Several years ago, I started focusing on intentions for a new year, things that don’t have one-and-done goals or hard numbers. Instead, intentions are more like an ongoing project. I kind of got away from setting intentions the last few years, and now feels like the right time for me to return to that.
#1 Be here now. Ram Dass was right about that, and it’s hard for me to be right here, right now, instead of worrying about something in the future or obsessing about something in the past. This year, I want to be more present in the moment, enjoying what is right now rather than before or after.
#2 More loving self-care. I’ve been improving on my self-care the last few years, but a doctor’s visit and some test results made me see I could do better. Healthier food choices, more exercise, some strength training and flexibility on the physical side. On the emotional side, easing up on the need to control, appreciating the people in my life, and being kinder, to myself and to others.
That’s it. Two intentions to guide my actions and decisions through the weeks and months of 2023.
As for aspirations, I hope to do more camping with friends, get back to Canada for some explorations, and come up with a good plan for next winter. Those are the guideposts to the choices I make in 2023, reminders of what I want to accomplish this year.
I hope your 2023 is off to a smooth start and you’re looking forward to the year as it unfolds. Are you a goal-setter, or a intention-maker, or just completely ignore the whole resolutions thing?
We do not do everything perfectly, but the intentions are there.
Didier Deschamps
Love your goals and intentions! I heard Ram Dass speak at U.C. Davis on the first Earth Day. He was quite personable and grounded. He talked about getting older and the fear of death, saying, “I don’t know why people are so fearful of dying. It takes no special skills or training. Anybody can do it!” I’m happy to say that this month, January, I will have been practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique for fifty years.
I love that coming back to Canada is in your aspirations! It’s a wonderful country and can’t be “done” quickly.
Seriously I’m with you. Aspirations is a better term than resolutions; it allows for the inevitable falling off the wagon without the finality of failing. Your aspirations are otherwise very similar to mine. May your 2023 be fulfilling Annie.
I have never been big on the NY resolution thing. I like your approach much much better. I am also a fan of vision boards so your photographic punctuation of this post really resonates with me. Onward to a magical 2023!
I may have to steal intention #1. Ram Dass said it best. The older I get the more I worry about the older I get. I just want to appreciate what I’m capable of now, not stew over how long I’ll be able to go for a walk or ride a bike.
Multiple posts: Intention of thinking before sending!
Seriously, I am so very glad about the self-care. There’s only one You.<3
Great idea: Defining intentions…thank you, Annie. Beautiful photos! 🙂
p.s. …and aspirations as a separate choice. Brilliant! You are so helpful.
I LOVE your header shot, the windmill in the desert. And the seedpods with the rocks. Soooo beautiful. Taking photographs helps keep me in the here. And it gives me something to look at for the yesterday moments on down the road. I think your two intentions are good, they sort of encompass everything that truly matters. Have a wonderful 2023, I can’t wait to see where you’ll go next!
Thanks, Dawn! May your 2023 be full of adventures that turn into great memories.
Any resolutions or intentions I make go by the wayside in a day or two. I stick with one, tiny, specific action. This year’s is simply to drink 16 ounces of water every day before noon. Here’s to a happy (or at least relatively uneventful) 2023! Maybe we’ll even be able to connect this year.
I probably didn’t explain it that well, then. An intention to me is a general direction I want to go, so it reminds me every decision can move me in the direction I want to go, or not; for example, I can choose to take a walk or surf the web 🙂 One of those makes me feel better, the other one not so much!