RITUALS: How to Set New Month Intentions For Positive Changes in Your Life!

RITUALS: For Positive Changes in Your Life!

Intentions, what are they, how do they work, and how to create the life you want using them! That is what we are looking at today. Setting Intentions allows you to feel centered and balanced no matter what’s happening around you. Instead of going through the motions, it gives your days purpose and gets you closer to who and where you want to be.

They allow you to get clear on who you want to be and gives you guiding principles to focus on to get to where you want to be. Wayne Dyer said, “Our intention creates our reality.” What you think, say, and focus on becomes your truth.

Setting clear intentions also helps you to course-correct and be more balanced if difficulties arise.
Setting Intentions is key to manifesting personal and professional goals. How many times have you heard “What you think, you become” ? Setting Intentions is the first step to embodying what you want in life, who you want to become, and create positive changes in your life.

When you set a clear and personally compelling intention you will tend to act in ways, respond to situations, create supportive opportunities, and make choices in harmony with your intention. By rewiring your brain to focus on positive intentions, you are releasing positive energy and opening yourself up to be the best version of yourself.

What are Intentions?

Intentions are a state of being – it’s about how you choose to be and show up in the world. They are meant to guide your thoughts and actions. Setting intentions helps to remind yourself of what you truly want out of life and help you cultivate the things that matter to you most.

It allows you to get clear on who you want to be and gives you guiding principles to focus on to get to where you want to be. With the second half of the year upon us, this is the perfect time to get into the habit of setting intentions to create positive changes in your life.

“Our intention creates our reality.” What you think, say, and focus on becomes your truth. - Wayne Dyer

Why are Intentions Important?

The power of positive thinking combined with setting intentions helps you break through mental blocks to create a reality you love. Intentions provide a framework for you to set priorities, use your time wisely, and align yourself with the resources you need to manifest your goals. The process of setting and working towards your intentions declares to yourself, others, and the universe that you are serious about your dreams and goals.

A strong, positive, and energized intention is likely to repel that which is not in alignment with it. The opposite is also true. A strong, positive, and energized intention will attract the essence of what it is. Thoughts precede every action, and action determines results…choose your thoughts “and intentions” well. When you set a clear and personally compelling intention you will tend to act in ways, respond to situations, create supportive opportunities, and make choices in harmony with your intention.

Essentially, you will have a tendency to have the experience that you consciously determine is important to you. Setting clear intentions also helps you to course-correct and be more balanced if difficulties arise. Setting intentions is key to manifesting personal and professional goals.

“Difficulties indeed sometimes arise; but common sense and honest intentions will generally steer through them.” - Thomas Jefferson

What’s the difference between Goals and Intentions?

Goals are external achievements.The process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve the result you desire.

Intentions are an aim or purpose that you want to align with your life. The relationship with yourself and others. It’s about choosing to be a certain way and approaching life with a sense of purpose.

* Goal Setting is about what we want to do.

* Intention Setting is about how we want to be.

The important thing to take away from the difference between intentions and goals is that intentions are about how you want to be and feel. Some intentions will sound like goals but at the end of the day, it’s about creating ideas that make you feel a certain way and bring you peace of mind.

When setting intentions, try to not get so caught up in the difference between intentions and goals – instead, aim to focus on things that will help you embody how you want to feel and cultivate what you truly desire out of life.

If you do not know where you are going, how do you do your best to get there? Do you have the desire, willingness, and confidence to enrich your personal and professional life experience?

“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.” - Soren Kierkegaard

Tips On How To Set Monthly Intentions:

Reflect:

* At the end of each month, sit down in a quiet place and reflect on what you want to embody for the next month. Start by clearing your mind and think of what you truly desire out of life.

* What’s the most important to you? What values do you want to embody? What decisions will get you closer to where you want to be? How do you want to feel? What will you bring you long-term fulfillment and joy?

* Make them meaningful and personal so you are motivated to carry them through.

Make a list:

* Writing down your intentions will help make them more tangible and puts them out in the universe to help them come to life.
* I find it helpful to first do a brain dump and write everything down that comes to mind when you’re reflecting. Doing this helps to clear your mind and gets to the bottom of what you truly want.

* After the brain dump, pick a few that you really want to work on this month.

* You don’t have to have a specific number of intentions. If 8 is too overwhelming to focus on try 3 or even 1. Choose a number that is doable for you.

* Instead of setting an intention like “stress less” flip it into “be calm, relax and trust that everything will work out.” Focus on the good as much as you can.

* Making your intentions positive and uplifting will help shape a positive tone in your thinking and beyond.

Hang your list somewhere visible:

* Like any habit, you’re going to need some reminding. Hanging it up in a spot that you frequently visit is ideal.

* Put it on your fridge, the bathroom mirror or store it in your desk drawer at work.

* Revisit the intentions you set frequently so you’re constantly reminded of what you’re trying to work for this month.

Give yourself feedback:

* After setting intentions, it’s easy to get caught up in your daily life and forget about them. Before going to bed I love doing an “evening check” to reflect on how I embodied my intentions throughout the day.

* This helps to keep my intentions in my daily thoughts and allows me to reflect on what I’m doing great on and what I need to work on.

* You can also use visual reminders to remind you throughout the day to work on your intention. It can be anything from a bracelet or a water bottle to a lamp.

* If you meditate or do yoga, you can also use this time to reflect on your intentions. Try to pick an intention from your list and silently state the one you want to focus on throughout your practice.

Have fun:

* Remember that this is a fun, guiding practice to help you live your best life. If you’re having a bad day or you’re not feeling motivated, give yourself permission to start fresh the next day.

* Don’t take it too seriously. No one is ever going to have their life 100% together, so remember this is about taking small steps to improving yourself each day – not perfection.

If you’re setting intentions for the day/year, some people find it helpful to pick one word to focus on instead of a phrase. A few of my favourite are acceptance, love, gratitude, peace, breathe, empathy, and courage.

Intention setting ideas:

If you’re aching for more focus, intention, and control over how you engage and interact with your work and your life, I hope this can be a jumping off point for exactly that.