One of my absolute favorite things to do in December is to start planning for next year. Pen and paper, a hot cup of black coffee and some soft music set the scene, while I sit wrapped up in a quilt, reflecting on the year gone by and planning for the coming year.
But it wasn’t always so
There have been years – more than I care to count – when the change of the year was met with a dreary ho-hum, couldn’t care less attitude. Years when I broke my resolutions within days if not months…years when nothing seemed to happen…nothing seemed to change.It all changed when I stumbled upon the concept of intentions and choosing a focus word of the year. To be sure, it wasn’t a dramatic, sudden change. It took some time for me to work out how having a word of the year works, and even longer to understand how intentions work. But work they do – sometimes in ways we didn’t even expect!Let’s talk a bit about intentions
I’ve often heard people talking about intentions like they were magical – set an intention and all your dreams will come true, magically! But guess what?
An intention without action is just a dream.
Intention needs to be backed up with action. If you don’t act, all the intentions and affirmations and law of attraction in the world will not help you. And what if you set intentions but cannot bring yourself to act on them? Well then, maybe it’s just a dream? Maybe it isn’t what you want, but what people are telling you that you want? It happens, and it can be hard to untangle that sometimes. This is where your word can help you.
Your word of the year + intention + action = magic
Your word of the year can help you hone in on what it is that you are wanting to call in to your life. If your intentions are not in alignment with that, maybe this is not the time to make them happen. Learning when your intentions are just dreams that don’t matter to you in the larger scheme of things opens you up to become more self-aware and in tune with who you really are.
Think on that for a while, and then tell me what you think?
Your word of the year + intention + action = magic Click To TweetAnd if you want some help choosing your focus word for the year and planning a sparkly 2018 for yourself, download the Decoding the Year workbook.
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Here’s hoping your year is full of magic Gypsy.
Thank you! I hope your year is magical too! xx
I go through the same ritual in December but come January half of the things go down the drain.
That used to be the case with me too Balaka, when I used to set resolutions/goals. But with a word of the year and a clear vision in mind (which is what I mean by intention), I find that my year turns out to be a lot more in tune with the vision I have. Try the workbook, I’ve found it very helpful! 😉
So many thoughts run post reading this. Need to dwell on them now
Don’t just think about them; download the workbook and put them into action! 😉
This is inspirational and Now I want to think about a word for next year. Thanks for this piece. Whats your word?
Oh, do think! And the workbook helps with the whole process too. I’m still thinking about my word, but I will share it once I’ve finalised it. 🙂
Oh I love this idea. I agree that it is pointless without the action though. Thank you for sharing with #ablogginggoodtime ?
Yup, without action it’s just a day dream, really! 😉
I love this idea too – thanks for the inspiration. Su #ablogginggoodtime
You’re very welcome! xx
Wonderful idea! I haven’t done resolutions in many years… try to live in the present, daily looking and course correcting. I may read this over many times before 2018! TY! #mg xoxo
Oh, I don’t do resolutions either! I always end up breaking them within weeks! 😉 I do a weekly check-in/course correcting, I find that it helps me stay quite in line with the way I want my months and year to shape up! xox
I’ve been doing Word of the Year since 2011, maybe. Some words were more impactful than others. This year, my word was Dream. I did a lot of dreaming, but not much by way of bring them to reality. I let too many things get in my way. I am trying to decide on my word for 2018. I’ve considered continuing with Dream, but I really like finding a new word for each year, or letting it find me. I have a list of possibilities to choose from.
I’ve found some years when my word doesn’t align with my vision. But on reflection, that’s always been because there was something underlying that I needed to work through first; and that I have usually ended up working through by the end of the year! I don’t have a logical explanation for it, other than to say that energy follows intention (as one of my favourite witchy teachers says). Perhaps you were meant to crystallize your dreams this year? You may just find yourself raring to go next year! xx
I am not usually a resolution kind of person, but I did set myself the Living Fearlessly authentic theme to my blog at the beginning of 2017 and it has helped me grow and be more in tune with who I am. I like the idea of setting a word and intention for 2018! Thank you so much for linking up with #mg
Yup, no resolutions for me, either! Words and intentions work a lot better, I’ve found! 🙂
Really like this idea. I shall work on finding my word… through reflection, meditation and intuition.
For a few years now I’ve chosen a word and it’s true action is the key to magic. #ablogginggoodtime
My WOTY for 2017 was ‘happy’, MG and you know what happened through the year, but strangely, I’ve been happy despite! Looking forward to using your workbook.
I tried to download the workbook, but it just signed me up for the newsletter. No email or download. What am I doing wrong?
The link to access the inspiration library and the workbook is in the confirmation email. If you drop me an email, I’ll send it along once again.
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I have a word in my mind. After reading your post I will strive to focus on intention and keep doing actions to see the “magic” unfolding in the year as it happens one day at a time!
Thanks you for the most profound equation Word+intention+action = Magic! I have fallen in love with it!