My intention for 2022

I used to be the sort of person who was obsessed with setting new year’s resolutions. I’d spend that quiet period between Christmas and January dreaming up all the ways I’d change my life in the new year ahead, confident that if I just set the right goals or committed to the right habit changes I’d transform miraculously overnight into the type of person I’d always wanted to be.

I always started off well. For the first 3 days of January I’d diligently complete my workout and take my lunch to work and add money to my savings account and avoid wine and do all 5 steps of my skincare routine and go to bed on time. But of course, by the time the second week of January rolled around, things would have started to slip and I’d be battering myself with criticism as a result.

These days, instead of setting myself strict goals or resolutions during a month that can often feel like one of the most difficult in our calendar, instead I like to myself an intention for the year ahead. The great thing about choosing an intention is that it can help you to focus your efforts and encourage gentle change, but there’s no risk of failure (and the inevitable confidence knock that comes along with it).

I’ve been doing this for around 5 years now, sometimes choosing a word, sometimes choosing a phrase or mantra, and I can see a direct link between the intention I selected and the actions I took within that year. For example, in 2018, when I chose the word trust, I ended up putting my trust in myself and leaving my day job. In 2020, when my intention was to embrace expansiveness, I ended up going back to uni to do a Masters, something which felt undoubtedly expansive in terms of my career and my own personal development. 

This year, the intention I have chosen is appreciating beauty. I selected this intention for a few reasons, but mostly it was driven by my desire to slow down and really enjoy this year. The last few years have been difficult - there’s been the pandemic of course, but I’ve also dealt with th juggle of returning to academia after a decade away, alongside those first few tricky years of building a business and all of the highs and lows that come with that challenge.

And so this year, I want to turn my focus to the finer things in life. I want to create more opportunities to appreciate beauty, but I also want to make sure that I have enough space in my life to enjoy all of the beauty that already exists. This intention is about leaning into the good and letting the best bits of life lead the way. Keep reading to see how I’ll be applying this intention to the different areas of my life…

Leisure time

When I first came up with the intention of appreciating beauty, it was my personal life, and particularly my leisure time that I had in mind. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like my creativity and inspiration levels have taken a real hit these last few years, and I knew that if I consciously committed to spending more time appreciating beauty - art, music, beautiful places, great food - I’d also be committing to filling my creative cup back up.

There are a few ways I want to live my intention of appreciating beauty in my leisure time this year. I want to go on more holidays, particularly to places that are rich with culture and beautiful vistas. I want to visit more galleries and museums, and I’d love to go to some gigs and plan some theatre trips. 

But I also want to invite some beauty into my daily routine too. Listening to full albums instead of just sticking a podcast on. Reading books in different genres, or watching films I wouldn’t usually choose. And of course, making the time to appreciate all of the everyday beauty - sunrises and sunsets, fresh flowers, laughter. 

Work

At first I felt like appreciating beauty was an intention that applied more to my personal life, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised I could use this intention to guide my work in a more joyful direction too.

As I wrote in the introduction, the last few years have been all about building the foundations of my business. That work has been incredibly gratifying and exciting, but it’s also been challenging. There have been a lot of tasks on my to-do list that were necessary and important, but not particularly enjoyable - things like becoming VAT registered, setting up as a limited company and putting proper legal processes in place. 

Now that those solid foundations have been built, I want to spend this year appreciating all of the beautiful parts of my business - the clients I get to support, the programmes I get to design, the “pinch me” opportunities that come my way. 

Relationships

If you were to ask me what the most important part of my life is, I’d say the people in it. I’m incredibly lucky to have such close relationships with my family and my in-laws, and I have some truly wonderful friends too.

After the last few years, I think we’re all craving more time with our loved ones, and this is an area of life where I really want to appreciate the beauty this year. I’m thinking family holidays, days out with my niece and nephew and lots more time laughing and dancing with my beautiful best mates. 

And if life throws some difficult moments in the direction of me or the people closest to me, I’ll also be sure to appreciate the beauty that comes with being able to support those I love, or to feel loved by them. 

Finances

The final area of life where I want to apply my intention to appreciate beauty is my finances. I’ve done a lot of work on my money mindset in the last few years, and I’m very lucky to be in a good place financially, but there is always room for improvement!

One tweak I want to make this year is to spend less on things that don’t have a huge impact on my joy (you know the kind of things I mean - the subscriptions you never actually use, the top you don’t get round to wearing, the notebooks that sit in a drawer untouched) - so that I have more money for creating those appreciating beauty moments I outlined above.

My little motto in this area is “save and savour” - resisting the fleeting purchases, so that there’s more money left for the finer things in life!

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Have you set an intention for the year? If so, what is it?