Setting intentions rather than resolutions to benefit your mental health
Posted on 13th January 2023 at 15:53
Have your new year's resolutions gone out of the window already?
I can assure you that, if they have, you’re not alone. With 23% of people quitting on their resolutions within the first week of setting them, there must be a better way to set ourselves up for success - right?
Well, yes, you are right. And, although it might sound like a minor tweak, setting yourself intentions rather than resolutions might be a better approach to get you to where you want to be.
Wait! Aren’t intentions and resolutions the same thing?
It might surprise you to hear that they’re actually two very different approaches to self improvement and goal setting. The most notable difference is in where your goals stem from.
When we set ourselves new year's resolutions, we often start by looking at what we need to improve on from last year. Often, we identify things that we should already be doing like eating more healthily or getting fit. The problem with this is that these resolutions often come from a place of guilt or shame as we feel we haven’t been able to achieve this previously.
Intentions on the other hand are based on the things we want to achieve rather than things that we feel we should be doing. Your intentions might be around improving a fractured relationship, developing your career or improving your mental health and wellbeing. If this is the case, your intentions might be to…
Practice mindfulness
Work out more regularly
Pay more attention to the foods I’m putting into my body
Practice affirmations
Maintain my optimum sleep schedule
Schedule more breaks into the diary
Practise deep breathing
Where resolutions are usually much larger and more unrealistic goals, intentions tend to be more lifestyle changes that are easier to implement and feel less like a task.
How to set your intentions
This is the process we use to make sure that your intentions come from a place of self-improvement rather than guilt or shame…
Reflect on the goals or resolutions you set for yourself last year. Did you achieve them? And, if not, what did you learn from the experience that you can apply this year to actually achieve what you set out to do?
Write a list of what you want to achieve. This list can be as big or small as you need but if you find your page filling up, try marking the achievements that are most important for you with a star. This way you won’t overwhelm yourself.
Rewrite your top 2-3 goals as intentions using the framework “my intention is…”
Review these intentions daily by reading them or saying them aloud.
Setting great intentions is a foundational step on your journey to true freedom. But, implementing and sticking to these changes can often prove to be the biggest challenge. If you’d like some support setting and achieving your intentions, get in touch with us at https://www.yourtruefreedom.co.uk/contact-us/.
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