We did it Joe! We made it out of 2020!
This past year caught us all off guard and took plenty out of us, but that’s all the more reason to start the new year more empowered and focused than ever before. One way I like to do that, besides setting SMART goals, is declaring my intentions for the year.
Last year, I chose four words to guide my self-improvement practices: discipline, vulnerability, stillness, and patience. These were my intentions, or the principles that I hoped to focus on and cultivate. They each described areas in which I felt I lacked, so by speaking these intentions over my life for the next twelve months, I committed to fostering habits that would help fill those voids.
Setting these intentions was important because they gave me something to refer to when I began to fall into unwanted patterns or stray from the growth that I’ve worked hard to nurture. They serve as an anchor, if you will; they connect you to a purpose, and give you something tangible to work towards. For example, when I snoozed my alarm despite setting a goal to wake up early each morning, I would remind myself to practice discipline. When I lashed out at my dog, Apollo, I would remind myself to practice patience (and if you know me, you know that patience is still the virtue that kicks my ass lol).
In 2021, we’re living abundantly.
I decided to choose one word as my 2021 intention — abundance. My life is and has always been marked by abundance, and that was only reinforced in 2020.
I watched as people all over struggled with lack, as heartbreaking as it was. Lack of health, lack of resources, lack of love. And I realized that I was blessed so abundantly that I lacked none of these things. I’m sheltered, clothed, and well-fed. I’m financially stable enough to not only pay my bills and live comfortably, but also save for the future. I have a career, and it’s thriving — even through a pandemic. I have a loving, supportive village; friends that have become family and family that mean the world to me. I, and the people that I love, are healthy. We often spend our prayers asking God for things — luck, love, opportunity, grace — but the real blessings are in the gratitude we give for what we already have. Cliché, I know. But so, so valuable nonetheless.
You see, you attract what you are. When you live behind a veil of negativity, negative things continue to occur… or seemingly so, because you’re conditioned to filter out the good and consume the bad. While I give thanks for the abundance that I’ve enjoyed in my life, I will continue to manifest abundance as I move forward. That is my intention, in 2021 and beyond.
2021, Clear Vision.
Once you choose your word, consider going a step further and creating a vision board! Vision boards are a great way to literally see your goals and intentions over and over, rather than writing them in a journal somewhere and then never looking at the page again. Studies show that continuously creating mental images stimulates the formation of new neural pathways in the brain, which leads to your brain interpreting the images as reality. While visualization can be effective with just your thoughts, imagery has a much more powerful effect on the brain.
Obviously, dreams don’t work unless you do. Creating a vision board is not the magic portal to manifesting your goals. Let it serve as a reminder to keep going; challenge yourself to accomplish the things you said you would. Visualizing your goals is half of the pie — visualizing the process is the part they never tell you about.
I’d suggest really taking the time to curate a beautiful and effective board, one that you can hang up on your wall and be proud of. If you throw it together and then toss it in the back of your closet, it won’t be nearly as beneficial, now will it? Check out this video on my YouTube Channel if you’re looking for a quick vision board how-to.
Setting intentions is a great way to gain clarity about the growth, habits, and goals you want to prioritize in the upcoming year. After all, what we focus on expands, right? Have you set an intention for 2021? If so, what is it? Comment below!
