How To Set Your Intentions For THE NEW YEAR
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Yes, it’s cliché, but I simply adore the start of a new year. It’s the perfect time to check in on yourself, your year, your accomplishments and setbacks, and adjust strategy accordingly. And while many believe that new year’s resolutions never last, I for one believe it can be quite powerful to list out your hopes and goals for the upcoming 365 days. Although, I have to say, I don’t necessarily write things like “go to the gym more” or “practice the guitar everyday”. Instead, I write down the overarching path I hope to go down. Miraculously enough (because manifestation is real), everything always comes true. I like to think that I’m incredibly talented at predicting the future, but it’s really just me knowing exactly what I want and moving towards it with intention.
2022 for me was a year of action. I checked off so many important boxes, including finding the perfect apartment, getting a dog, reuniting with my partner, and getting my dream job. At the start of 2022, I knew that this was going to be “my year”, and sprinted through the months with full motivation. The results were *perfect*, and I’m incredibly proud of myself. Therefore, for 2023, I'm going to take it easy. I’d like some stability and routine — no extreme highs, no dramatic lows, and enjoy the fruits of my 2022 labor in peace.
Whatever your plans are for this year, it’s important to engage in a ritualistic ceremony, if you will, to properly manifest your goals into reality. Every year, there are a few things I do to ensure the year goes as planned, and I’ve written those steps out below. Keep reading to see how to set your intentions for the new year.
Step 1: Sit, walk, and ponder
There’s nothing I love more than daydreaming. It’s the perfect time to hold conversations with yourself, let your imaginations wander, and simply exist in your truest self. When you sit still or go on long walks, your mind takes you to adventurous scenarios that your heart wishes to be in. Either that, or it replays old situations that left an impact on you. This time is vital to figure out exactly what it is that you want. Reflect deeply on the year, and then let your mind run wild with idealistic futures. You’ll quickly learn and solidify what it is you wish to accomplish in the new year.
Step 2: Write down your reflections of the past year
Before we can welcome the new year, you must pay respects and close out the previous year. Whether it was good or bad, it was time spent alive amongst people important to you. Say your thank you’s, just to your journal. Write down all the things you did that you are proud of, and if there were things you wish you could have done differently, write those down as well. Be raw and honest but layer in a tone of positivity. Whatever happened, happened, and it’s in the past now. This is about putting the lid on all that’s occurred and moving on, so greet your memories (good and bad) with a grateful kind smile and put them to rest.
Step 3: Wait at least 24 hours
You’ll be surprised how light you’ll feel once you’ve dumped all your emotions from 2022 onto a piece of paper. It has passed through your heart and released through your hands, and now you are free. Take at least 24 hours to really enjoy this newfound freedom. Go back to step one and maybe indulge in a long walk in the woods again. The daydreams that pop up now are guaranteed to be refreshed with newfound positivity and excitement. Linger on the thoughts that spark some fire in you and let them go crazy. Skip, dance, listen to music, and just live in this nomand’s land that is not quite 2022 and not quite 2023 yet.
Step 4: Journal your intentions for the new year
By now, you’ve had plenty of time to marinate some hopes and dreams for the new year. It’s time to write all those thoughts down to turn them into reality. This is the most vital part of the process, because writing things down truly has some magical power that signals to the universe you’re ready to see your dreams come to life. Maybe we live on a tiny marble that some creature is controlling. If that’s the case, writing your goals down helps them to actually read what is on your mind. If you just think about it, they’ll never actually know what it is you want. Who knows, this is just a passing thought that came to me the other day when I was trying to make sense of how everything I write down comes true. Whatever is happening in the world, I know for a fact that writing down how you envision your year to go is the key to making it the year of your dreams.
