As the calendar turns, there’s a collective desire for a fresh start. It’s as if the new year reminds us that life is full of possibilities and that it is never too late to begin again.
For the past 4,000 years, people have been making resolutions—lists of things to do or stop doing. Unfortunately, those new habits often go by the wayside by February, making us feel like we’ve failed. Again.
What if you tried something different this year? Instead of focusing on rigid goals, what if you embraced setting an intention for the new year?
Why Intentions Work Better Than Resolutions
Resolutions focus on external outcomes, like losing weight or saving a specific amount of money. While there is nothing wrong with goal setting, these New Year’s resolutions can feel restrictive. When things don’t go as planned, people tend to get discouraged and abandon the resolution altogether.
An intention isn’t a rigid box to check. It is a guiding principle—a way of being. It’s less about what you do and more about who you want to become.
Intentions focus on the feelings and qualities you want to cultivate. For example, instead of promising yourself you’ll go to the gym three times a week, you could set an intention to “move with joy.” Rather than a strict requirement, you get a world of possibilities. Moving with joy could mean a walk in the park, a dance class, or stretching at home.
Your intention can act as your compass for the year—a gentle, consistent reminder of your core values and desires. Setting intentions approaches the year with self-compassion and flexibility, allowing you to adapt to life’s changes. An intention is a foundation, not a cage. This word or short phrase guides you toward the best version of yourself instead of constantly reminding you of the areas where you’ve “fallen short.”
How to Set an Intention for the New Year
Ready to ditch resolutions and craft your new year intention? Here are three easy steps:
Step 1: Reflect
Before you can look forward, it’s helpful to look back. Take some quiet time to reflect on the past year, or even the last few years. You don’t need to do a deep analysis of every single event. Instead, think about the year in general.
Grab a journal and write whatever comes to mind when you ask yourself:
Intention Setting Reflection Questions
- What moments brought you the most joy and fulfillment?
- When did you feel most alive and aligned with your values?
- What challenges did you face? What did you learn from them?
- What or who drained your energy? What energized you?
- Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
- Is there anything you can let go of?
- Is there anything you’d like more of?
This process isn’t about judgment. It’s about gathering information. By understanding what worked and what didn’t, you can gain clarity on what you want to invite into your life in the coming year. Notice any recurring themes or feelings that come up. These are clues that will guide you toward your intention.
Step 2: Write Intentions for the Year Ahead
Look back over the themes that came up during your reflection. What do you want more of? What qualities do you want to embody? What feelings do you want to cultivate? Use that information as inspiration for intention setting.
My favorite way to set an intention is by choosing a word of the year to guide me. This year, I chose the word trust after a season of heartbreak and disappointment. Last year, I chose love as I decided to shift from performance to fulfillment. In the past, I have chosen words like “unprecedented” to drive me toward growth.
Your word could be anything. Here are a few ideas:
Sample Intentions
- Growth: To focus on learning, gaining new skills, or embracing challenges.
- Ease: To release control and find a more gentle way of moving through life.
- Connection: To prioritize relationships with others and with yourself.
- Courage: To step outside your comfort zone and face fears.
- Abundance: To cultivate a mindset of gratitude and recognize the richness in your life.
- Health: To prioritize physical and mental well-being.
- Happiness: To focus on cultivating more joy, contentment, and gratitude in your daily life.
- Hope: To maintain a positive outlook and believe in possibilities for the future.
- Awareness: To stay present and mindful in each moment.
Once you have a few potential words, try them out. Say them out loud. Write them down. How do they feel? The one that resonates most deeply in your heart is your new year intention.
Keep in mind, this process doesn’t have to happen all in one day. You can take as much time as you need. In fact, you don’t even have to figure it out by New Year’s Eve. That is the beauty of intention setting—it is about clarity and awareness, not perfection.
Step 3: Set Goals and Create a Plan to Stay Aligned
An intention without action is just a wish. To bring your intention to life, you need to make it a focal point of your daily routine. The best way to do that is to put small reminders of your intention where you will see them regularly.
Ways to keep your intention at the forefront of your mind:
- Make It Visible: There are so many creative ways to make your word of the year or intention visible. You could:
- Write your word on sticky notes and place them where you’ll see them every day, like your bathroom mirror, your computer monitor, or your car’s dashboard.
- Create a phone wallpaper with your word.
- Craft a vision board that shows where you want that intention to guide you.
- Tell your friends and family so they can hold you accountable and remind you.
- Start Your Day with It: Begin each morning by taking a few deep breaths and silently repeating your word. Ask yourself, “How can I embody [your word] today?”
- Write About It: Spend a few minutes each week journaling about your intention. How has it shown up in your life? Where have you struggled to align with it? This frequent reflection helps you stay connected to your purpose.
- Set Goals: Set goals related to your intention. For example, if your word is “Courage,” a micro-goal might be to speak up in a meeting or try a new recipe. If your word is “Connection,” you could schedule a weekly call with a friend.
Over time, these small actions build momentum. What requires effort now will soon become second nature. By next year, you won’t even remember what life looked like before you started living with intention. Living your intention will become second nature.
Start Your Year with Purpose
Setting a new year intention is an act of hope and self-empowerment. It’s a declaration of how you want to live and who you want to be. By choosing a guiding principle instead of a rigid rule, you give yourself the grace and flexibility to grow in a way that feels authentic to you. You are creating a roadmap for a more meaningful and fulfilling year. Ultimately, that is the way you deserve to live.
Are you ready to discover the dreams and intentions that are waiting for you? To help you get started, I want to give you a gift. You can download the first chapter of my best-selling book, How to Dream, for $0. It is a roadmap for dreaming in a world that actively crushes dreams. You will be able to rediscover your spark and craft a plan that will lead you from stuck and unsure to the unstoppable human you were always meant to be. Claim your gift and step into the fulfilling life you deserve.
