Every year around this time we start to read articles on resolutions: how to create them, how to keep them, and how year after year we break them. I don’t know of one person who has EVER kept a resolution all year long. I’m here to tell you how to never write another resolution and feel better about yourself by the end of the next year.

Resolutions don’t work for so many reasons: we don’t have any support, we try to take big steps in stead of small ones and we get overwhelmed, we don’t see any change when we expect to and of course our fears step in and take over.

What does work: creating intentions. How is an intention different from a resolution? An intention is actually the heart of resolution, but it often goes over looked. For example, if you resolve to lose weight in the new year, I would ask you what you would have if you lost weight. You’d say something like “I’d be able to fit into my clothes” and again I’d ask what you’d have if you were able to fit into your clothes and you’d say something like “I’d feel more comfortable in my body.” This cycle could go on for a while, but we’d eventually get to the heart of why you TRULY want to lose weight. For now, the intention for your entire year would be “To Feel Comfortable In My Body”

Resolutions are the action steps that help you keep true to your intention. So if you want to feel more comfortable in your body, you get to come up with all kinds of ways you can feel comfortable in your body: from moving around (that can mean anything you want!) to getting more massages, to giving more hugs. You might even try some risky things like wearing that dress you’ve had your eye on even if other people might not like it on you. If it makes you feel comfortable in your body, go for it!

Using intentions rather than resolutions keeps you from beating yourself up if you fall back. You get to continually find ways to stay true to your intention and no matter what you do to support that intention you’re still living in a more empowered way. So it doesn’t matter that you missed the gym, you took a nice hot bath and slathered your skin with soothing lotion. You’re still true to your intention!

The final part of keeping an intention is to acknowledge yourself: at the end of the year write down 100 ways you supported your intention. Get to a place where you feel good about all of the good things you did all year long. And you can keep that same intention next year or choose a new one!