Dramatically improve your stress levels by setting intentions in these key areas

Goodness, we are already one month down into a new year and decade! January can seem like the longest month ever with trying to settle back into normality, all while having the hype of the new year going on around you. I think that is why February can often feel like the month when the year finally starts to move forward after we have had our time to reflect and decide on where we would like to move forward towards.

During January I put together a Challenge called the Living 2020 on Purpose Challenge which was to help women drown out the noise of the new year and really show up for themselves in a gentle, mindful way. If you still feel like the year has got off to a slow start then don’t worry, I have just the thing for you in this article where I am going to explain a bit more about intention setting and the key areas in your life to concentrate on when setting intentions for yourself.

What is an intention and why does it matter?

When you have an intention to accomplish or achieve something, it means you have a clear mental picture of your desired outcome but without any expectation or attachment to the outcome or result.

Without having an idea or intention of what you would like to achieve or accomplish, life can often start to just happen to you where you are going through the motions not really knowing whether we are coming or going. I find this is where many women are when they are feeling extra stressed as life can start to get on top of you, making you feel stuck.

When we do start to decide what we would like to get out of each day, month and year it is the expectations and attachments that we form which are often what leaves us disappointed. Our mind will start playing out a story on exactly how something will happen in our lives and when it doesn’t happen in that exact way, we start to feel like we are failing. This is also where the stress starts to creep back in.

It is therefore important to start living on purpose by setting some intentions on what you would like to get out of each day, month and year and how you would most like to feel. Then decide on the steps you need to take so you can focus your energy on moving forward one step at a time, this really helps to stop focusing too much on the how and when it will all fall into place.

Key areas to set intentions

Here are some of the key areas to consider setting your intentions in so you take into consideration different aspects of your life:

• Health and Wellness – these are not like goals where you want to decide on how much you want to weigh, this is more deciding on how you would most like to feel and what steps you need to take to get there. Vitality and how you feel within yourself is so important as it is the basis for how you then show up in your daily life so with your intentions here it is good to set them towards small, sustainable changes you would like to implement in order to feel better within yourself.
• Relationships – this can be with any relationship; do you want to strengthen a relationship or is there toxic ones you need to move forward from. It is important to know what you would like to get out of the relationships in your life and how you would like to interact with each other, and whether it is healthy or not. Set intentions towards developing the relationships and connections in your life.
• Vocation and Finance – what you like to get out of your career or is it time for a change? Also many of us have not been taught anything about managing our finances, so it is good to think about what you would like to get out of your finances, do you need to set up a budget or would you like to start saving up for something, start having intentions in this area of your life.
• Personal Development and Education – if you aren’t growing by choice, you will ultimately grow through pain as change is the one constant of life. Change and growth can be a lot easier to handle when you are choosing to do it so start having intentions towards how you would like to develop personally and whether you need or want to learn something new in order to do that.
• Self and / or Spirituality –is there something you have been wanting to do just for yourself but haven’t got around to it? We often forget about or don’t make time to do something just for ourselves once in a while so set intentions to do something just for you. Many of us also feel really disconnected from ourselves spirituality and tend to just go through the motions in this area of our lives so what can you do to get back in touch with this part of yourself?
• Others – is there something that you have been wanting to do to help others or make changes in your life that will have a ripple effect in changing something for your community, what intentions can you set in order to give back. Something to note here is not to pour from an empty cup so spend some time to get back in touch with yourself first and then start looking to give back from there.

If you would like help with setting intentions in these areas and more, I am extending my special offer for 90min sessions at $33 (or R499 if you are based in SA) for another 5 people until end of February so feel free to get in touch https://wildflowertransformationcoaching.com/contact/ to discuss further.

I am also going to be growing the Living on Purpose Facebook Group that I grew for the Living 2020 on Purpose Challenge, there is going to be a monthly coaching session around different topics along with accountability, recipe and book sharing and so much more, let’s all help each to start living on purpose instead of just going through the motions – JOIN HERE!