how to create new year's intentions instead of resolutions

How to Create New Year’s Intentions Instead Of Resolutions

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4 Reasons Why You Need to Ditch Resolutions for New Year’s Intentions

And here we are, after a whirlwind of a year, ready to wrap up the start of a new decade – and hopefully forget it ever happened. 

With the craziness that was 2020, and hope for the new year ahead, it is easy to get caught up in a fantasy that “everything will magically be okay.” 

With bright eyes and a hopeful – may I say delusional? – spirit, you make a list of New Year’s Resolutions, believing in every vein of yours that THIS is the year. 

Alas. We all know what happens come January 15th, when most of us have fallen way off the bandwagon. 

But no. It doesn’t have to be like that.

So what needs to change? 

The biggest mistake I see people make is trying to rack up a long list of resolutions. Instead, try setting new year’s intentions. 

I know that when I first heard about intentions, I was confused. What’s the difference between a goal, a resolution, an intention? On my New Year’s resolutions should I write “get abs” or should I write “workout every day”? Should I write “be financially independent” or should I write “be more mindful of where I spend?” 

If you, like me, are a bit confused regarding all these terms, and the daunting but exciting list of 2021 hopes and dreams that you have, you’re in the right place. 

First, let’s go over some definitions: 

Goals – a desired outcome 

Resolutions – a firm decision to do something
I am going to go to the gym every day (with the goal of losing 20 lbs).
I am going to meditate everyday (with the goal of reducing my anxiety).

Intentions – something that you want and plan to do 
I am going to take care of my body and give it the care it deserves. 
I am going to be mindful of my mental wellness.

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set new year's intentions

The Problem with New Year’s Resolutions

By making a resolution, you are essentially making a firm decision to do something. It is a rigid rule that you are planning to follow.

Motivation is Fleeting

The problem with these sort of resolutions is that motivation is fleeting. You can feel extremely motivated NOW, but that does not mean you will be motivated for 365 days of the year. 

Want to be more disciplined? Read this article for 6 simple ways to master self-discipline.

All or Nothing

Next, since resolutions are such hard-and-fast rules, they encourage an all-or-nothing mindset. This is why when you go to the gym for 10 days in a row, but miss the 11th, you suddenly give up. Why? Because you broke the rule. 

But does this really help your overall purpose to be healthy? Is it better to go on the 12th day, or wait another 300 days to try again the next year?

New Habits Require a Lot of Energy 

There is one thing we over-enthusiastic humans forget: creating new habits takes a lot of energy. And hence, trying to create many new habits at once is a clear road to failure. 

Instead, limit your goals and your resolutions. Once you nail your habits (give it a month), then it doesn’t take as much energy anymore to keep those habits running. That’s when it is ideal to add a new one to your list. 

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Baby Steps Are Motivating 

As the clock ticks closer to the New Year, motivation runs extremely high. Suddenly, you think you can climb Mt. Everest in a day. But the problem is, you can’t. You need rigorous, tiring, dedicated training.

But, by deciding to take baby steps and setting small, achievable goals throughout the year, you set yourself up for success. This gives you the boost of dopamine on regular, short intervals, so that your motivation stays high, and you keep moving closer to your goals.

Learn how to create the perfect routine for yourself this the new year!

What to Do Instead of Setting Resolutions

Instead of setting a long list of resolutions, sit in silence for a while and just be. Meditate and let your mind guide you to the goals you really want to achieve in the New Year. You can come up with a few, but really try to limit them to around 5 so that you focus and can actually achieve it.

Once you have these goals, dig into the why behind them. Why do you want to achieve these goals? How do they support your priorities, your values, and your passions?

This will be the foundation of your success. Without a strong ‘why’, it is incredibly easy to get derailed.

Now, it is time to set new year’s intentions.

The Power of Intentions

Intentions are about reconnecting with ourselves. The fluidity of intentions encourages us to look within for what we need–something I find much more successful than blindly trying to follow resolutions.

Our goals that we set will often be achieved as a result of intentions, but they also have space to morph as we grow and transform ourselves. What we set out to achieve on December 31st may no longer align with our vision in August.

So why would we be so rigid about our goals to power through no matter what? Shouldn’t our goals grow and transform with us? 

That is the beauty of new year’s intentions – their power supersedes the limitations of harsh rules and tangible outcomes. 

Not making progress with goals? Discover the 1 Missing Piece to Achieve Your Goals Faster.

Setting New Year’s Intentions

Think about how you would act once you achieved your goals. For example, maybe you want to have abs. So how would you act if you had abs? Maybe you’d respect their body, feed it healthy food, and move it, right? 

Those will be your new year’s intentions. 

Set up a statement like this:

I honor and respect my body. I take care of my body, and offer it what it needs to function at its best. I feed it nutritious food, nurture it, move it, and keep it healthy.

That, my friends, is an intention, and much easier to do (and hence much more effective) than a strict resolution of hitting the gym every day.

Let’s say you’ve been eating healthy the whole week, and your roommate made you a cake. Will you eat it? Well, you would check in with your intentions. Is it healthy? Maybe not. But, do you really want to eat a piece right now? Yeah. If you eat the cake, will you still be honoring your body? Yeah, because you’ve been really healthy for the most part, so one piece won’t do any damage. So, you eat it.

Since the hard-and-fast rules don’t apply to new year’s intentions, you don’t make this a bigger deal than it is. You didn’t fall off any bandwagon, so you don’t feel like you failed at your resolution. You know that eating this cake was in line with your intentions, because you are honoring your body. Maybe the next thing you will eat will be something healthier so that your body gets the nutrients it needs.

Is one of your new year’s intentions to be more present and mindful in your daily life? Read 4 Delightfully Simple Steps to Embrace Slow Living Even If You Are Busy for some quick tips!

Conclusion

New year’s intentions are much more effective than resolutions because they are more in-tune with what we need. They encourage us to look deeper than a superficial rule, and to live intentionally so that we can honor what we really need in each circumstance.

Rather than get roped into feelings of failure, stress, and the pressure to stay motivated that resolutions often come with, intentions are light, airy, and intuitive.

What New Year’s Intentions are you setting for yourself this year? Tell me below!

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4 reasons to set new year's intentions instead of resolutions

30 thoughts on “How to Create New Year’s Intentions Instead Of Resolutions”

  2. Michelle

    Love this!!! I love taking a gentle approach to things and I think ditching the resolutions and setting New Years intentions instead is a brilliant way to set ourselves up for long-term success at reaching our goals, but more importantly gives us the freedom to just meet ourselves where we’re at 🙂

    1. tanvi.chadha1

      Precisely! I think that’s where the most growth happens 🙂 Gentle nudging and consistent recalibration 🙂

  3. Ellie

    I love that you called them new year’s “intentions” instead of resolutions! Great information and I really think this will help a lot of people stick to their goals! 🙂

      1. Genasys

        Love this post! I was just about to set my New Years resolutions but I realized that they give me a good start to the new year but they only give me motivation for so long. This post has helped me become more mindful and start the new year right! Thank you!

        1. tanvi.chadha1

          So glad you liked it! Yes, that’s exactly why i wrote this! I found it so frustrating for myself, too, coming up with a bunch of resolutions and then not following through. Good to hear you found this helpful! 🙂

  6. Kasia

    This is such a great way to look at resolutions differently. I need to do this too. Thanks for the idea.

  7. Christa

    So true! Great ideas. Especially because we all know those resolutions don’t last us too long. Love the idea of meditating to help guide us.

    1. tanvi.chadha1

      I’m so glad you found this helpful! I hope this brings you much closer to your dreams and goals in the new year!

  15. Jay

    I agree with you and you make strong points, why wait on an external trigger like a date but just make up your mind and take baby steps to get to your goal!

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