Setting an Intention to Change Your Life

Intention + Word of the Year

This time every year, I have friends who set an intention for the coming year. And to help themselves keep that intention in the forefront of their thoughts, they adopt a word (or phrase) for the year. I have seen the power of setting an intention; I have seen powerful results in those who do. So, last year, I decided to set an intention and adopt a word for the year to keep myself in a discovery and growth mindset.

What does it mean to 'set an intention'?

Just what does it mean to 'set an intention'?

Setting an intention is not unlike setting a goal. It is based on an understanding that your life is not just happening to you, but rather you have the agency to bring about change and growth in your own life. An intention serves to bring your life vision into focus; it moves you toward a new way of being.

So, at the beginning of January 2022, I set this intention:

To daily take a practical walk through the Bible to pick up coaching nuggets while removing the intimidation so we can approach the Bible with confidence.

My word(s) for the year was RISE & SHINE.

As a personal coach, it’s important for me to practice what I preach. I believed my intention and my corresponding WOY (word of the year) would help me to stay on track, especially on the days when I didn't want to show up for myself or for other people. Promising to be there every morning held me accountable. It also meant getting outside at sunrise, rain or shine, every single day.

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Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learning a practical, applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgment zone here! All are welcome. We are all on a spiritual journey because we are, after all, spiritual beings having a human experience.

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Life Changing Intentions

I want to tell you more about Rise and Shine, but first, I want to give you a brief background. After all, intentions do not arrive from anywhere.

When you hit your middle age years, you find yourself looking around and going “Wait a minute, what happened?!”

Somewhere along the way, I made a detour. I had developed habits that seemed so innocent at the time but which ultimately created a detour and sidelined me.

I got very busy focusing on other people. Children, spouses, and work…all good things but with no care for my own self, for my own growth. I had veered off track where my own self-development was concerned.

In 2017 I finally started getting serious about my health and in the fall of 2019, I made a decision to put the wine glass down for a year. When I did this, my mornings became an even more important time of clarity and prayer. Instead of regret, I started to feel clear. My connection to God got so much stronger. I started getting my mojo back. I liked how I felt so much that I decided to make being alcohol-free a permanent lifestyle choice.

So, I started on a journey to change some things in my life that weren't working for me and to really become who I thought I had the potential to be. I started on, what I call my OWN IT For Good journey, to get healthier in mind, body, and spirit. It has made all the difference in the world and resulted in my becoming a mindfulness coach.

A Daily Moving Meditation

I have always treasured my mornings. They were always non-negotiable for me. However, as I sat and sipped my coffee, I found the mornings were often filled with regret from poor choices the day before, a groundhogs day of ‘Today will be different’!

I decided to change up my morning routine and set the intention to rise and shine. I am lucky enough to live by a beautiful park. It is the perfect place to spend my mornings walking and talking with you about the Bible.

Not only is this practice good for the soul, it is excellent for the body. Getting sunlight early in the morning into your eyes helps regulate your system, helps wake you up, helps your circadian rhythm and your mood, and gets you your daily dose of Vitamin D. We live so much of our lives indoors now, with artificial light and temperature controlled environments that it is good for us to be reminded that we are God’s creatures as well and we belong in nature too. We are a part of the natural world so, let's get out there and enjoy it!

A Morning Habit to Change Your Life

I committed to getting up and outside for 365 days of sunrises for the year, 2022. I documented the entire journey by posting daily videos, writing, and pictures to hold myself accountable. I want to share with anyone and everyone who might also want help and inspiration. I have been impacted by others who have been willing to do the same, so this is my effort to pay it forward. I am humbled that so many have reached out and let me know how much this has helped. My prayer is that it will continue to do that and that you will also be inspired to pay it forward somehow!

The God of all Comfort is my guiding light. 2nd Corinthians 1: 3-5 'All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. '

Add Rise & Shine to your morning routine

I would love for you to come with me and journey together. I will be posting my videos from the entire 2022 year - raw and real; no makeup, bed head somedays, bags under my eyes, weather, all of it!

Daily Journal Prompt

What is your one thing that if you did it, or cut it out, could change everything for you? Are you living in a groundhog's day with an 'over....ing' habit?

Pick a word or theme for your year, even if it's not Jan 1 - there are no rules!