For 2021, Set Intentions – Not Resolutions
If you’ve ever set New Year’s resolutions in the past, you may have noticed yourself falling into this pattern:
- The resolution is set, and you’re excited!
- You slip up a few times, or forget about your resolution.
- By February, you’ve given up on your resolution completely.
Sound familiar? The idea of setting a New Year’s resolution is appealing because it gives you something to focus on and – depending on the resolution – even look forward to. Unfortunately, if the resolution doesn’t pan out, you’re left with feelings of failure or inadequacy – very likely the opposite of what you were looking to achieve going into the new year.
This doesn’t mean you give up on trying to create positive change. If you’d like to enhance your life in the new year, set intentions – not resolutions.
The Pitfall of New Year’s Resolutions
As humans, we tend to base our resolutions on something we consider negative or even problematic about ourselves. This isn’t a great basis for improving our lives (ever heard of the power of positive thinking?). When setting resolutions, we might consider limiting ourselves in some way (eat fewer carbs, spend less money) or doing more of something (be more social, lose more weight). But when we view our goals for the new year through the lens of “I’m not enough”, if those resolutions don’t pan out, we feel as if we’ve failed.
How Intention Setting Creates a Positive Spin on the New Year
If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, intention setting is often an integral part of the practice.
Whether with the guidance of an instructor or done on your own on your mat, practitioners take a moment to hone in on one thing to focus on throughout the class. This could be anything from a short mantra to repeat in your mind to a specific incident you’d like to let go of to sending good thoughts to a loved one.
When you apply this process to the new year, it becomes less about changing something that you feel isn’t “good enough” and more about enhancing what’s already present in your life. Your intention, for example, might be to be more present. This could look like:
- Having more intentional interactions with loved ones
- Slowing down and completing one task at a time
- Practicing yoga to develop a deeper connection to self and others
Whatever your intention is for the new year, let it be something that helps you feel better – not feel worse about yourself for not sticking to a resolution.
The Tools You Need to Support Your New Year’s Intentions
At My Yoga Essentials, we offer a multitude of yoga and lifestyle products that bring balance to your practice, peace to your home, and joy to your life. We’re happy to help you find the products that will support your intention setting for the new year. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at sales@myyogaessentials.com.
About the Writer
Krystle Sangillo is a Dallas-based yoga instructor and the manager of Uptown Yoga’s location in the north suburbs. She received her 200-hour certification in 2015 and has been practicing for a decade. When she’s not practicing or teaching yoga, she spends quality time with her young daughter, tends to her home full of houseplants, and works as a marketing copywriter and content manager.
