Setting Intentions For The New Year
Happy New Year to you all! I’m starting 2022 off with lots of excitement, namely squeezing the last bit of fun out of my trip to Cape Town and hosting a digital capsule wardrobe course with Cladwell. I’m also taking some time to rethink the way I work. I’m working out how to create more intention around my daily tasks so I can get where I want to be in the next year, or two, or more. The beginning of the year is a really hopeful and optimistic time, ideal for thinking big picture and infusing our goals with passion and enthusiasm. So here are some ways I’ll be setting my intentions for the year ahead. Think of it as goal setting with the permission to dream really really big!
Aligning Work With Values
One thing that’s been on my mind a lot since late last year is how to better align my work with my values. This year I plan to limit the number of gifted products I receive and focus more on the topic of minimalism as a lifestyle rather than an aesthetic choice. Mindful decluttering and downsizing is also something I’m interested in sharing more about, as it’s a process I started with my move from San Diego to Atlanta in 2020 and hope to continue this year. It’s time to move from theory to practice with some of the lifestyle topics that interest me most and that’s something that really excites me about the year ahead.
The Freedom To Move
It’s not surprising that traveling to Cape Town and getting a feel for living abroad has made me seriously consider the ease with which I’m able to move around. So much of this is tied to my job, which I assumed would allow me to work from wherever, whenever. But that’s easier said than done and I’m realizing it will require some changes to the way I create content, partner with brands and share my life online. I’ve also had to reassess how I manage my time and what intrinsically motivates me to work creatively and with intention. Once I realized that I want to prioritize freedom of movement, it really started to make me question the things that brought me stability and security in the past, and it’s been an ongoing process of releasing some of those (now limiting) ideas.
Thinking Ahead Long Term
Now that I’m embracing a lot of change in my life, it seems a bit counterintuitive to try to form any sort of long term plan. But I’m actually finding that the larger, more abstract vision of how I want my life to look in three, five or 10 years is helping guide me through the uncertainty. It’s helping me release some anxiety around figuring out all the moving parts of day-to-day and instead daydreaming a bit and letting that feeling inspire my work.
So there’s a look at some of the intentions I’m setting for myself in 2022. In the past I’ve set myself measurable goals. I still plan to do that but I like the idea of starting with a more open-ended brainstorming session first, which is why I find intention-setting so useful. Have you set yourself any intentions for the new year? Let me know in the comments below.
