2012 New Year's Intentions/Resolutions

For most of my early life New Year's Eve/Day didn't carry much weight. It just seemed like an excuse for a noisy party. (Not that I didn't have some fun at those parties;-) The only "real" impact that the last day of the year has to do with in my life is closing up the past years money books. In every other way this could just be any other day. We all have the potential to celebrate deeply and to clear the slate on any day we choose. I suppose it is nice to have a day where many of us are focused on a unified idea though. In that way, I think it's great that we open up a space to talk about making positive changes in our lives through intentions and resolutions.

Last year my New Year's post was about cutting ourselves some slack about the resolutions at this time of year. I spoke about how the winter is a time of low energy in which most living beings are meant to rest and recoup. Money and social pressures fight against our instincts and drive us out into the cold days and dark nights at a harried pace; frying our nerves and burning us out. Nature designed winter as the perfect time to slow down and let go of the old stuff that drain our energy. As winter turns to spring, and our energy is restored, new growth is natural and easy.

But maybe I just didn't have the energy for resolutions last year. This year I'm taking on a few of my own intentions because I'm feeling like some little shifts will likely kindle my inner flame. The threshold of a new calendar year is a great time to reflect on some powerful questions. What is it that I'm doing on a regular basis that is no longer serving me? How might I begin to release my grip on this habit or way of thinking? How can I make more space for me to grow in a positive way in my own life? Is there any small shift, I can make that will help me restore my energy more fully? How can I easily incorporate these changes into my life without draining energy in other areas of my life?

Small shifts can be the most powerful because they lay a solid foundation for lasting change. So far I have one intention and one resolution for the year. As I see it the difference between an intention and a resolution has to do with whether or not your have clear steps to achieve your goal. I have set the intention of being more hopeful in 2012. I've had my fair share of disappointments over the years and have trained myself not to get my hopes up too high so that I wouldn't feel so disappointed when my hopes didn't pan out as I expected. Don't get me wrong, my life is full of joy and I'm grateful for the many, many things that ended up working out even better than I hoped. But it's time for a little more lightness in my heart. I'm calling this an intention because I don't really KNOW how to hope. There always seems to be that devil's advocate in the back of my mind reminding me that this just not might work out. So as I set an intention, I'm setting myself up to be open to practicing and learning to be more hopeful. 


While an intention tends to be a little more vague, a resolution should have clear cut steps that you can use to measure your progress. My resolution for 2012 is to organize my favorite quotes and photos. I want to have these words of wisdom and nuggets of inspiration at the ready when I need a little inner lift. You'll get to measure my resolve too because my intention is to post them here. The first one (which actually sparked me to come write down these thoughts today) is from Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness.


"It's the small, incremental changes that vault us to a new experience of ourselves... we too can affect the probability of something spectacular materializing by the energy we put into supporting the new."