Enusure your success in 2019 by setting your intention.

I am a total sucker for fresh starts! There’s nothing like waking up on New Year’s Day, full of possibility! There’s the chance for a new beginning, and the fresh opportunity to get back on track and push the “reset” button. But, how can you really make this coming year the best one yet, the year where you WILL crush your goals without setting resolutions. Resolutions and goals come from the mind, their nature is future-oriented: I will practice yoga three times a week; I will call a friend more often; I will … They also tend to involve some sort of sacrifice or effort, because implicit in making resolutions is the belief that something needs to be resolved, that something is lacking.

“Our intentions create our reality.” — Wayne Dyer 

Intentions, on the other hand, are the domain of the heart and soul. When we set an intention, we are just setting our trajectory to be in line with our heart’s desire. Nothing is incomplete. Rather we are saying: May all goals and actions spring from the heart, not just this list of 10 I think I should do. Intentions leave room for our goals and actions to be divinely inspired, rather than limited to our thoughts. 

An intention connects us with a calling. It provides us with the opportunity to take action in line with our heart’s desire and that of the Universe.  But while that makes intentions more enjoyable than resolutions, working with intentions is a practice. “It is a practice because it is an ever-renewing process,” says Phillip Moffitt, author and teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. “You don’t just set your intentions and then forget about them; you live them every day,” he says. Or else, just like our resolutions, all traces of them will be gone by June.

It takes some soul searching, but you will reclaim your inner navigator and find a sense of deep contentment and inspiration as you come closer to your true path. Here are four steps to help you set your intention.

• • • Connect with the elements of your life that are most significant to you and bring you the greatest joy, satisfaction, and energy. Ask yourself, “What gives you passion and fills you with a sense of purpose?” Listen to your inner voice. It will connect you to your truth and deeper meaning. We all deserve to live a life that has purpose and connects us to the world we are living in. Know that and feel that deep within your heart so you can learn to trust your calling.
    • Make a list and share it with a close friend who is supportive and can hold you accountable to take action. 
    • Create a word or a short phrase that sums up your intentions. Last year, my words were “Self Discovery” and “What does my heart desire to do?”, was the question I would constantly ask myself. These words became my mantra and helped me to stay open and expand my vision. I meditated on these phrases so my brain was able to integrate them into my actions. When I look back, they did helped me to stay open and follow my heart, especially when fear and doubt were creeping in.
    • Trust that there is a power greater than you to orchestrate the complete fulfillment of your intentions. Don’t listen to the voice that says that you have to be in charge, that obsessive vigilance is the only way to get anything done. If you force the outcome, it may not be as good for you as the one that comes naturally. You have released your intentions into the fertile ground of pure potentiality, and it will bloom when the season is right.

“Energy flows where our intentions goes.” — Unknown

Your new personal awareness is a spacious feeling and creates energy for our heart’s desires to flow to you. Intention is much more powerful when it comes from a place of contentment rather than if it arises from a sense of lack or need. Stay centered and refuse to be influenced by other people’s (or your own) doubts or criticisms. Your higher self knows that everything is alright and will be all right, even if and when you do not  knowing the timing or the details of what will happen. 

As the famous saying goes, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you are ready to move from the 80 percent who fail to the 20 percent who succeed, be willing to try a new strategy and use the holiday season to prepare for your best year.

REPRINT FROM MY:  Capital City Hues Newspaper, Art of Life column January 2018