How to set your intentions for 2017

If, like me, the word ‘resolution’ sends your eyes rolling, then read on!

I stopped setting ‘New Year Resolutions’ years ago. Instead what I have learnt to do is set intentions.

An intention can best be described as a strong purpose or aim, accompanied by a powerful emotion to produce a desired outcome or result.

What’s the difference between an Intention and a New Year Resolution?
You may have set yourself several New Year Resolutions in the past. These resolutions might have included loosing weight, stopping eating sugar, getting to the gym more, going to bed earlier, cutting down on the amount of TV watched and so on.
But all too often what gets missed out is WHY you are setting the resolution in the first place.
When you know WHY you want something, then you start to tap into the emotion behind your desire.  If the resolution has no real meaning or emotion behind it, you won’t see it through because emotions are what drive behaviour.

Intentions differ from resolutions in that they come from the heart.  They have life and meaning to them.

Your intention for example, can still be ‘to loose half a stone in the next 3 months’ but your heartfelt intention is really saying  ‘I am going to love, nourish and respect my body’.

One of my intentions for this year is to get back to my running.  But the heartfelt reasons behind it are because I am looking forward to experiencing more energy throughout my day; to be able to feel my body function more effectively, to feel a greater sense of flexibility in my body. My intention therefore is to love and respect my body.
To keep that intention alive I focus on the feeling of loving and respecting my body. Having run 2 marathons, I know how amazing it feels when I love and respect my body though feeding it well, keeping it hydrated and regularly running, so I use those feelings and remind myself of the experience, which then gives me the push to get out of bed to go for a run.

Think about what you want to achieve this year, what your intentions are and why.

Really allow yourself to tap into the emotion of what it will feel like when you have fulfilled your intention to help you get to the heart of why you want to achieve it.
Write your feelings down, find pictures that match those emotions and stick them somewhere you can see them, journal about them regularly, do something to keep in tune with the emotion behind your intention – your heartfelt intention.

Who is the 2017 version of you?

I’d also invite you to go one step further and think about who you want to identify yourself as in 2017. Who do you want to be? What does the 2017 version of you behave like?
It’s great to set intentions about being healthier and nurturing your body, but you are SO much more than that!
If it is your intention to be successful in business this year, then what would it be like to feel successful? How will you know what success feels like? Allow your mind and body to work together on creating that feeling of success as if its already happened.

Your mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality, so the more you connect with the images and feelings of what your identity is, whether it is successful, confident, happy and so on, the more you will rewire your brain to produce these corresponding behaviours.

Just like the universe, there really is no limit to what you can achieve with the right mindset!
Happy New Year!

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Sara Maude

Sara Maude is an Edinburgh Hypnotherapist, Solution-Focused Psychotherapist, EFT Practitioner, Transformational Coach and International Wellbeing Trainer providing in-person and online sessions. Sara provides problem-free therapy which goes deep into the heart of the unconscious mind to create powerful lasting change.