New Year, Intentional You: Setting an Intention for 2025

As a therapist, I’m all about reflecting, celebrating progress, and setting goals—both for myself and with my clients. But I can’t help feeling a bit awkward and tongue-tied when someone asks me, 'What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Resolutions Vs. Intentions

New Year’s resolutions are goals set at the start of a new year to foster personal growth and improve specific aspects of one’s life. These goals often focus on health, work, finances, hobbies, or social connections. Many resolutions are framed as SMART goals, an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Setting SMART goals create a clear and actionable path. Therefore, it increases the likelihood of success, helps you experience the benefits, and allows you to feel proud of yourself.  

While SMART goals are important and can help get things done, they can sometimes feel overwhelming due to their focus on perfection and detail. Additionally, they may overlook your internal experiences, thought processes, and deeper sense of purpose. This is where setting an intention can be particularly valuable. An intention is a meaningful word, phrase, or mantra rooted in your values, designed to guide change and inspire action. By setting an intention, you shift your mindset, embrace progress with compassion, patience, and flexibility.

Let’s Dig Deeper with an Example

Resolution: “I will exercise three times a week.”

Intention: “I will prioritize my physical health and move my body regularly” or get even shorter with “Movement.”

You can achieve your resolution of exercising three times a week, but what’s happening in your mind before, during, and after each workout? If you dread going to the gym and criticize yourself with negative thoughts for not doing enough or looking a certain way, this mindset can actually be harmful to your overall well-being. If you’re feeling sick or overly sore, it might be more beneficial to rest instead. Some weeks, you may hit your target of exercising three times, and other weeks your body might need a gentler approach like walking or stretching. And that’s perfectly okay. By prioritizing movement, you’re still aligned with your intention even if it looks different from what you originally planned.

Putting Your Intention into Motion with Journaling and a Vision Board

A lot of people turn to journaling and vision boards to process and plan for the year ahead. Journaling can support emotional regulation, increase self-awareness, improve memory, and reduce stress. Journaling is also a tool to help with daily structure and adding mindfulness into your routine. Vision boards offer the opportunity to visualize goals, organize thinking, and gain insight. Some people also really enjoy the tactile experience of cutting, ripping and gluing the materials, as this may create a sense of control and decrease anxiety. In addition to feeling accomplished seeing your Vision Board on your wall.

Tips for vision boards: give yourself more time than you think! It may take longer to browse pictures, cut, and organize your board. Put on your favorite playlist and have a snack nearby.

Getting Started

Sometimes, the hardest part is simply getting started. The best way to begin is to start somewhere, anywhere, and with anything.

Here are some prompts to inspire your journaling or vision board.

-       What word, focus, or mantra will guide and support you this year?

-       What do you want your life to look and feel like by the end of next year?

-       What are you doing that you want to keep doing?

-       What do you want to be different?

-       What do you need to let go of, to get where you want to be?

Keeping an Intention

You’ve taken the time to process your feelings and set an intention, but maybe you’re unsure of what to do next. There are several ways to keep your intention at the forefront. If you journal daily, start each day by setting your intention and writing down one small action you can take to put it into practice. Alternatively, you could use journaling as a reflection tool, checking in at the end of each month to assess how you’ve been living your intention and what you'd like to focus on next. This approach helps you stay accountable to your intention and supports the personal growth you’re working towards.

For vision board creatives, placing your board somewhere you’ll see it regularly, like in your office or bedroom, can be incredibly motivating and inspiring. As you look at it, take a moment to reflect on how your board aligns with where you are now and what progress you’ve made so far. As things shift and evolve throughout the year, you may want to update your board with new pictures, words, and designs to reflect emerging insights. A seasonal check-in can be a great way to reassess and stay focused on your intention.

Whether it’s journaling or a vision board, remember to be gentle with yourself. Intentions are meant to inspire and support you, not add stress. We can always count on things changing and life not going as planned.

Pause – Reflect – Create

Thinking about the year ahead can be both exciting and overwhelming. You don’t need to have it all figured out by January 1st (or 2nd or 3rd). Take time to reflect on the past year and consider what’s ahead. Let your intention be your guiding light to a transformative year.

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