Did this year fly by for you? It sure did for me! When you’re fully immersed in life and juggling your many roles, time feels like it moves more quickly. All the more reason to ensure you’re living life in the way you truly desire.
Last week, I suggested a practice of honoring your year so that you can fully appreciate all that you’ve come through. You may feel tempted to look back with regret at what you didn’t accomplish. While this is totally natural, I encourage you to take a different view.
Look at all the ways you’ve grown…
:: New, healthy habits you’ve formed
:: Relationships you’ve deepened
:: Beliefs about yourself that you’ve uncovered and perhaps released
:: New skills you’ve acquired
:: Boundaries you’ve defined and begun to uphold
:: Spiritual practices you’ve grown into
I truly believe that health begins in the mind. It all starts with an understanding of how you want to feel and manifests into the choices that you make every day. Once you’ve looked back and put your attention on the ways you’ve grown, you’re in a beautiful place to set your intentions for the coming year.
Life is moving forward whether or not you plan a thing. You may as well dream a little, right?
I love to set intentions instead of having new year’s resolutions because intentions are about how you want to show up in the world. Your goals and achievements are infused by your intentions. How you want to feel and how you want to be received. Your goals for the future will be clearer and will feel more achievable when set upon this foundation.
Here’s my simple formula for intention-setting:
Make space to daydream
Science has discovered that our brains function best when given space to daydream and engage in activities that are not related to focus. Activities like doodling, knitting and power-napping give the brain space to sort through the large amount of information you’re processing each day. Psychiatrist Srini Pillay, author of Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind, goes into greater detail on this topic.
So if you find yourself constantly feeling like you need to fill your brain with limitless information, you can let yourself off the hook. Celebrate who you are, where you’re at, and the impact you’re making in your world right now. Allow your intentions to guide you into 2019, and always make space to dream. The world is a much brighter place when you live out of your purpose.
Thanks so much for being a part of this community. I pray heartfelt blessings over your life and your holiday season. May you feel peace and joy now and into the new year.
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Blessings,
Sheila
PS: I’ll be taking a blogging break over the holidays, but stay tuned to a special ‘healthy intentions’ challenge I’ll be leading the second week of January. If you want to start your year off with your best health in mind, stay tuned. I’ve found that starting and keeping good habits is much easier when done with a little accountability.
I hope you’ll join me – It’s gonna be fun! If you know anyone who would like to simplify their wellness in the coming year, please forward them this post. They can sign up to join us here.
