Intentions

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." — Ecclesiastes

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The holidays are over, and here in New England we are hunkering down for the dark, cold days of winter. Already by now the parade of newly resolved walkers and joggers that appeared on January 1st, headed past our house for the park up the street, has trickled down to merely a few determined diehards. It’s the same old story of New Year’s resolutions fading away quicker than the fizz in the champagne bottle opened for the New Year’s Eve toast. If only that extra two pounds of holiday weight could fade away as quickly!

So if this story sounds frustratingly familiar, you may try thinking about setting intentions instead of resolutions. Intentions suggest the direction you’d like to head in, rather than adding more things to your to-do list that you “should” do. Perhaps you’d like to inspire the people you work with more. Perhaps you’d like to create and innovate more. Perhaps you’d like to trust yourself and others more. By taking some time to set your intentions, and keeping them in mind throughout the year, you will be moving forward into a new season where there’s time for what matters to you. See “Going Good” to read about one of my 2012 intentions.