New Year's Intentions

Hello, friends!

Do you make New Year's resolutions each year?  Did you this year?  

I decided that this year instead of resolutions that I would make intentions.  The difference between the two for me is that a resolution is a pattern or path that you resolve to follow, no matter what.  It leaves no room for nuance, no room for working towards a goal, getting better as time goes on.  A resolution only allows you to follow it or to fail to follow it.  And how many resolutions have we all had fall by the wayside over the years?

An intention, by contrast, is a statement that points you in the direction that you want to travel.  It may be goal oriented--for instance, my intention this year is to skate 200 times in 2013--or it may be a principle that you would like to use to guide your behavior--for instance, I would like to speak with a kinder, gentler tone in my encounters with others.  In both of these cases, my intentions give me a guide to follow.  I may at times be more successful or less successful at adhering to my intention, but always I have in my mind that it is the direction I am heading.  As long as I make some progress in the right direction, I cannot fail.

For instance, my intention of skating 200 times during this calendar year guides my choices.  As a guide, it directs my brain and my actions towards activities and behavior that support my intention.  During 2012, I made it to 177 skates.  So this year, in order to meet my goal of 200 skates, I need to add 23 skates to what I was able to rack up last year.  Considering I only began skating in February of 2012, and then only a few times a week (as compared to the 5 or 6 times per week I do now), my goal of 200 skates is easily do-able.

Here are some of the new toys I received this year as gifts from my dear family that help support my intention of skating 200 times this year...because brrrrrr, it's been kind of chilly lately:

Columbia Benton Springs Fleece Vest

I love the color (light grape) and it provides just the right amount of warmth when it's a chilly Bay Area day (in the 40s).  It has a nice fit, interior pockets, and zip pockets on the outside to keep my keys, iPhone, and glasses safe.

REI Coolmax Ecomade Crew Socks

My old skating socks were 10 years old.  
Time for a few new pairs.  'Nuff said.

Manzella Powerstretch Touchtip Gloves

Now I don't have to operate my iPhone 

with my nose when it's cold!  They have
little pads in the index finger and thumb 
ends that allow you to operate a 
touch-screen device like your phone.

So my intention is to log 200 skates during 2012.  I have other personal intentions and also business intentions.  More about those later.  

What are your intentions for 2013?  How about your intention for today?  What will you do that supports your growth?

Keep skating (or whatever you do)!

Nancie ♥  My last skate: 1/3/13 Skate #3 of 200 Lafayette-Moraga Trail 4.89 mi