The Power of an Intention

December has the clarity, the simplicity and the silence you need for the best fresh start of your life. – Vivian Swift 

My word for 2022 was Courage. I entered the year with a lot of transitions before me and I felt that courage was what I most needed as I stepped into so much unknown. I’d say that I have exhibited quite a lot of courage over these last 11 months. I moved to a new state with an intention to start a life with my then boyfriend, and now fiance. I applied for job after job until I finally found my perfect fit. I branched out and connected with a lot of new people and said yes to numerous new experiences. A lot of positives have come from this. I got engaged, I received a promotion, and I have made new friends and created memories. 

Now, December looms before me…the final month of 2022. As I consider what I want for December, I ask myself, “how do I want to finish this year?” I want to finish it in such a way that provides for the rest, rejuvenation, and reflection necessary to begin 2023 in a way that feels right to me. My intention, therefore, for December is to create enough space, through simplicity and silence, to gain clarity around what it is that I want (and need) for the year to come. 

Come late December, New Year Resolutions become a hot topic. About three years ago, I moved from creating New Year Resolutions to creating New Year Intentions. The difference in energy between the two is highlighted by Diana Raab, “While resolutions are hard and fast goals that are either achieved or broken, intentions are broader ideas.” (Scrap the Resolutions…) Personally, I like the idea of an intention as it allows me to focus on what I want to create in my life, as opposed to what I think I need to fix about my life. Create is expansive, while fix feels punitive. There is more fluidity behind an intention, and rigidity within a resolution. 

In order to best set myself up to make authentic and growth producing intentions for 2023, I am first setting predecessor intentions for the month of December. The intentions are that of simplicity, slowness, and silence. December is a month of celebration, as well as reflection. The holiday brings us together, while winter weather also encourages us to go within. There is a beautiful juxtaposition here and a beauty in allowing room for both. Instead of getting caught up in the stress and the feelings of more, more, more that the holidays can bring, I will create room for both pause, and true festivity, with loved ones. My action steps to support these intentions are as follows:

Plugging Alone Time Into My Calendar 

I tend to resist quiet, restorative time alone. Instead, I will spend my time alone actively working on production centered tasks. This is by no means a bad thing, but it rarely leaves me feeling restored or in tune with myself. What I will prioritize in the month of December is the kind of alone time that restores me. During this time alone, I want to let my mind wander. I want to create for the fun of it. This can be a time of reading, a time to journal, a time to paint, or even just sit into the bathtub and breathe. It is in this silence that I hope my own inner desires for the year to come begin to bubble up. 

Limiting What I Put On My Calendar

December is already very full for me (as I am sure is the case for many of us). I have parties to attend, a half marathon to run, travels for work and play, dates with friends, and time with family. These are all wonderful things that I am looking forward to. I will be very careful about whatever else I choose to add to my already full plate though, so as to ensure I reserve space for that alone time I seek. I am going to have to dust off the old word, “no”. 

Putting My Phone Away

I want less noise this December. Much of the noise and chaos that infiltrates my inner world is from my phone and the million messages it throws my way each day. This month I am going to set firm boundaries around my time on social media. I will keep my phone on Do Not Disturb a lot more often. When I am in the presence of others (virtually or in person) my phone will be silenced and tucked away or left in another room. All of this will contribute to a greater level of simplicity, clarity and presence. 

An Intention Setting Ceremony

For the last three years, as the end of December draws near, I have engaged in an intention setting ceremony. I use the Yoga Girl podcast to facilitate this process, as the Friday before the New Year she releases a guided ceremony that involves journaling prompts and meditations to get you in a space of authentic expression of your true hopes for the year ahead, as well as considering what you want to celebrate, or leave behind, from the year before. Setting aside this time and having the support of a mentor helps me to best establish my own intentions. 

❤

December is drawing near. The month is an opportunity to finish our year out in a way that serves us. It is a time to reflect on all that has transpired in 2022 and to consider what we would like to manifest in 2023. 

❆ What did you want from 2022? 

❆ How much of this did you manage to create in your life?

❆ How do you want to end this year?

❆ What will you do to support a sense of clarity around what you want for 2023?
“December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come.” – Fennel Hudson