Intentions

As a business graduate I know the value of specific goals.  If you have taken any course on goal setting you have heard the acronym SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, time based).  SMART goals are important in the business world.  They provide direction.  They make determining whether the team has met them is objective.  Motivational speakers apply the same principles to personal growth. It seems to work for a lot of folks.  For me, they can't be applied to personal growth without leaving me feeling overwhelmed and guilty when I don't meet them.  I am tired of judging myself against a specific goal.  I don't want to be numbers driven for my personal life.

That doesn't mean I want to completely check out from thinking about direction for the next year.  Instead of resolutions or goals I refer to them as intentions.  Here are the ways I am thinking differently about intention than resolutions:

1.  It doesn't actually matter if I meet them.  My intentions are things I am going to explore and see if they fit.  They are ideas I want to explore.  They might not work out.  That's okay.  I will get curious about something else.

2.  I can't actually meet them because they are not specific enough.  These are things I want to explore in my life.  They are not goals at all.

3.  There is no guilt about not meeting an intention.  If I explore something and it isn't a fit, or stops being a fit, I will move on.

Here are some examples of my intentions for this year:

1.  Explore intuitive eating and a healthy relationship with exercise.  If you know me you have seen me follow a bunch of diets and fitness regimens.  I am disillusioned with the diet industry.  I am exploring new ways to have a healthy relationship with food.  I have also stepped away from the gym membership I had to find a relationship with exercise that doesn't come with the shame of diet culture linked to it.  I purchased the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch along with the associated workbook.

2.  Explore embodiment and meditation.  I have recently started a yoga practice which has helped me start to meditate a little.  I am finding peace in that time and some of the stress my body is carrying is starting to move away.

3.  Reading.  I have a list of books I want to read (mostly informed by Sarah Bessey's Favourite Books of 2018).  I actually won't read them all.  I will pick up different books that come out during the year instead.  I have learned to use audio books this past year which is a great way for me to consume some of the non-fiction books I want to read - particularly if the non-fiction book is read by the author.


Here's to an intentional 2019.  Without needless guilt or shame.