My intention for the year–and why I changed it

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember that I choose just one, big personal goal to focus on every year. I only choose one so that I can 1) keep it simple, and 2) focus all my energy on it and have the best chance at succeeding.

In December, I chose “write” as both my word of 2022 and my big intention. I’m working on my second book (woohoo!), so I figured that if I made a goal to write every day, by the end of the year, my manuscript would be finished.

But over the holiday break, I challenged myself to think deeply and become more curious about the goal I had chosen. I failed miserably at my 2021 goal–to meditate every day–because I hadn't taken this step, and as a result, I didn’t really feel connected to that goal. I wanted to avoid making that mistake this time around, so I asked myself: Why had I really chosen to focus on writing? Was it about finishing the book? Or was it about something bigger? Could there possibly be something more to this intention of mine?

I began to realize that writing is just one of the many things I feel I don’t have enough time for in my life. I would also love to have more time to read, take more walks outside, and work out every day. I’ve also been feeling the desire to allocate regular time to focusing on my personal finances and investing–an area where I am trying to grow. When I really thought about what I want for this year, I discovered that it goes a lot deeper than writing.

So then my brain went to . . . should I have more than one goal? Should I create goals for writing, reading, moving my body, and personal finances?

I knew that wasn’t going to work. Whenever I’ve tried to have multiple goals at the same time in the past, I’ve failed because I didn’t have the bandwidth to focus on them properly. What I needed to do instead was identify the common thread between each of these goals. I found myself asking the question that led to my answer: How could I create more time and space to do things that are important to me? 

Allow me to introduce my new intention for 2022 . . . To wake up at 4:30 a.m. every weekday. 

I know, I know, 4:30 a.m. is early. But waking up hours before I start my workday means that I will have guaranteed uninterrupted time for me every day, and it will happen first thing. I can use that time to read, write, work out, study finance–whatever it is I’m inspired to do. (Now, that being said, I am most definitely giving myself grace with this goal: I will not sacrifice my health or my sleep. I will listen to my body and adjust when needed.) 

I realized that for me, simply setting an intention to write or read or move my body more wouldn’t magically grant me space in my schedule to do so. I needed to dig deeper and set an intention that addressed the underlying issue, which, for me, is time. I needed to find the “lever” that would create space.

You may be wondering how it's going so far. Well, I’m a few weeks in, and what’s really cool is that my early mornings are having an unexpected ripple effect in other areas of my life. Not only do I have more time to do the things that are important to me, but getting up before sunrise also means that I’m going to bed earlier and getting more sleep (I’m asleep by 9:30 p.m.). Going to bed earlier means I end work earlier, and that means setting firm boundaries around meetings, client deliverables, emails, etc. Setting boundaries around evening work means I now have more time to spend with Spiros and with myself. It’s been like a domino effect: Getting up at 4:30 a.m. is helping me set much-needed boundaries in other areas of my life that I struggled to set before.

A similar thing happened when I set the goal to abstain from alcohol for a whole year in 2020. I initially chose it as a personal health goal, but I was amazed at the ripple effect it had beyond my health: Not only did I feel physically better, but I also began to face difficult questions and emotions that I used to “numb” with alcohol. And that led to me finally figuring out what I wanted for the future of Student Maid, something that had been overwhelming me tremendously up to that point. I never expected this one goal to do all of that, but that’s when I learned the power of finding the lever that addresses several challenges, and therefore, creates the biggest impact.

Now, please know I’m not sharing my 2022 intention to try to get you to wake up at 4:30 a.m. every day, too! I’m sharing my goal with the hope that it will inspire you to take a closer look at the goal (or goals) you have set for yourself this year.

I encourage you to get curious about them: Are you confident that this goal is the best use of your energy and focus, or is there something deeper you could focus on that would have a much bigger impact on your life? Does this goal actually mean something to you, or is it something you feel you “should” do? Peel back the layers on your intentions and try to find that lever–the underlying thing that will have the greatest ripple effect. And, if you’re willing to share, I’d love to know the intention(s) you decide on! (Need some help choosing intentions or goals? Check out our goal-setting workbook!)

Here’s to clarity, focus, grace, and making this year better than the ones that have come before it.

So many extra hugs,

Kristen

P.S. Our next Human Leadership Program is coming up on March 16 +17!! Join us and learn how to become a more authentic, human leader. Tickets and more info here!

P.P.S. Looking for a way to invest in yourself in 2022? We’d love to invite you to join our monthly coaching group. You can find all the deets here!