One of my father’s favorite culinary tools in the kitchen was a portable rotisserie called the “Set it and Forget it.” He loved this device — and for good reason: all you had to do was put the chicken in, walk away for a few hours — and you’d come back to a perfectly cooked bird. All without any effort or thought!
At this time of year, I think many of us wish change could be that simple.
So we set a resolution for the new year: lose weight; spend more time with friends, let go of the relationships that are doing more harm than good, etc. etc.
But then, somehow it fades all too quickly – and we forget about it – or abandon it altogether because we feel forced or pressured to achieve something huge, and so ditch it as soon as we start to veer off track.
This year I am ending the cycle of guilt and casting aside resolutions in favor of setting daily intentions. The difference being that a resolution is likely your mind telling you what you should do versus an intention coming from the heart telling you what would be good for you!
At its most basic definition, an intention is a thought. But more than that, it is an aspiration of the soul. As Emily Hudson so beautifully articulates, “By calling to the forefront of your mind what your soul is needing most, you can use your intention to connect your practice to being.”
Intentions are driven from within. They involve stating a desire and creating a clear mental picture of the direction you want your life to take based on how you feel in the present moment. Yet, if you ‘slip up’, treat yourself with acceptance and grace and simply set a new intention the next day.
I set a daily intention before I get out of bed, but you can set an intention anytime.
And while there is no right or wrong in setting an intention, following are a few simple intentions to inspire you (note that it you can begin your intention with “I intend to”…)
- To treat myself with love and respect
- To find peace in my heart
- To let love in
- To live every waking minute of every day conscious, awake and aware and in the present moment
- To feel as much joy as possible
- To open my heart, as fully as possible
- To reverse the aging process and fully rejuvenate my physical body and look and feel ageless
- To see beauty in everything, everywhere I go and in whomever I’m with
- To experience greater and greater levels of magic, fun and creativity
The practice of setting daily intentions allows you to set your goals in stone, but also allows you a path of achieving them in sand. The intimate benefit is that being aware of your feelings can open your heart. And the heart, which contains something infinitely more powerful than the mind (love!) can overcome and heal anything.
Let yourself change and don’t fear that!
“A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living.” — Virgina Woolf
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