New Year's Intentions

I don’t use resolutions anymore. I did for a few years when I was younger and less aware of who I am and how some things work. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are a good idea for improving our lives. It is just that most of us are disappointed when we can’t meet our expectations and our self esteem may suffer because of it. Instead I use intentions, any time of the year.

So what is the difference between a resolution and an intention? From Webster’s dictionary, resolution is “a course of action determined or decided upon” an intention is “an aim that guides action”. Yes they are very similar, but it is the subtle difference that I think is important. My definition for the two goes something like this. “A resolution is a plan that is concretely laid out and a decision is made to follow that plan until its desired goal is reached. An intention is our awareness of something that we would like to include or shift in our lives that we open ourselves to the possibility of.” A resolution is quite detailed whereas an intention can be quite general.

A resolution is fairly rigid, leaving it wide open to being fraught with failure . An intention is much more flexible, leaving room for interesting developments and adjustments, Divine inspirations, and the creation of new intentions along the way. A resolution is usually very self directed and self-expected and it usually doesn’t initially consider assistance from others or other forces. Intentions have permeable boundaries that allow the influx of energy from other sources and individuals – it is a more creative and cooperative process.

I will use a specific example from my own life to try to clarify further the difference between the two. I have desires to write and publish several books in the future. A resolution that I write would look something like this: I resolve to write one book every 12 months. My intention looks something like this: I intend to write and publish books. Both actions would include a list of the titles that I have conceived. The resolution has a concrete time line, the intention leaves the time line open. Some goal setting gurus would be cringing at the thought of me writing this. They believe that setting a deadline will inspire a higher rate of completion and for some people this is true. For me, I find that the rules imposed upon me by a resolution of my own creation tend to ramp up my stress level and dampen my creative energies. Lack of creative energies equals a lack of productivity for me so the chances of meeting my goals drops. The intention approach seems to be working for me as I have had several articles published in several publications and am getting closer to getting a publishing agent.

And true to the universe’s way of affirming things for me, after writing this article I read another chapter in Alberto Villoldo’s newest book “Courageous Dreaming: How Shamans Dream the World Into Being” and I came across these lines: “The perceptual state of hummingbird is associated with the soul, which is aware that Spirit is residing within us. This is the level at which intent molds and shapes reality, the place from which we access the gifts of the heart and soul, which allow us to dream courageously”.

If resolutions haven’t worked very well for you in the past perhaps you can consider pointing yourself in the direction of an intention. Share this intention with good friends and family who will respect it and support you. Follow the inspirations that crop up in your life after you have expressed the intention and allow creative forces to join in and assist you. And don’t forget to get out of your own way and let magic manifest itself through you.