Here’s Why You Should Ditch the New Year’s Resolutions (& Why You Should Set an Intention Instead)

We’re officially into 2024, a new year for many is a fresh start, the turn of a new leaf. Metrics from activity on the app, Strava, expect that up to 80% of people make a resolution and abandon it before the end of January. What if instead of forcing yourself into a box of changes that may or may not be attainable and suitable for your lifestyle, you provided yourself space to grow, breathe, and find ways to better uplift and love yourself? I’d like you to reframe the resolution, from strict goals and lifestyle changes to an intention or intentions that guide you into the new year. Maybe it’s not a new you, but a more well-connected, grounded, well-nourished you. 

Why an intention? Well, an intention is defined in two ways, first, as an aim or a plan, and two, as a healing process of a wound. From this alone, did you feel your shoulders release and tension drop from the thought of removing the goals and expectations? Let’s dive further into how to start setting an intention for yourself for the new year. 

This process will look completely different for everyone, but I’d like to provide a few exercises to guide you to your intention for 2024. 

• Do something to clear your mind or ground yourself before you begin. Maybe that’s going for a run, meditating, napping, etc. 

• Make yourself comfortable and grab a journal or an iPad etc. 

• Take stock of the past year, what were special moments, and what were hard moments? Identify those, your highs and lows. 

• Is there something tugging at your heartstrings or something deep down calling you? Write that thing, or those things down. What speaks to you most?

• Open a new, blank page, and write down all the words and phrases that speak to you. Spend some time with these, what is speaking to you most?

• Identify a word and a phrase for your year. For 2022 my word was expansion and my phrase/intention was I am expansive.

• Once you identify a word or intention it’s a great time to identify a few things that may help you live out this intention or to find a concrete thing as a reminder. A journal, crystal, a water bottle sticker, etc. 

Let your intention guide you or be your compass toward the types of things you do, say, spend money on, or engage in during the new year. There are many years I lose track of my intention throughout the year and when I reflect on the year at the end I find how often it is so intertwined in my being all year and that much of the change was even subconscious. If you’re looking for a more guided version of an activity like this Rachel Bratham, Yoga Girl usually has a single podcast or two podcast series guiding through an intention-setting practice leading up to the new year. 

I hope that 2024 brings you all the joy that you deserve and fills you up in ways you never knew it could. May you be all that you can be and more.

In light,

Delayna

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Written by Delayna

Hey, I'm Delayna!

I’m an RD-to-be, college cheer coach, yoga instructor, and food and fitness lover. As an intern at HSH, I hope you find this blog and the resources available with HSH supportive on your journey to your most nourished and happiest self!  Learn more about the HSH offerings here.