I no longer do New Year’s resolutions. What I don’t like about them, is that they keep me motivated for 3 weeks, and after that, they mostly stress me out, yet I don’t see them actualizing.

What I’ve found working for me is intention setting instead.

Intention vs. resolution

Resolution refers to ‘resolving’ a problem, conflict, or mystery, and sounds more like an end to an effort. While having a goal like this is indeed a great motivator, you need a lot of determination to reach it.

Some of us get fired up by this type of goal-setting. For the majority of us, motivation lacks continuity. Usually, it lasts 3 weeks. Resolution can be too vague or hard to grasp, or too far away.

Intention is focused on the ‘action’ with a purpose and there is its power – it gets you going today!

How to set an intention?

1. Intention is specific. What 1 thing will I do today to live for my purpose?
   ”Today I’m going to practice 30 min of yoga at 8.00 a.m. led by an online yoga video.”
2. Stay unattached from the end result. This works, because it keeps your motivation high. If you try to reach an overwhelming goal but don’t know what to do on a daily basis, you’ll easily get unmotivated.
3. Focus on the practice. Keep coming back to your intention every day and every week. What you invest your energy in, will grow. So keep consistent with the practice.
4. Let go of comparison. Comparison is one of the factors that most make us feel depressed. What was before no longer exists. The future isn’t here yet. All you can have an effect on is now.
5. Start fresh every day. No matter what you succeeded in yesterday, or not, a daily intention reminds you to start again, focus on what’s important, and let go of whatever happened. If you get stuck in thinking ”I failed and I’m never able to reach my goal again”, you’re not even going to try.
6. Align your time usage with your intention. We often say that we want something, but then we don’t fit it into our calendar. Is your time usage aligned with your intention? Why not, and can you change it? If you’re not willing to change your time spending, you have to think about why you have that intention.

Stay unattached to your goal and live your purpose.

In yoga philosophy, one of the main principles is non-attachment.

What it means in this context, is that becoming attached to the end result creates stress, a sense of failure, and comparison leaving us unmotivated. Instead, when we’re not obsessed with the goal (the solution), we are better able to live in the moment, appreciate each step of the way, focus on the small wins, and enjoy the time of getting there.

Setting an intention means, that you decide to invest your time and energy in doing the right things.