Do you set intentions? I’ve found that if I spend 5 minutes thinking about what my intentions are, it’s eerily awesome how much they come to fruition.
I journal every morning and often I’ll set my intentions for the day based on what’s on my to do list or schedule.
If it’s a big work project, I’ll set an intention about being disciplined in the face of distraction.
If the kids are home, I’ll set an intention about patience and what kind of parent I want to be or letting go of guilt, which comes up either way — if I have a lot of work to do I think “I should be with them” or if I decide to go goof off that “I should be working.” Setting an intention helps me catch and release the negativity and focus on what I really want.
You can expand intentions to more than just a day though. I recommend setting intentions for the holidays. It can be such a stressful time of year. And it’s not our fault because it’s set up that way. We’re overeating, overdrinking, maybe overspending – making hundreds of decisions in a really short time span.
Think about it, sometimes during the year, it’s hard to find time to buy ONE birthday gift, but yet at the holidays that level of stress is multiplied and the to do list is magnified with all the gifts and expectations.
But you don’t have to accept overwhelm as a way of life.
How do you want to feel on Christmas morning?
Relaxed and fulfilled or running on empty, slightly exasperated and just glad you made it.
Take some time to use this template to write out your intentions. You can do this a list or a letter to yourself.
What’s important to you from an emotional perspective? Make decisions from there.
My intentions are never on the specific “how to.” Rather, I focus on how I want to FEEL.
For example, if I’m going to the gym, my intention isn’t “I’m going to do 50 sit ups.” Nope! My intention is: “I’m going to feel strong — focusing on my body and telling myself ‘I CAN’ and not let distractions of the day impact my workout.”
Intentions are like anchors in the wide and rough sea of life.
They give us a sense of purpose ~ reminders in the face of overwhelm and busyness of who we are, what we stand for and what we want.
I think it’s hard to stay on track so that’s the useful and cool thing about having a coach. My last two sessions with clients we went through some recent goals and talked about the future and what they wanted out of it. We set some specific tasks, but they were rooted in something MORE.
MORE = what matters to them.
So, what matters most of all to you, focus on the next few weeks? What kind of mood and energy, do you want to be in and have?
Can you make decisions that support your intentions?
I’ve made you a handy guide to use!!! ?
I included a list “emotion words” to help with articulating what you want. I’ve found that people have a hard time speaking in terms of emotions. But the interesting thing is, we THINK we’re rational, fact-based decision makers, but really we decide most things and take action from a place of emotion. So, it’s helpful to name how you want to feel.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Start with thinking about what you DON’T want
- This is usually easier for most of us; use the negative emotions list
- Think about specific circumstances that you know will be challenging
- For example, I always hate leaving presents to wrap on Christmas Eve because it makes me tired and cranky, and I don’t want to be Grinchy as my boys are opening presents. So, that means I’ll wrap presents earlier, despite the urge to procrastinate.
- Brainstorm about what you DO want and put it in feeling terms
- I want to feel calm, energized, motivated, peaceful, loving
- Be aware of when making decisions that go against intentions
- Allow yourself do overs. You have lots of chances.
- Set reminders to re-read your intentions
- Have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and spend some time re-reading them as a reminder… maybe even daily!
- Tell other people about your intentions – you can email me, just hit reply!
- Believe in yourself and your intentions
- Know you’re worthy of what you want too feel
- Celebrate and acknowledge when you follow through! Can you give yourself a reward?
- Please don’t barrel through to the next thing. Revel in your accomplishments!!
As we close out this year and decade, what are your intentions? You can use this framework for all kinds of other areas in your life, such as with food, money, people, time. Even for setting goals for 2020!!
Have some fun with this!!! And let me know if you are setting any intentions or need any support.
My intention for this blog post was that my compassion and positive energy comes through to you, and that this message finds its way to someone who needs it most.
I encourage you to TAKE ACTION and actually write the letter. See how it can make a difference for you.
Many hugs and may you believe deep down in yourself and your intentions.
Laura
TLDR:
- We think we’re fact-based, rational beings, but most of the time we make decisions from a place of emotions.
- Intentions keep us anchored
- How do you want to feel this holiday season?
- Download the My Intentions guide ~ use it!
