10 Intentions to Inspire Sustainable Change in the New Year: Create You Own or Use These Intentions as Inspiration for a Healthy + Purposeful 2025.
THE POWER OF PURPOSEFUL INTENTIONS
Intentions are centered around a person’s values, driving factors, and internal awareness. By honoring an individual’s purpose behind a desired behavior, intentions provide context that allows the person to truly embody the change they’re navigating toward. Additionally, by encouraging a person to reflect on their mental and emotional state, intentions allow individuals to remain flexible as they gently cultivate change.
How Intentions Nurture Self-Compassion and Lasting Change
Intentions encourage present moment awareness. A person implementing an intention creates space to acknowledge how they feel and adjust their actions accordingly. Typically, the efforts that feel the best and most authentic nurture the desired change.
For example, the resolution, “I will go to spin class three days a week” leaves no room for flexibility and can paralyze a person with pressure. By shifting the resolution into an intention such as, “I intend to move my body in ways that feel good,” a person has the freedom to explore, experiment, and modify.
Spin class may become a toxic environment due to an unhelpful instructor. An individual may discover that they don’t actually enjoy spinning. Or, one may discover they are not able to afford a gym or studio membership after all. If any of these challenges arise for a person who intends to move their body in ways that feel good, the individual can consider different kinds of movements while still abiding by their intention.
By framing intentions as experiments with the ultimate purpose of discovering what feels good, you can open yourself up to being present and judgment-free while also facilitating sustainable change. The self-compassionate approach of intentions encourages healthy, happy and confident mindsets.
In “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,” author Deepak Chopra describes intentions as the driving force of desire, saying, “Intent alone is very powerful because intent is desire without attachment to the outcome.”
In other words, a person’s intentions are not directly attached to their results. Instead, they support practicing patience with oneself, celebrating successes big and small, and appreciating any lessons learned along the way. Intentions allow for nuance, unpredictability, and the non-linear progression often experienced when fostering change.
TEN INTENTIONS TO INSPIRE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE IN THE NEW YEAR
When considering your intentions for the new year, keep in mind that they are meant to be short, positive and direct, while aligning with your values and remaining open to different possibilities. Below, discover some examples of intentions that we hope inspire your own.
I intend to be kind to my body and treat it with love.
I intend to nourish myself with adequate food.
I intend to make space for deepening my relationship with my current partner.
I intend to be present with my feelings.
I intend to love myself and others.
I intend to prioritize balance both at work and at home.
I intend to experience my emotions.
I intend to be open to success.
I intend to invite healing into my life.
I intend to embrace vulnerability.
YOU ARE ENOUGH JUST THE WAY YOU ARE
A new year offers an opportunity to adjust elements of our lives that don’t serve us. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep on loving yourself just as you are, celebrating your successes of all sizes, and making the most of teaching moments along the way.
If you’re hoping to turn over a new leaf this year and would like professional guidance, book a class with us or purchase a Sacred Aromatherapy Ritual to maximize the benefits of those Moments for You.