I like to spend some time at the close of the year thinking about a word that encompasses what I would like to bring more of into my life in the new year. Or a word that will help shift me back to my center, when feeling out of alignment. In recent years, the words I have chosen have included “balance”, “mindfulness”, “simplify”, “focus”, and during a very indecisive time in my life I focused on the words “decide —> action”.
This year I am focusing on intentionality. I wanted to share some of my thoughts about why this is my focus this year, as I believe that everyone can benefit from living their life more intentionally.
There are so many areas of life in which we can find ourselves rushing, “going through the motions,” not paying attention, feeling overwhelmed and being unintentional about the things we are doing. I know I have found myself doing that, often because I find myself short on time, under high stress, fatigued or because I am flooded with too much information or too many options. And sometimes it’s because I set lofty goals for myself and then just do whatever it takes to get to a goal I have set, instead of stepping back and asking myself what the intention behind that goal was in the first place. For example, for years I have been setting a reading challenge to myself on goodreads. For the last two years, as the year started drawing to a close, I found myself reading books just to reach the self imposed quota. I lost sight of the intention behind those challenges. I read books I was less excited about and made myself finish books that I only wanted to originally read just a section of, just so that I could include them in my tally. The original intention was to be inspired, to learn, to widen my horizons, and to read things I enjoy. Not to hit a quota. Although initially the reading challenge was helpful and fun, ultimately I unintentionally creating another self imposed “to do list,” that actually became a source of stress, instead of stepping back and remembering my original intention.
Other areas I want to bring more intentionality to are in how I consume media (news, TV, books, radio, social media), who I spend time with (and prioritizing being fully present and intentional about how that time is spent), what I spend my money on (I just read Die with Zero by Bill Perkins and 100% agree with his philosophy that, after attending to basic needs, money is best spent on health and experiences), how I move my body/rest my body, and how I spend my mornings. An intentional morning is huge for me, because I know it really helps me have a more intentional day. For me that looks like getting up early, sipping coffee and meditating before the sun is up, doing a few minutes of yoga, and either reading a little or journaling. It doesn’t take long, but it really does make all the difference.
In which areas of your life do you feel like you could bring a little more intentionality? Is it the nightly wine or beer, which used to be an occasional indulgence that you shared over deep conversation, that now has become an auto-pilot daily end-of-the-work-day habit? Is it that you feel spread thin with shallow social connections but miss deep, intentional connections that take more time to cultivate? Have you found yourself spending money on things you don’t even really want or need and not having enough to for an experience that would truly bring you joy and lifelong memories? Could you be more intentional about how you spend your free time, or in the way that you create comfort, peace and safety in your home? Or could you bring more intention into the the way you communicate, how you express love, or how you set boundaries?
Whatever it is, I am wishing you a very intentional 2023 <3