Resolution versus Intention

Miracles do happen. Grace does occur. But more often than not, change, transformation and growth require baby steps – many, many, baby steps.

I love the turning of the New Year. It always seems that there has been a reset on a grand scale. The coming months somehow spread out and seem fresh. Time seems abundant and hope is high. New Years resolutions stream through the world, and the people run forth to the new dawn resolved to: read more books, exercise, eat better, loose weight, volunteer more, etc. For a while gyms become packed, yoga classes cram mat to mat, volunteer organizations field numerous requests, 52 new books are bought and then mid-February hits. The newness begins to wane, and for the majority, there is complete fallout.

IMG_0213Over the years I have had a lot of resolutions blow-up, how about you?

Rather than setting resolutions, I now think more about setting an intention. These words are often used interchangeably, they seem so similar, but there meanings are meaningfully different. After so many years of failed resolutions I now choose to start my New Year not by what I am resolved to do but what I intend to do.

To feel the energetic difference between resolution versus intention, say the following two statements out loud with your eyes closed:

I resolve to practice yoga regularly.

I intend to practice yoga regularly.

They create a different feeling, right? Just like wanting change and choosing change:

I want to change.

I choose to change.

practice_meansHere are my intentions for the coming year:

Be better in all areas of my life and to those ends practice: meditation, yoga, breath work, Reiki, the Harmonium, chanting, and loving-kindness.

My intention has two parts: What I intend to create – betterment – and the baby steps I am willing to commit to get there.

So if you want to make yoga a regular practice you would intend to:

practice yoga regularly.

And then offer up the baby steps that you are willing to get there:

go to yoga classes, make a home altar, buy a personal yoga mat, meditate, eat a balanced diet to support my body’s practice, and get ample rest.

Are you setting an intention for your New Year? What are the baby steps you are willing to choose in order to make your mind’s plan happen? I would love to hear what they are below.