As Alex Morritt once said, “New Year—a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately, we write it. The choice is ours.” Welcome to 2021! We often make our resolutions at the beginning of the new year. But, let’s leave those alone for now and instead talk about intentions. Often, we think about what we don’t want…"I don’t want to gain weight;" "I don’t want my knee to hurt;" "I don’t want to be lonely"…rather than what we do want.
When you put your attention on what you desire, it will grow. When you put your intention into what you pay attention to you will see it transform, especially when you let go of the outcome. Instead of saying, “I don’t want to gain weight,” put your attention toward living a life that is filled with taking walks in the woods or starting a garden. Instead of saying, “I don’t want my knee to hurt,” put your attention to learning to swim or doing yoga. And instead of saying, “I don’t want to be lonely,” put your attention toward starting a new mentoring program in your neighborhood or serving food at a shelter. To truly be transformative, you need to let go of the outcome you think you need or want, and instead rejoice in what the universe sends your way. You’ll be surprised at the joy you will get in taking those walks and sharing vegetables with your colleagues, and you’ll love the way your body feels when you dip into the water and float above it all, and you’ll cherish every new friend that you meet along the way while serving your community. Suddenly, you’ll realize that you look good, feel good, and are doing good, and perhaps at the end of the day, that’s the outcome you were looking for all along.
Take out that pen and write your 2021 intentions until your heart’s content, and then release them to the universe…when you surrender to the process, you’ll be surprised at all the good that comes into your life!