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HAPPY NEW YEAR! DO YOU HAVE A VISION FOR 2020?!

As you rang in the New Year…did you set new resolutions for this year? Or are you perhaps one of the many who have quit making resolutions as they seem to have lost their luster? How many of us have set resolutions each year in the past and by mid-February find they have all gone by the wayside? Resolutions are typically all about changing ourselves or our life - sending the message that whatever we have been doing is “not good enough”; goals that are based upon desires to change from a past perspective that we weren’t measuring up to well enough and believe we need to be better. Resolutions that aren’t kept end up setting us up for failure and create more negative self-talk and critical thinking.

Let’s explore changing our resolutions into Intentions! Different from a goal-setting resolution typically generated from the desire to change a past behavior, intentions are the fuel to manifesting your goals and visions. In the words of Los Angeles-based spiritual teacher Chandresh Bhardwaj, “Sankalpa—the Sanskrit word for intention—is generated for your soul’s growth. A good intention nurtures your consciousness and has the power to significantly raise your awareness. When you set an intention, you don’t have to worry about your actions. A righteous intention creates a righteous action.”

An intention will help create more clarity in your life; it is like drawing a map of where you wish to go — it becomes the driving force of your higher consciousness. Without an intention there is no map, and you're just driving down a road with no destination in mind. In order to set an authentic true intention, we must first center ourselves and be present in the moment. Some like to meditate or take a mindful pause, helping us to get out of our head based “should” thoughts and connect to our innermost desires from our heart. Intentions are a way to align our spirit with our vision for our future, how we may enhance our life. Different from “should-based” resolutions, intentions protect us from setting ourselves up for failure, as intentions provide a vision of what we desire, even if we don’t get there within a specified time. Set your intention(s) in the present tense, making sure they are always positive and uplifting; refraining from any negativity.

Deepak Chopra describes an intention as “the starting point of every dream; the creative power that fulfills all of our needs. A directed impulse of consciousness that contains the seed form of that which you aim to create. Like real seeds, intentions can’t grow if you hold on to them. Only when you release your intentions into the fertile depths of your consciousness can they grow and flourish.”

A great way to support our intention(s) is to create a vision board. Choosing quotes, pictures, images and words that resonate with us fuels our energy toward achieving that which we would like to manifest in our life. Placing the vision board in a location we can see it daily, helps to reinforce our intention(s) and in a sense re-wire our brain to see our life in a different light; allowing our creative juices to flow and open up to possibilities we may not have visualized for ourselves previously.

Once you have set your intention(s), set an affirmation to create an ongoing positive thought pattern and belief to sustain and optimize your intentions. The best affirmation is one that is stated in the present tense, includes an optimistic emotional influence and specifies exactly what you desire. 

In the words of Steve Jobs, “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

I invite you to set a few mindful positive intentions for this year of 2020. Let go of your “shoulds”, clear your critical mind and open yourself up to the realm of possibilities. Need help? Schedule a 30-minute complimentary phone call with me; I’d love to partner with you and offer support as you navigate a successful year of 2020.