your health, it is helpful to choose one area to invite in your life for intentional for change. Each of the above pillars can improve your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Which aspect do you feel you need the most at this time? Then consider what small, actionable, and doable steps you can take daily towards your goals. This can be such an impactful way to create change in your life.
Taking pen to paper and writing down your goals that come from your intentions and how you want to feel and making them specific, doable, and desirable is the most effective place to begin. From there, you can determine the specific action steps you can take daily that will bring you closer to what you want. Checking in daily can help with follow-through and create a new habit.
This has been a daily practice of mine for a while now, and I use an old fashioned planner with pages for journaling in it; however, there are many apps out there that many people find very useful. I begin my day by writing down:
What is my intention for today?
How do I want to feel today?
What action steps do I need to take to help create that feeling (or those feelings) for myself?
My planner also has a habit tracker that I love because I see very clearly in a small space if I am following through! It’s super simple; I just write the goal I want to focus on and the action steps to take and it has a months worth of check boxes to check off if I complete it each day. Consistency is historically my downfall, and this very simple tracker has helped by offering a visual reminder that encourages me to follow through. Checking off the little box that shows how consistent I am being, provides feedback for what is best supporting my desired goals. It keeps my intentions and action steps fresh in my mindset. The data I receive from a simple check box can be used as just that, information on my consistency and follow-through, as well as how to make any shifts when needed if I am not following through for any reason. This reflection keeps me focused and accountable to my future self!
What works for me may not be the best practice for you, however, I encourage you to experiment with what does work for you. If you need support with even knowing where to start, this can be a great practice to have the support of a therapist or coach to help you get going. Change is possible, if you feel blocked towards creating change, reach out!
Finally, the process of consistent reflection is super helpful for continued growth and planning for the future. Actually, I believe continued self-reflection is essential to create any meaningful change. While all of this can be simple in concept, getting going can often be challenging. Finding one place to start, one place you can shift into hope and belief in yourself, will slowly begin to provide motivation towards consistency. Start with your intention and go from there. If you feel stuck, reach out and find support—you don’t have to do it alone if it feels hard or overwhelming. I’ll leave you with this quote I have on my desk and provides daily inspiration for me by Oprah, “The number one principle that rules my life is intention. Thought by thought, choice by choice, we are cocreating our lives based on the energy of intention.” I hope you feel inspired to create and live a life you love in 2025 and beyond!