It’s the beginning of another year once again. And while it’s almost traditional to set a New Year’s resolutions list, this year, it’s time to shake it up and create an Intentions list instead.
What is it?
Intentions are the general idea of thought form of how you’d like a particular event to turn out. For instance, you could set the intentions for this month to be filled with laughter or growth. Or your intentions could be to grow wealth and grow spiritually.
Intentions are the thought forms beneath goals and to-dos or even bucket lists. They are about the feelings or the state of mind that you wish to feel or experience during a particular period.
Let’s start
But the thing with intention setting is that you have to get really specific as to what it is that you want. Perhaps you’ve been dreaming of moving out of your current apartment. To set an intention in regards to this, you have to first identify reasons for it. Do you feel a sense of lack because your current apartment doesn’t have all the requirements you want and need, such as consistent electricity or clean water? Find out the root cause as to why you want to move out. Then set your intentions to feel the opposite of that. Your intention could be to find a place that you could consider yours and become a safe space for you, as opposed to any feeling of unease that you may currently feel.
It’s important to understand that this exercise requires elaborate thoughts and communication with the self. You have to discover and pinpoint exactly what it is that you want out of the experience that you seek.
Find a quiet place where you can sit down, think, and be alone for a little while. What do you want the year 2022 to bring into your life? Do you want it to be a year of healing? Or of fun? A year of traveling and sightseeing? Do you want 2022 to be filled with giving and receiving love?
The how?
Write down whatever it is that comes into your head. You can also get specific by writing out fun goals or activities that you would like to try during the year. Then break those goals into monthly activities. For January, perhaps you intend to lose weight and be fit and healthy. Then you could set your goal for January to be about joining a gym or picking up a sport.
Have fun with it. Your intentions should be focused on yourself and your growth. It should be about how much love and service that you wish to show to yourself, and in turn to others, because you cannot serve others out of an empty cup. Your cup has to be full first. Don’t be too rigid. If you don’t end up achieving the things on your list, or you don’t feel like your intention has been met, then let it go and try again.
This will also serve as personal discipline. You will gain such a sense of clarity on how you want a particular period or event to be like and then begin to focus all your energy and attention towards accomplishing those goals. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment afterward, knowing that you achieved what you set out to do.