I hate to start this off with an equation, alas here I go. On average, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail in the second week of February, leaving only 20% to survive the remaining 48 weeks of the year. What if I said you never have to make or fail a resolution again while still increasing your quality of life? Yes, happiness, joy, contentment, you can have all of that. It’s a big claim, but I wholeheartedly stand by it because of what I’ve seen happen in my own life.
It’s not physically or emotionally taxing, and it’s not investing in a large floor-length calendar either.
Drumroll, please
Set intentions, do it monthly, write them down, and place them in a spot where you will see them every day.
In a fast-paced life and culture, it’s easier than ever to breeze through our days without thinking twice. To-do lists and our never-ending notification dings make it nearly impossible to be present in every moment of the day. I was caught in this trap and desperately needed a tactical practice to help me slow down, feel joy, and live life rather than survive life.
My husband is a professional baseball player in the Red Sox minor league farm system (Woah, mouthful), and with that comes an intense schedule, a lot of lonely nights, and about three moves each year. It’s an adventure, and we’ve had some incredible moments, but it’s draining in its own way. I seemed strong and optimistic on the outside, but for the first few years of “baseball life,” add in two kids, I was hurting, weakening quickly, and desperate for peace.
I tried everything. Meditation, working out, calendars, journals galore, I even flew my sister up for weeks for some help, but I just could not figure out how to live this life and be joyful while doing so.
Then, one random day during Spring Training (I remember exactly where I was when I heard this), I listened to a podcast by Jenna Kutcher with Allie Casazza and heard about minimalism in motherhood. More specifically, “less clutter equals less stress.”
What?
So all I have to do is get rid of stuff? Sounds easy enough.
Wait, no.
This is much harder than I anticipated.
Items, clothes, relationships, thoughts, no wonder I felt suffocated. I let all of these things happen to me, consume me, and had little to no control over them.
The Change
Intention. I wanted that. I wanted to take control back and to live a life full of purpose.
Here’s what I did. I started setting my intentions by writing down five things I wanted to be intentional about throughout the month. I also decluttered our entire home, which was a big part of my healing. Notice I didn’t say goals or to-do list. For me, that added negative connotations and unneeded pressure. Rather, I wanted to be mindful and aware of what was happening to me and around me.
The Conclusion
I’m changing. The things I’m writing down each month are sticking. I’m spending more time looking into my children’s eyes. My husband and I are laughing more than ever.
I wanted to change, I was trying to change, but it wasn’t until I learned about the importance of being intentional that I started changing.
I’ve added a few of my YouTube videos that describe my intentions over the past few months. I hope you can find time to start setting your intentions, it just might change your life; it changed mine.
Intentions videos on my YouTube Channel:
