From Resolutions To Intentions: A Journey Of Self-Discovery

It’s March already so the typical resolution time has come and gone. But not for me – I do mine on my birthday, which was in February. I also decided a while back to switch from making resolutions to making intentions.

Resolutions, for me, were concrete goals I felt I wanted to attain. They often entailed reaching goals that my society felt were worthy achievements, such as earning so much by the end of a year, or losing so many pounds. Not that these aren’t worthy goals, but when I went for these kinds of resolutions, I always (not almost always) ended up abandoning them at some point along the way.

Why, I wondered? Well, perhaps it was because they were too material, and too what society wanted and not myself. So I pivoted to intentions: what are my intentions for the year? What I came up with after a day of soul-searching would be a short list of things I wanted to achieve. These things were more spiritually aligned with what was personally meaningful, but something interesting happened: those intentions that were goal-oriented never really panned out, and those that were process-oriented did.

Instead of “regain my health” I chose to “live healthy”.

Instead of “balance my budget” I chose “live within my means”.

Instead of “successfully launch my program” I chose “connect better with those I want to work with”.

There are still some concrete goals for things that I need to achieve to continue the journey I chose for myself in the year, but these are a means to an end and not the end itself.

What I’ve come to appreciate in all of this is something I think I knew all along, something I believe most if not all of us know: it’s not the what in our lives, but the how. Not what life throws at us, or what we chose, but how we work with what we have.

How we live and even enjoy the process all along the way.

I work with people who are burning out, who are overworked and over-committed, but still love what they do. My answer to how to honour what I love and not burn out is to find ways of increasing my energy in everything I do instead of deplete it. Focusing on the process is a big part of my answer.

Quote of the Week

It’s only when you make the process your goal that the big dream can follow.

― Oprah Winfrey

How to achieve your most ambitious goals

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Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist.  To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programs, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co .