On Setting Intentions
Yesterday, as I was stopping to get coffee (one large café au lait plz), I paused to take in the changing colors of the leaves on the tree outside of my favorite neighborhood coffee shop.
Side note: YES, it’s really already starting!
As someone who unashamedly proclaims summer to be her least favorite season, these changing colors were a warm, welcoming signpost reminding me of the goodness to come.
Crisp, fall mornings. Cozy, warm sweaters. earthy tones everywhere. Less activities. More time to rest.
Whether you’re into fall or not, the changing of seasons in and of itself can bring about so much intentionality— if we let it.
As we all know, life moves quickly. And if we don’t stop to see what we want out of it, we often end up aimless, unsettled, and flying by the seat of our pants.
Yes, it’s fun to go with the flow, but not when you are trying to achieve your dreams.
So as we near the end of the third quarter of 2021, let’s pause to dream a little— to set our intentions for the end of the year and all that it has to offer.
Following is a breakdown of some of my favorite steps in intention setting. Join me?
step one:
Grab your favorite journal. My current journal is included in our Favorite Things post here. Have you seen it? There are bright colored hand painted splatters on my journal, which I intentionally chose to remind me of the fun + goodness in journaling. Bonus: it looks great on my shelves.
Step Two:
Word vomit on a page (or pages) in said journal. There are no requirements or specifications for this step, only that you release anything and everything you are holding to the best of your abilities. Let this process take as long as it needs— you owe it to yourself.
Step Three:
Breathe. If you’re new to breath work and/or are just looking for some guided meditation, check out our 5 minute breath work recording here. As you take time to breathe, notice how you feel, especially now that you have done your word vomiting— lighter, heavier, excited, hopeful, depressed? Any and all emotions are welcome. Your job is to accept them and use them as data points in better understanding yourself.
Step Four:
Flip to a clean, blank page of your journal. We’re going to move on from our word vomiting physically (by starting a new page) while still acknowledging those emotions mentally. This will help inform where we need to go with our intentions.
Step Five:
Let the games begin. Start by writing down 10 goals for the upcoming season. These could be anything ranging from social, work-related, emotional, financial, sleep-related, movement-related, etc. AKA the sky is the limit.
Hint: make sure your goals follow the SMART acronym AKA make sure they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.
Step Six:
For each goal you chose, write down *why* you care about this goal. What is so good about achieving it? Notice what emotions + sensations come up within you as you think about meeting each of these goals.
Step Seven:
Do the dang thing. Go after your goals!!!!!! To hold yourself accountable, take a picture of your goals and make it your lock screen photo on your phone. Take the sheet of paper out of your notebook and hang it up on your bathroom mirror.
You get the picture: do whatever you need to do to remind yourself of what you’re trying to achieve!
What is one goal you are working toward this season? Let us know in the comments below!