It is common practice to set New Year’s resolutions. These can be a wonderful tool for accomplishing goals. However, much of the time resolutions are quickly abandoned. Rather than focusing on setting resolutions, we can instead establish intentions.  An intention is a mindset shift when it comes to goal setting or resolutions. Here are some ways to think about the differences:

A resolution resembles a to-do list. It looks like boxes to be checked and only one avenue to achieve that goal. A resolution is rigid. Most importantly, a resolution is focused on doing. 

An intention is a little more flexible. It represents your hopes, values and who you want to be a year from now. An intention is more broad. An intention allows for many paths to arrive at the destination. An intention is focused on becoming. 

There is a good chance that the path to accomplishing a resolution looks a lot like the path to achieving an intention. The difference is that an intention allows for experimentation, failure and restarting. A resolution might be stated as, “I will go to the gym five days a week.” In contrast, an intention might look like, “Be a person who honors her body through movement.” Both might find you at the gym frequently but with the intention there is flexibility and a little more grace. As you seek to honor your intentions you don’t have to feel like a failure if you slip into old habits from time to time. The trajectory is what matters and allows for growth. 

You might have the goal to set a new personal best in any given race distance. The bigger picture is that you want to get the most out of your training. The intention here is that you become someone who makes friends with the pain while training, enabling you to push yourself harder and run faster than you ever have. 

Think through who you want to be a year from now. What characteristics do you hope to adopt this year?  Set some intentions for 2021.