How to set new intentions (that you'll actually stick to & succeed in)

Setting new intentions can have so many benefits, they help you stay focused on your priorities and will give you purpose as well as the inspiration and motivation to achieve your purpose.

As you know I am all about spreading positivity and sharing the importance of mindset so here are my top tips to help you set clear intentions which you can actually achieve!

​How to set your intentions

REVIEW - Did you set yourself a word of the year, a resolution or any intentions at the beginning of the year?
If you did then review how you are doing? If you haven’t achieved as much as you would have liked, let go of these negative feelings and use this time to start afresh, maybe you expected too much of yourself or maybe you needed a little help or some equipment that you were missing?? Give yourself permission to choose grace over guilt and let yourself off the hook as those feelings will not serve you for setting new intentions.
Is your intentions or word of the year still relevant to you ?? Do they help you or do you need to make a change??

​PLAN - Carve out some quiet time to sit with a hot drink and a notebook to work through what you would like to achieve? Do a good brain dump of everything you would like to do– you will probably see a theme in these ideas – take a good look through your list and highlight what gets you most excited? And what goals you are more likely to achieve.
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CHOOSE - Here is the challenge – look at your list and choose no more than 2 goals that you would like to achieve for your chosen time period. Yes, I know, it will be hard to choose just one or two, but this step is so important. As humans we want to do so much more than is possible but if we set ourselves too much work to do, the likelihood is we won’t achieve them!!
 

How to make your intentions stick

Make it visible!  To achieve our goals we have to have them at the front of our mind .
When I have a specific goal that I want to work towards, I write it out every day in a notebook as part of my morning routine, but you can do something as simple as popping it on a post-it note & sticking it to the fridge or why not making it pretty and use a template on Canva, print it out or add it as a screen saver on your phone – whatever works for you, but it must be somewhere that you will see it every.single.day!​

Break it down  

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started.  The secret to getting started is breaking down your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one"  -Mark Twain
When we see our goal for the first time it can feel overwhelming, but if we can break down the goal into smaller tasks, we can start making positive steps forward which amount to something much bigger.
Choose a time frame that works for you, for me I like to achieve goals in 90 days, so I will break them down into three smaller tasks (one for each month) and then break down each task into four mini tasks which I can achieve throughout the week.

 Do you know about the 21/90 rule? It is said that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to create a lifestyle.

Make the time - To make our goals happen we need to make time for them, so add your tasks into your calendar and make them a priority, this is why we are only focussing on one or two goals so we can give them all our attention and work on them and allow them the time that they need.
 
Get some accountability - Setting a goal that no one else knows about makes it much easier for us to let it fall to the wayside, so tell your partner, a friend or share your intentions on your favourite social media platform and share what you would like to achieve and your plans. Sharing your intentions will give you a greater sense of responsibility and encourage you to complete your actions!

 "Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the results"    -unknown

Keep going! - Unfortunately, life will get in the way, so when it feels hard ask for a little encouragement from the people around you, they want to see you succeed!
Also be easy on yourself, we can be a little too hard on ourselves and put too much on our own plate, so review what you have been doing, congratulate yourself on how far you have come, celebrate the small wins and then work on a clear way of how you are going to overcome and conquer – it may take a few tries but you will succeed and I am always here to cheer you on!!

​**Top tip – when planning your intentions in your calendar also plan yourself some rewards when achieving certain milestones in your accomplishing your goal – these acts of kindness to ourselves help in acknowledging how far we have come and also encourage us celebrate the small wins and help to keep us going!!

Why mindset is important when creating your intentions

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​“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think” -- A.A.Milne

As we all know, life can get in the way and, believe it or not, we also get in the way of our own success, which is why our mindset is so important!!
 
After I have set my own intentions, written out my goals and have outlined a plan, I will always hunt-out a good quote which will help me achieve what I have set out to do; something that will spur me on, captures my interest and helps me to look at something a little differently.
 
So here are a few quotes that I will be using to help me get over these road-blocks and hope they might help you too succeed in your goals and intentions too!

Having reminders around your home to inspire you everyday can be motivating & inspiring.

When we consistently repeat positive affirmations, we create positive subconscious thoughts. We are able to create a new positive reality by replacing old negative thinking with new positive thoughts.

Whatever goals you have set yourself I know that you have got this!!
 
Hayley x