I’ve never had much luck with New Year’s resolutions. I’d often make crazy resolution lists in hopes of making this “the best year ever” but I aimed too far and never got past February. As you can imagine, this created a cycle of guilt and shame that followed me around for years.
A simpler way to set your course for the new year is to set New Year’s intentions. Think of it as a theme for the new year. Take inventory of the past year, what went wrong and where you’d most like to improve in the coming year. Here’s some examples for you to think about!
Intentional Self-Care
Like many special needs moms, I put my own health on the back burner and ran on adrenaline, coffee and processed carbs for years. My body finally crashed and I had to learn to start living my life intentionally as a mom with chronic illness.
Believe me, I’ve had to make lots of changes..and they’re still in progress. I’ve lost a good amount of weight and my chronic pain levels are greatly reduced, but I’m still not where I’d like to be. So 2018 is going to be a year of self discipline for me. This will help carry me through the days of not feeling like working out or sticking to my food plan. Small changes over time will add up to big results, if I don’t give up.
Intentional Creativity
Many moms are consumed with caregiving responsibilities and all too often, creative pursuits are the first thing to go. Nurturing your creative side is an essential part of emotional wellness and stress reduction. There’s lots of ways you can do this, depending on the time you have available. You might try picking two or three new pursuits to explore this year. Some examples might be crocheting, drawing, or journaling. YouTube has videos for just about everything but you might also want to check out local class offerings.
An Intentional Yes
We’ve all heard that we’ve got to say no to too many commitments and responsibilities. But have you ever considered what an intentional yes might look like for you? It should be something fun that fills your cup. Maybe coffee with a friend, or a girls’ day trip to some local attractions.
Intentional Faith
I’ve been stumbling for years with setting expectations that were too high for where I am in life right now. For example, reading the Bible through is a very worthy goal, but reading plans for me never seemed to last beyond February when life took over and it felt like a chore…an I couldn’t remember what I read anyway! What works for me right now is smaller studies, like She Reads Truth, devotionals or praying the offices.
I hope these ideas got you thinking! There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Just pick an idea that’s speaking to you and then move towards it!
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I love the idea of New Year’s intentions. I too I’m guilty of setting these crazy expectations in the past and not fulfilling them. But what I did differently this year was pray over my list and actually create steps to accomplish what I wanted to do this year. Thanks for the read 🙂