Don’t make a new years resolution. Make this instead.

Ever made a new years resolution with bright and perhaps “influenced” enthusiasm on the eve of Dec 31st only to have it fall apart a few weeks later?

Sure, we all have (my hand is up here.)

Too often, New Years resolutions are so fraught with over-the-top expectations that we don’t give one iota of thought to how we’re gonna actually execute the resolution that we’re doomed to fail even before we step foot in that brand new gym.

At the same time, not making a New Years resolution almost seems like a waste of a calendar change. The new! The excitement! The possibility! It’s enough to get even the most seasoned resolution-er on the goal setting bandwagon.

So what to do? You want to get healthy. You want to change your lifestyle, lose some weight and get your prediabetes under control but you’re soooo done with empty promises to yourself.

If that's you, then what I’m arguing for is to forget about setting goals and instead set an intention.

An intention is a way of being in the world.

An intention is a posture you hold to be true for yourself; your mindset.

This isn’t about about goal setting, making a realistic plan or preparing.

Although those the parts of execution are crucial once you get there, without the first part of intention setting, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle the whole way.

I repeat this is not “I will walk 30 minutes 5 days per week after supper”. When has that ever worked on its own anyway?

Setting an intention is more about an attitude. It’s more subtle, nuanced and a little hard to nail down but I think you’re up for it 😉

Intention setting is not a new concept. In fact, the concept was really brought to popularity in the self-help arena by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Dr Dyer (1940-2015) was an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth. Over the four decades of his career, he wrote more than 40 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers.

Dr. Dyer explains the concept of intention setting as taking your attention and energy away from the world around us and focusing inwards. He calls the Power of Intention “the capacity for joy, creativity and kindness built into each of us.”

“Intention is not something you do,” says Dyer, “but rather a force that exists in the universe as an invisible field of energy—a power that can carry us.”

Let’s put this into practice. Let's say you want to lose weight. Then even before you go purging your cupboards and signing up for Noom, decide to have the attitude of discovery: discovering new foods that make me feel good, from the inside out. This is your new intention. To be on a path of discovery.

This is the nuanced practice of intention setting: it's not concrete like "goal setting"; it's more about a mindset.

Be conscious about who you want to be and how you want to move through the world. Because if you’re not happy with where you’re at, you can make steps to change it.

Or you could try this exercise.

Think about how you want to feel or how you want to be in the world.

Here's some examples:

• I want to feel more in control of my life and less like food controls me
• I want to be the kind of person who cooks more at home
• I want to be the kind of person who has a ton of energy and isn’t tired all the time
• I want to be the kind of person who feels good about their body, no matter what their size

This is the posture of your intention. After you have this figured out, then you’re off the races my friend!

You can then move into the specific action items to carry out what you want, all being inline with your new intention.

If you decide to set an intention for yourself, I'd love to hear about it. Email me here: [email protected] and let me know.

All the best for 2019! May it be your happiest and healthiest year yet!

~April

PS Want to dive into the power of intention even more? Check out the book by Dr. Wayne Dyer here.