If you haven’t started thinking about any New Year’s resolutions yet, don’t panic! Firstly, we’ve just started the new year, so it’s not too late. Secondly – and perhaps more importantly – you don’t actually have to make resolutions if you don’t want to. If you want to make changes in your life, then setting intentions is probably a better place to start.
I avoid making hard and fast New Year’s resolutions because I don’t subscribe to the idea that we need to make changes because we failed at something the year before. It feels to me like resolutions focus on things like trying to lose weight, spending less time on social media, running a 5k; instead of focusing on what makes us happier, the things we want to embrace and nurture, and how we can adapt and grow as people.
I prefer to spend some time thinking about what changes I’d like to make in the coming year and what I want to achieve, adopting a mindset of setting intentions for the year ahead and welcoming new things, instead of drawing attention to what I want to leave behind or didn’t achieve.
It helps me to know that I’m moving forward with purpose and intentionality, steering my vessel through life’s choppy waters rather than just going with the flow, rudderless and without direction. I like to set goals for my future, make plans and work towards specific “themes” in my life which I find rewarding, and which encourage growth. In the past, these themes have ranged from ‘nourish’, ‘integrate’ and ‘the year of me’, to simply ‘joy’.
One of the ways that I like to focus my attention on my goals is by creating vision boards. These are physical or digital collections of images, quotes or even objects that interest, inspire and motivate you. They help me to identify what really matters to me so that I can focus on what’s important and set goals – both personal and professional – for the coming year and beyond, and observe my progress as I move closer towards them. They also help me to tackle the barriers – both internal and external – that get in the way, so that I can continue to live my life in the way that I choose: day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year.
So far, 2024’s vision board is a work in progress and it might stay that way for a while. Because even though the new year is a great opportunity to take stock of what’s going on in our lives and think about what would make us feel more fulfilled, what’s the hurry? Living with intention is a long-term commitment, not a new year fad.
In my book, Untangled, I highlight the importance of starting with an intention, but making sure our actions align with that intention. If you want to play the guitar, buy yourself a guitar and start to take lessons. However if for the rest of the week the guitar sits in the case, you’re probably not going to get much better… If you want to create a shift in your life and you don’t put in the time and the energy, the chances are it just isn’t going to happen.
Life has a habit of throwing us curveballs, and plans don’t always work out. So changing the narrative around New Year’s resolutions and working on living with intention has the potential to make you feel happier and more fulfilled in the longer term.
Kirsty Maynor is CEO of Firefly Group, a change guru and author of Untangled: A Practical and Inspirational Guide to Change We Choose and Change We Don’t. Visit Untangledbook.com for more information and resources on how to untangle the knots of change in your life.
