Why You Should Be Making New Year’s Intentions Instead of Resolutions

New year’s resolutions are meant to motivate us — but what if we can’t keep them? New year’s intentions give us more room to find our footing in the year head, allowing us to make small steps forward, and sometimes steps back, to reach our goals.  

For many of us, the new year marks an opportunity for a major life reboot. It’s the perfect time to reset your wellness and work habits, improve your relationships, and take better care of yourself. Think about your past new year’s resolutions—how many have you actually kept?

It’s one thing to want a better year, but a whole other game to commit to the changes and plans that’ll get you from Point A to Point B. Resolutions—when left to fade away as the months go on—can make us feel worse about the state of our lives rather than hopeful. The more we pile on unrealistic resolutions, the more burdensome and less motivating they become.

So what else can we do to start the new year on an equally positive note while making our year-long objectives more attainable?

Intentions over resolutions

For example:

Take the case of someone wishing for a more balanced year. Perhaps she wants to set stronger boundaries between work and rest so she can protect herself from burnout.

A resolution for this scenario might sound like this: “I swear I’ll learn to put my foot down to set  boundaries at work. I’ll say ‘no’ when necessary and stop feeling guilty when I do. I’ll finally use all my weekends and holidays for me-time!”

Now, if you reword this as an intention, you’ll end up with a statement that reads something closer to this: “Work is important, but so am I. I’ll try my best to incorporate more self-care practices, so I can spread my energy more evenly across all the things I want to do—responsibilities, me-time, social engagements, and everything in between. I intend to make the next year a more balanced one.”

Clearly missing from the intention is absolutist phrasing like “I swear,” “stop,” and “I’ll finally.” Most people don’t realize the difference it makes when we change the tone of how we make plans for ourselves. Instead of using words of finality, pick out those that encourage gradual shifts, such as “I’ll try my best.”

Try it for yourself and see how it works out.

With the new year just starting, you still have room to backtrack and go from resolution to intention. No matter what you want to achieve in 2023, constantly remind yourself that things don’t happen overnight. Let keywords like gradual, patience, and sustainable guide you!