Recently, I've taken some time to sit with myself and really consider what I want. It's a time to take stock. To look at things as they are, right now, and think about how I'd like them to be. What are my intentions?

An intention is different than a goal or an objective. It's broader in that it can guide any goals we want to create. For instance, when I know my intention is to be healthy, I may create a goal to exercise four times a week to align with my intention.

Intention is also more constant than objectives, which I set from time to time. Intentions are with me throughout my day, whether I realize it or not. It's behind every one of my many, tiny (and not-so-tiny) decisions.

Start here, now.
Before I go about setting new intentions, I take time to observe my current ones. It just requires me to be willing to notice myself with honesty. So I consider the past few minutes: when I sent that message I just wrote, what was my underlying intention?

Was it to get something off my to-do list? Was it to get my point across? Was it to honour my truest self in a respectful way? Was it to take the next step forward toward a mutual goal?

How was I feeling and thinking when I wrote the note - calm, frustrated, annoyed, happy, resentful?

Even my decisions on when and what I eat and drink have an intention behind them. I may be seeking something to quench my thirst or looking for something to distract or numb me from an uncomfortable feeling. My intention may be to get away from processing sadness, anger, loneliness, anxiety or envy.

It only takes a few seconds, but I find noticing my intentions very eye-opening. I realize I can make a positive impact in my life through small, quiet decisions. For example, when I'm about to reply to a message, I take a couple deep breaths and think about what I want my intention to be before I respond.

To make my intentions stick, I write any little discoveries and wishes down in a notebook. There's something about the process of handwriting that feels grounding and calming to me in a way that typing doesn't. It's just me and the page.

     

What intentions are you setting for yourself? Whatever they may be, we wish you much success in becoming more of who you want to be. It was Maya Angelou who said, "success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

Wishing you conscious intentions in 2023!

January 03, 2023 — Antoinette D'Angelo

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