#16: The Art of Intentional Living: Transform Your Year Ahead
DECEMBER 26, 2024
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In this episode of Courage to Heal, we explore a fresh approach to New Year's planning that replaces traditional resolutions with the power of intentional living. Learn why only 9% of people keep their resolutions and discover a more meaningful alternative: choosing a single word to guide your entire year.
We dive deep into the concept of wholeness across six key dimensions of life - physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, financial, and social - and provide practical strategies for setting intentions that actually stick. Whether you're tired of failed resolutions or simply seeking a more balanced approach to personal growth, this episode offers a transformative framework for making 2025 your most intentional year yet.
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Transcript
Anna: Hello, dear friends, and welcome to Courage to Heal. Today, I want to talk about two very important topics, setting intentions for the new year, and planning your wellness goals as we move into 2025. Put together, these two topics equal the art of intentional living. This will be a pretty short episode. And then in the new year, I have some surprises for you.
Some really exciting guests with amazing stories will stop by. I really can't wait to share it all with you. But for now, let's talk about intentional living.
You all know that it's really tempting to start setting resolutions and goals for the new year. It's a threshold that makes us all feel like it's new year, new me, I have to do something different.
But I hope to give you a whole new way of planning ahead. One that doesn't guarantee disappointment. Because let's be honest, how many people actually manage to stay true to their resolutions? According to research, only 9 percent of people do. Only 9 percent actually fulfill their resolutions. 43 percent quit by the end of January.
One month, 43 percent quit. It's just not realistic to expect yourself to change completely and become a new person on January 1st. I want to give you a completely different way to stay true to yourself and feel like you are moving forward and growing in this new year. And it involves zero resolutions.
Does that sound too good to be true for you? Well, it's not, so let's get right into it. Let's start by talking about goals. Goals are those specific targets we set for ourselves, like “I want to lose 10 pounds,” or “I aim to read 20 books this year.” And while goals can provide direction, they often come with some pitfalls.
For one, achieving a goal can sometimes leave us feeling unexpectedly empty. You might think, once I reach this milestone, I'll be happy. But often, after the initial satisfaction, you might find yourself asking, “What's next?” This phenomenon is known as the “arrival fallacy,” the illusion that achieving a goal will bring lasting happiness.
And on the flip side, not reaching a goal can lead to feelings of failure and disappointment. And of course, this all or nothing mindset doesn't account for the progress made along the way and can be discouraging. Now, compare the strap of setting goals to setting intentions instead. Unlike specific goals, an intention is a guiding principle that reflects how you want to live and who you want to be.
It's less about checking off a box and more about embodying a particular quality or value throughout the year. Think of it as your internal compass, your North Star. Intentions are not about achieving a specific goal, but more about how you want to show up in the world. It's a guiding vibe or focus that reflects what matters most to you.
It's the why behind your actions or the quality you want to bring to your daily life, like maybe being more present, kind, or balanced. It's less about checking off boxes and more about living in alignment with what feels right to you. So for 2025, I want to encourage you to set an intention rather than planning endless goals.
And don't get me wrong, goals are important, but I truly believe that they stand zero chance of being achieved if you don't have that intention guiding you in the first place. And I want your intention for the New year to be just one word. That's right, one word to encompass all that you want to embody in 2025.
Setting a one-word intention offers several advantages. First of all, it gives you flexibility. Unlike rigid goals, intentions can adapt to changing circumstances, allowing you to remain aligned with your values even when life throws curveballs. It also encourages continuous growth. Intentions focus on the journey rather than the destination, so they promote ongoing personal development without the pressure of a specific end point that can bring with it that sense of emptiness.
Finally, with the one-word intention, you will feel an internal alignment. It will encourage you to connect with your inner self, fostering decisions that resonate with your true desires and beliefs. For example, choosing a one-word intention like “balance” means you strive to bring balance into various aspects of your life, whether it's work, relationships, or personal growth.
It's a holistic approach that influences your daily decisions and actions. Choosing an intention word like “growth” means committing to a year of personal expansion and learning, no matter what form it takes. It's about embracing challenges as opportunities to evolve, stepping outside your comfort zone, and allowing yourself to develop mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
With growth as your guide, you focus on progress over perfection, celebrating each step forward and staying open to new possibilities that align with your values and your dreams. I hope you are starting to see why setting just one word as your guiding star for the year can be so beneficial. And it doesn't preclude you from setting goals.
You can still plan in more detail, as long as your goals are in alignment with your intention. So, how does one go about choosing this one word to direct them in 2025? Well, I would say it involves reflection and self-awareness. Here are some steps to guide you. First, take some time to reflect on the past year.
Consider what worked well and what challenges you faced. Do you notice any themes or patterns? If you could summarize 2024 in one word, what would that word be?
Next, identify your core values. Think, what is most important to you? Is it compassion, creativity, courage, or something else? And finally, envision the future. Really take the time to do this step. Sit down, close your eyes, and think. How do you see yourself in this coming year? How do you want to grow? What kind of person do you aspire to be?
After completing these three steps, you are ready to choose the word that encapsulates your desired focus for the year. And you usually want to start by brainstorming several words, then choosing your top three, and then finally whittling it down to the one word that really resonates. To help you with this process, you can download my list of potential words for your intention.
It's completely free and there's no sign-up needed. Just click the link in the show notes and you will be taken to a list of words to help you brainstorm. And once you've chosen your word, integrate it into your daily life. Keep your word visible. Write it in your journal, maybe set it as your phone background, place it on your mirror or your wall where you're going to see it all the time.
And then let your intention, let that one word guide your choices and actions each day. You can ask yourself, “How can I embody this intention right now?” Then periodically assess how well you're aligning with your intention and make adjustments as needed. That's really important. Nothing is ever set in stone.
If you notice you are out of alignment, you can always adjust. I really hope that you consider embracing a one-word intention instead of traditional resolutions for 2025. I think this approach really offers a more meaningful and adaptable path to personal growth that really helps you stay connected to your true self throughout the year.
My word for 2025 is “authenticity,” and I hope to live in alignment with it. For 2024, my word was “connection,” and it really helped me connect with people, connect with myself, connect with nature, even connect with my pets. I would ask myself, you know, I don't really feel like taking Hazel for a walk, but then I would remind myself, you know what?
This would connect us. This is in line with my word for the year, and I would do it. It worked wonders for me.
Okay, now I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about that dreaded word, self-care. But hear me out, hear me out, don't turn me off yet. Because here's the thing, no matter what your word for 2025 is, you will have a better chance of staying aligned with it if you take care of your body, your mind, and your spirit.
But let's be honest, this word self-care has become really overused. Everyone talks about having to engage in self-care so much that we end up not paying attention at all. Yeah, yeah, I know, but I don't have time or energy, you might be saying to yourself. Self-care has become more of an obligation than anything.
It's yet another thing to put on your to do list. But what if we shifted this perception a little bit and instead refer to it as intentional living? Would the goal be not to quote unquote take care of yourself, but to strive for wholeness? I really like this word, wholeness. Wholeness is about feeling complete and balanced in every part of your life, mind, body, and spirit.
It's the sense that all the pieces of who you are fit together in harmony, even if you're still growing or healing. It doesn't mean being perfect or having everything figured out. It's more about embracing yourself fully, flaws and all, and finding peace in your own skin. Wholeness is when you feel connected to yourself and grounded, like you're living in alignment with what really matters to you.
If you make wholeness the pinnacle of your intentional living, you will see a shift in how you view everything. It's like saying, I will do my best to be a whole person on purpose. I don't have to be perfect, but I will be intentional. And I'm sure you're starting to see the connection between the one-word intention for the year and this intentional living concept.
Your one-word intention is what ties it all together and helps you create wholeness goals for every month, week and day of the year.
To make all of this really easy for you, visit I am giving you a great tool where you can keep everything organized. I call it an intentional living plan. You can grab this plan from the show notes and follow along with me because it will make more sense if you look at it first. You can even fill it out as we go along.
But you can also plan it in your journal or on a separate piece of paper. Just make sure that at some point you write all of these intentions and wholeness goals down, otherwise you just won't commit to it. Okay, let's go back to the concept of wholeness for a bit. Wholeness implies the existence of multiple dimensions, each essential for overall well-being.
There's the physical dimension, the emotional dimension, the spiritual dimension, the psychological dimension, the social dimension, and because we live in the real world where we need to take care of our money, the financial dimension. I will also mention that there is such a thing as the professional dimension where you engage in professional development.
But today I won't go into too much detail about it because it's not applicable for everyone and because I believe you should take care of personal wholeness before you dedicate significant time to your career wholeness. To begin with, I believe that it's important to set a separate intention for each dimension.
And it's one that should be at least tangentially related to your one-word intention for the year. You already know that intentions aren't like goals, they don't have to be super specific and measurable. It's more about what you want to embody and how you want to feel. And the first page of the intentional living plan that I'm giving you allows you to set these intentions.
If you're not using my plan, then that's the first thing you want to do. Set an intention for each category. For example, for the physical dimension of wellness, your intention might be, I want to have a strong body full of endurance and energy. Notice how we're not talking about how many pounds we want to lose or how often we want to hit the gym.
It's just a general statement to help you align with what's important to you. Then, once your intention is set, you can start thinking, “Okay, how do I actually get there? How often do I need to hit the gym to have that strong body full of endurance and energy?”
For the social dimension, your intention might be something like, “I want to cultivate meaningful connections that uplift and inspire me.” For the emotional dimension, you might want to say, “I want to nurture self-compassion and release self-judgment.” For the financial dimension, maybe it's, “I want to create a balance between enjoying my present and saving for my future.”
I'm sure you're starting to get the idea. And all of these intentions would fit in if your overall intention for the year is the word growth.
Now let's take a closer look at each dimension of wholeness and give you some specific things you can do for each. The key is to start small in each dimension, much smaller than you think, and to aim for 60 to 80 percent of completion for these tasks. In other words, don't expect perfection. If you want to say, start doing yoga, maybe you aim for doing it once a week and consider it a great performance if you can follow that 60 to 80 percent of the time.
This way you are preventing that feeling of failure that will inevitably surface if you start big and peter out over time. And you may want to have annual, monthly, weekly, and daily goals, but you don't need to have one of each in every dimension. This plan is yours to play with and gives you a lot of flexibility.
So okay, first up, we have the physical dimension of wholeness, and this entails activities that support physical health and wellness. So things like exercise, sleep, and nutrition. For exercise, of course, you can go the traditional route of joining a gym in January, but keep in mind that you have other options, like gentle yoga, walking outside, or stretching at home.
There is no rule that says you have to join a gym. Personally, I enjoy belly dancing because it's fun and Kauit yoga at home because it's mindful. As far as sleep goes, you could aim for a regular sleep schedule, perhaps with a better wind down routine. You could work on not using screens as much before bed, or on waking up at the same time every morning.
And for nutrition, you could start by simply hydrating properly every day.
The next dimension is emotional. This includes any actions that help you process and manage emotions effectively. It could be as simple as checking in with yourself daily to identify and honor your emotional needs. Or it could be more involved, like journaling about the positive and negative emotions you experience, or even setting better emotional boundaries with friends and family.
Then there's the spiritual dimension. This includes practices that nurture a sense of connection, purpose, and inner peace. And I hope you know that this dimension doesn't necessarily mean religion, although that could be the case for you. It could be about cultivating a closer connection to nature through nature walks, or engaging in guided meditations that focus on grounding and self-compassion.
You can also try reading texts or affirmations that bring a sense of calm and purpose. The key is to find something that resonates with you personally, whether it's prayer or forest bathing.
Now we're on to the financial dimension of wholeness. This includes practices that improve your financial well-being by using better money management, reducing financial stress, and increasing that financial security.
If you are not great at managing your finances, once again, remember to start small. Instead of setting out to do a big, complicated budget, maybe you could start by checking your balances once a week. If it's more than what you are doing now, then you are achieving your goal of growing and evolving. You could also take a financial literacy course or read books on money management, listen to podcasts, really all to improve your understanding of personal finance.
Okay, we have two dimensions left and next up is the psychological one. This one might be a bit confusing for some people because it is similar to the emotional dimension of wholeness, but it is slightly different because it focuses on mental clarity and resilience. Going to therapy, for example, might fit both this dimension and the emotional one, depending on what goals you work on with your therapist.
And things like using mindfulness practices or limiting social media and reading the news might be useful for this dimension if it improves your mental health.
Finally, the last dimension of wholeness is social. These are practices that enhance connection, communication, and belonging through meaningful social interactions.
This could mean texting or calling friends and family more. Maybe engaging in a hobby-based group, volunteering, or even spending time in online communities that interest you. And if someone drains your energy or makes you feel uncomfortable, then setting a boundary with them might also fit into this dimension.
Alright, so that's the six overall dimensions of wholeness. Physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental. financial, psychological, and social. The intentional living plan I'm giving away in the show notes has all of these dimensions with space for annual, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. And again, remember, you don't have to have a goal in each category for each of the dimensions.
The space is there for you to be really flexible with it. And then in the intentional living plan, the page before last has an intentional living schedule that you can fill out for each month. It's just a one pager and it's very simple. On there you can note items that you want to do every day of the week as well as every morning, afternoon and evening.
At the bottom you have space to reflect annual wholeness goals that you want to focus on this month. Remember, this page is not meant to be a planner for all of your monthly tasks. It is simply a place to reflect your wholeness intentions and goals. And I would say this page is really important because it brings everything together.
And you only need that one page for the whole month. Remember, the key is to keep it small and simple. It's much better to do 60 to 80 percent of something for the whole year than to give it your 100 percent for the first month of the year and then give up on it completely like 43 percent of people do.
If you are writing your plan in your journal or on a piece of paper, simply note what activity you want to engage in for every day of the week during that month, from Monday to Sunday. For example, maybe it's yoga on Mondays, meditation on Tuesdays, and dinner with friends on Wednesdays, etc. Then, note what daily activity you want to engage in in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
Perhaps it's stretching for five minutes in the morning, checking in with your emotions in the afternoon, and writing in your gratitude journal in the evening. And finally, write down any important monthly or annual goals that are due that month.
Okay, there's another important aspect of wholeness that I need to mention, and that's emergency wellness. This is also included in the intentional living plan I'm giving you on the very last page. Emergency wellness is for those moments when you are overwhelmed, panicked, triggered, or angry. You come up with three things you can do, three things you can think or tell yourself, and three things you want to avoid.
For example, maybe when you get emotionally charged, it helps you to do some deep breathing, splash your face with cold water, and drink a cup of calming tea. Those are your three things to do. Maybe what you can think or tell yourself is something along the lines of this too shall pass, or I've handled every challenge so far and I can get through this, or I am strong and capable.
Those might be your three things to think. And as far as things to avoid, maybe you can avoid substances, sugar, and negative self-talk. These are highly personal things that you can prepare ahead of time for those moments of extreme distress.
Alright, just to summarize, today we've talked about the importance of setting a one-word intention for the new year, which you can then use to guide your intentional living for 2025. You can use the plan I provided or do your own version. You can simply write down your intention in a journal, then decide exactly how you want to ensure wholeness in your life.
I hope the categories I have given you are useful in making your life more well-rounded and more whole. Like I said in the beginning, I wanted to keep this episode short and sweet and that means we are done for today. Without further ado, I would love to wish you a peaceful and balanced start to the new year.
May your intention guide you and serve you well. Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care of yourselves and until we meet again, be kind to your heart.
