A Gentler Approach to the New Year: Embracing Intentions Over Resolutions
Another year, another calendar—cue the pressure to reinvent ourselves. "New year, new me" might sound catchy, but does
anyone else feel exhausted by the expectation to overhaul their lives every January? What’s so wrong with who we are now that we need to become “new”? For me, resolutions are out. They’ve always felt like a setup for failure: a long list of "shoulds" fueled by the illusion that flipping a calendar makes them magically achievable. Let’s be real: setting five big goals for the year, most of which we’ve been putting off anyway, often ends in guilt when I can't sustain those changes beyond a few weeks. Instead, I’ve adopted a practice of setting intentions—gentle, flexible, and rooted in self-acceptance.
The Power of Intentions
Intentions aren’t about becoming someone new; they’re about inviting the energy we want in our lives and aligning our focus with what’s truly important. It’s not about forcing ourselves to fit a rigid plan but about guiding our choices with a sense of purpose.
At the start of 2024, I set the intention of a “hibernation year”—to slow down, rest, and heal from burnout. That sounded lovely in theory, but putting it into practice was tough. Like many, I was raised to value hard work and productivity above all else,
tying my self-worth to what I accomplish. Slowing down required unlearning those habits and sitting with feelings I’d avoided since the chaos of COVID and welcoming a second child.
Burnout eventually forced me to pause, and learning to embrace rest became a journey. It took months of practice, but I began to find moments of peace. I allowed myself to align with the natural rhythm of the seasons, welcoming the darker, slower months instead of fighting them. To support this rest, I prepared ahead of time—stringing twinkle lights, reading light holiday novels, sipping tea, and eating lots of soup. I created small rituals that felt comforting and manageable, like playing board games in the evenings with my kids or spending nurturing time with close friends.
Vision Boards: A Ritual for Intentional Living
A big part of my process is creating a vision board—a visual representation of the energy I want to invite into my life. Think of it as a manifestation tool, but not in the clichéd sense of simply wishing for things to come true. For me, manifestation combines focus, effort, and openness to opportunity. It’s about externalizing your dreams so you can better recognize and cultivate the circumstances to gently grow towards the life you want.
I recommend making this process into a little ritual. I like to put on some meditation music (anything that is relaxing and not distracting; mainly no lyrics), light a candle and make a cup of tea.
Here's how I approach it:
- Reflect - Start with honest reflection on the past year. What worked? What didn’t? What lessons can you carry forward? And how does this inform how you want to continue to grow? This helps clarify what you want to embrace and release in the coming year.
- Set Intentions- Spend some time cultivating a list of focus words for the year. What do you want to invite into your life and what are you letting go of? For 2025, my focus words include inspiration, magic, softness, and balance. I’m releasing burnout, tension, and rigidity. Then I type out my words and print them so I can include them on my vision board.
- Choose Colors and Symbols - Find out the meaning assigned to colors and find a choose two or three that align with you intention words. This year I chose, orange for creativity, blue for peace, and green for healing. I also searched for symbols that represent my focus words, I resonated with an African Adinkra symbol, Osram Ne Nsoromma which represents love, faithfulness, and harmony. This symbol felt meaningful as I want to reconnect and invest in my relationship with my husband as we've inevitably found ourselves just coping through parenting young babies, but now that our children are a little older and I feel excited to bring us back together in our own unique relationship outside of being our family of four.
- Gather Materials - Look for items that inspire or align with your vision. These might include photos, quotes, ticket stubs, or even treasures from nature. I like to include pictures of my family and closest friends. Last year, I also included a photo of the sweater pants set I sold to Amanda Seyfried—a reminder of how far I’ve come in building my business.
- Create Your Collage - After all your materials are collected, it's collage time. Spend some time carefully arranging your intentions and inspirations and then sit back and soak in your vision for the new year. Same you just continuing through the journey of growth, wonder and magic.
Growing Gently Into The New Year
This year, I’ve learned that growth doesn’t have to mean
constant pushing. It can be about nurturing what’s already within you, celebrating small wins, and creating space for joy and connection. I’m learning to embrace who I am, and the peace I’ve found in this journey has been profound. So, let’s ditch the pressure to be “new” and instead focus on being kinder to ourselves. Whether you’re setting intentions,
creating a vision board, or simply taking a moment to breathe, remember: you are already enough. Here’s to a year of wonder, magic, and self-kindness. Happy New Year!
My Music for 2025
- Moon Music by Coldplay (the whole album)
- Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
- To Be Alright by Aurora
- Anything by Malte Marten for a more meditative vibe