Have you ever created a new year's resolution that very quickly dissolved into an "unrealistic goal"? Perhaps you vowed to go to the gym everyday or cut out all sweets or read for 30 minutes each night no matter what. Whatever your resolution was, I would place a rather heavy bet that it was too rigid. Life's events are not always (often not) in our control, and to place such strict rules and regulations upon oneself is to pretend that we have all of the control, which is simply not true. We have to give ourselves some room to breathe, some room to grow, some room to change naturally, and some room to surrender to the flow of the universe (aka anything that is outside of our control).
For this reason, I'm trying something new this New Year's Eve. I'm throwing out the idea of creating New Year's resolutions, and instead, I'm going to set a few intentions for myself. As a yoga teacher, I sometimes tell my students to set an intention for themselves at the beginning of a class, and it recently occurred to me that this is an incredibly positive habit we can all do more often, whether that's every morning, every week, every month, or every new year.
Before continuing, I'll attempt to differentiate between a goal and an intention. An intention differs from a goal in a few ways:
1) An intention gives you room to breathe and explore what feels good to you naturally.
2) An intention is more general than a goal, which allows you to grow throughout the year/yoga class and constantly revisit your intention, keeping in mind how your situation has changed.
3) Not meeting an intention doesn't mean getting angry or punishing yourself for not checking off a box. It merely means that there is still room to grow, always keeping that intention in mind.
A few examples of intentions in a yoga class might be:
--I will try to focus more on my breath, and if I lose the focus, I will not get angry with myself; I will simply come back to the breath.
--If a certain pose does not feel right in my body, that's ok. I can come out of the pose and follow what my body is really asking for.
--I will try not to compare myself to others. My focus will stay on my mat and only on my mat. If my eyes and attention drift to someone else, that's ok. I will simply check in with my attention and come back to my own mat.
So, now that you have a better idea of what intentions are, it's time for you to set some for 2018. To assist you with this task, I'll share some wisdom a good friend of mine bestowed upon me recently. She explained that the thought of setting multiple intentions is too daunting for her, so she likes to set an intention for herself in the form of a word. It's as simple as that. She is going to think of a word to symbolize this upcoming year, and it will, in a way, become her mantra of 2018. I think it's a brilliant idea, so I've come up with my own word:
BE.
My 2017 was filled with a whole lot of growth. It involved the best of times and the worst of times. Comfort and affliction. Soul searching and exhaustion. Making friends out of strangers and strangers out of friends. Building and breaking. Finding and losing. It had it all. Looking back, my word for 2017 was GROWTH (or CHANGE). While it was amazing in many regards, it was also draining in many others. It taught me so many invaluable lessons, and the most important of all is one that I will take with me into 2018. We manifest the most love, beauty, joy, and connection when we give up our need to be in control and simply focus on BEing.
No more comparing. No more forcing. No more faking or racing or filling or distracting. Just BEing. I have vowed to listen more to my body, check in more with my heart, slow down when my soul is asking for it, and surrender to the magic of the universe. I have decided just to BE and BREATHE and LIVE and SURRENDER. Be present. Be compassionate. Be kind. Be forgiving. Be curious. Be gentle. Be alive. Be in joy in myself (enjoying myself...see the connection?).
While I'm sure I will make plenty of mistakes this upcoming year, I am going to try my best to repeat my mantra to myself whenever I feel the need. I think you can do the same. Let's change the world by first changing ourselves.
So, what's your word?
Quote of the Day: "We are all gardeners, planting seeds of intention and watering them with attention in every moment of every day."
-Christian Rogers
Peace, Love, + Happiness,
Deviva