Read this before making your “New Year’s Resolutions”
“setting intentions” is quite the BUZZWORD these days. every month, moon cycle, new year, day, YOU NAME IT, people are setting and sharing new intentions. I think it’s wonderful. think about it, we are all waking up to the power of being picky about what we invest our energy into.
now, here’s where the devil lives with God in the details: so what if we all set intentions, if they’re OUT OF ALIGNMENT with what we really WANT OUT OF OUR LIVES?!?? are your intentions in touch with your dreams? or are they diet culture dressed up in new clothing? hustle culture in disguise? do your intentions tell you that you will be happy when “x, y, and z” things go your way? are your intentions a socially acceptable way of beating yourself up and telling you that you need to change to attract love, joy, success, and passion? it takes self-awareness to want to up-level and change your life for the better, BUT, if we don’t love ourselves and our lives as they ALREADY ARE, we first need to change the narrative.
is everything in your life happening to you? flip the script: your life is happening FOR YOU. get out of the passenger’s seat. live in the driver’s seat of your own goddamn life! sure, some people swerve into your lane. you can’t change that. instead, be aware of how it will affect you. be ready to slow down or sidestep the drivers that are ready to throw you of course.
energy flows where intention goes.
make your intention to love yourself first & foremost. each time you write about what changes you intend on bringing about in your life- start it off with “I’m grateful for everything that I am and all the blessings that have been uniquely placed into my life for me to learn from.” and, end it with, “I have set these intentions to spend more time living as my highest vibing, fullest self. I love myself as I already am and that is WHY I know that I will make the necessary actions to continue my lifelong journey of self-love and mindfulness. I am not setting intentions because I am lacking— I am setting out on these formations because I am ABUNDANT & more love, joy, and radiance is out there just waiting for me to tap into it.”
NEXT: what are you beliefs telling you about you?! how can you become aware of the beliefs that limit you?
that's right, we are talking judgement. but!!! the silver lining of noticing your inner critic is that, when you identify the critic, you become AWARE of it!!! hence, we can use our judgment to strengthen our MINDFULNESS + AWARENESS.
take a look at your beliefs of yourself. take a look at your beliefs of others. what do they say about you? about what life you’re attracting? BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS SO STRONGLY YOU ACTIVELY GIVE LIFE TO THEM. Believe you can— dream you can— and you will.
instead of focusing all of our energy into manipulating ourselves into shrinking rather than taking up our god-given space in this world, let's commit to formations this year. let 2021 be the year we focus on BEING as much as BECOMING.
as I ponder what I hope to attract into my life in 2021, I refuse to be so consumed by my planning that I miss out on life. Brianna Wiest writes, in her book 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, "all you are rushing towards is death." this year, I am committing to living. this is not the time in my life to have the answers... it is the time to stumble along, knocking on any door, allowing each closed door to be a vessel launching me nearer to an open one.
where do I want to be next year? in 5 years? alright, I'll be honest, I have a few ideas... but, these days, I am more concerned about how I will feel: grateful, joyful, healthy. who/what will be present: love, family, rich friendships, passion, healing, learning. these dreams feel so real that my body thinks i’ve already achieved it. and then, it is second-nature to think of what actions are in alignment with achieving those dreams.
we will have all of the answers when we are dead. there is no rush. this moment is exactly where we are meant to be; it is all we can feasibly know. it is all that exists. "Better" and "perfect" are oftentimes illusions that prevent us from diving (or belly-flopping... grace doesn't always look as graceful as we want it to appear) headfirst into our wildest dreams, right now. may 2021 be the year that we learn to slow down, recognize what is and isn't in alignment with the lives we want to live, and readjust. moment to moment. choice to choice.
let 2021 be the year you choose again. the year that you choose LOVE at every turn. that you choose your dreams. that you choose the temporary discomfort of giving a damn over the deluded comfort of numbness. LET IT BE THE YEAR OF YOU. THE YEAR OF US. THE YEAR OF TAKING OUR POWER BACK: the radical power to love yourself exactly as you are, in this exact second, and to ditch the idea that happiness waits for us at the outdated mile-markers we try to capture it at. happiness is here. love is right here. more than you could ever imagine.
let 2021 be the year that you are cracked wide open; let this be the year that you are open to receiving endless, abundant light and love in the most unexpected of places, simply because you were present for it.