2021 Intentions And How To Keep Them

I did not mean to take a break from the blog during the holiday season, but it turned out that I guess I really needed one. Thinking back to 2020 and all we did or didn’t do was also something I really needed. Last year started off with a month-long trip to Europe, signing with a literary agent, settling into a new work flow and overall life experiences with my boyfriend and then it all turned on its head when the pandemic hit.

I still had all of the above, but it was also different. We lived in New York City at the time and it was impossible to not feel humbled every single day when all you heard were sirens and you were just thankful for your health and the health of those around you.

When we went to bed on New Year’s Eve, officially 30 minutes into 2021, I cried myself to sleep out of sheer gratitude. For the first time I said outloud that I was thankful we had made it out of 2020 alive. For months it’d felt like I’d been holding my breath and could finally let it out, which is why I couldn’t fathom using that same breath to make resolutions this year.

Resolutions felt constraining in a way that 2020 had taught me I didn’t do well with. Throughout all of last year I’d been working on stepping away from the need to be perfect or to check off to-do lists in specific orders just to feel good about myself.

If 2020 taught me anything it’s that resolutions can feel limiting and don’t factor in being human or the parts of life we can’t always control (aka a pandemic). For 2021, instead of resolutions, I’m choosing to be guided by a handful of intentions — phrases or words that can morph to meet the moment or the circumstances around me.

My Intentions

I’ve set these intentions by thinking about who I was at the beginning of last year, how my life changed, and what made me happy. I thought about what was hard and how I coped.

I intend to give myself permission to give up — because some things just aren’t worth pushing through just to say you did.

I intend to give myself permission to keep going — even if the path is different than I assumed it would be.

I will remind myself I can do hard things — and get better at them because better and perfect aren’t synonymous.

I intend to prioritize feeling at home while resting — because my worth shouldn’t be tangled in my productivity.

I intend to own my body — my body took on a different shape last year, one that was very new to me and I want to own it more.

I intend to write — a lot.

how to keep them

What I like about intentions is that they are umbrella statements and can be applied to any and all goals or tasks. They aren’t measured by metrics, so by default they are foundational.

Choosing intentions that won’t waver if you skip a day of healthy eating or don’t read that book this month just gives you more room to actually keep them. Your life changes and intentions allow for those changes.

Some tips on how to remind yourself of your intentions: write them down where you will see them. Add a post-it note to the bathroom mirror if you’re looking for more body positivity. Jot down that you can do hard things on your reach lists in your favorite notebook. Add them to the first page of your journal as a constant reminder every time you open up the pages.

Going into this new year, I’m big on not putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We should all be prioritizing our mental and physical health and all the things that will feed them.