Hey friends. I hope the holidays are treating you right. It’s been lovely over here—I had a wonderful weeklong meditation retreat, enjoyed a very merry Christmas with my family, and am all done reflecting on the year that was 2022.
Now it’s time to get intentional about 2023.
If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I’m anti-New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I’m not goal-oriented (I might be too goal-oriented?), but the whole resolution thing never worked for me. Apparently I’m not alone.
So, more than decade ago, I started setting New Year intentions instead. Unlike a resolution that is about improving myself or achieving a thing, an intention is about embodiment. Not so much what I do, but more who I am. How I show up. What I bring.
Don’t get me wrong: I’ve still got goals. In fact, I’m setting some very big personal and professional ones for 2023. But if those are the specific targets I’m aiming for, my intention is what steadies and focuses my aim.
The best part of practicing with an intention, though, is that it goes beyond goals. I bring my intention everywhere I go—to my work, my community, my family and friends. I can show up with my intention in a coaching session, in traffic, in the group chat or at the dinner table.
It’s like a lens that allows me to see more clearly and completely, to make new, more skillful choices, and to move through the world on purpose vs. on autopilot.
Your life arises from the tip of your intention.
—Siddhartha Gautama, aka the Buddha
A few examples of intentions I’ve set in years past: curiosity (2011), love (2014, the year my son was born), sufficiency (2017) and deep simplicity (2021, when I was doing the most). I’m still working on this year’s intention, but here’s how I do it:
Set a noble intention for 2023
I’ve created this worksheet to help me zero in on my intention for the coming year, and I’d love for you to use it too. It guides us through:
Reflecting on the successes of last year
Looking ahead to goals or challenges in the coming year
Examining what matters most to us
Imagining ourselves in the future, looking back
Choosing a noble, powerful intention to take into 2023
Those who have used the worksheet in years past will notice the new design, but the tried-and-true process is the same, including tips for how to apply this intention in your life and work. And ***bonus*** it now includes a link to this audio guide, which you may find supportive.
You can find the worksheet on my website or download it here:
And please, free to share it with your family, friends, colleagues and community.
I hope you’ll consider setting an intention for the new year—and if so, let me know in the comments what you’ve chosen so I can be cheering you on!
Here’s to an intentional new year.
Kristen
We Can Change... with Intention