xo, Chantel Marie

Every year around this time, I look forward to seeing the annual “New Year, New Me” status changes along with everyone’s resolutions. Let’s be honest with ourselves, though – those resolutions are usually forgotten by the third week of January. And if the past two years during a pandemic have taught us anything, it should definitely be a fact that life doesn’t always go according to plan.

For me, the New Year is all about mentally starting fresh so that I can regain focus. This time around though, I’m more invested in the journey. Rather than getting disappointed with failed resolutions, I plan to just be consistent with my evolution – even if that means starting small.

So, I’ve decided to set less New Year’s resolutions and instead mindfully set my intentions for the year.

How to Set Your Intention for The Year

Change Your Mindset

For me, changing my mindset involved some soul-searching. Ask yourself some questions about your desires and what makes you happy, then it’ll be easier to visualize you reaching your goals.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to dig deep & change your mindset:

• Why is this goal so important to me?
• What will my life look like when I achieve this goal?
• What would my life look like if I didn’t achieve it?

Create a Vision Board

I usually create moodboards for my brand design clients before we begin their project because it sets the tone and depicts the design direction of the brand we’re creating. It reflects the words they want their customers to use to describe them. Creating a vision board for my life helps me manifest and sets the tone for the life I want. I pick a theme and I use images from Pinterest to depict the vision I have for myself. I keep it on my phone so I can see it everyday. You can easily create a vision board using Canva and print it out or set it as your wallpaper on your devices.

How to create a Vision Board on Canva:

1. Create a Design (Search: Desktop Wallpaper or Phone Wallpaper)
2. Decide on a Theme for the Year, think about the areas your want to focus on (travel, finances, relationships, wellness, etc)
3. Save some photos from Pinterest that reflects your theme for the year
4. Upload those photos into a collage, and move them around as you see fit
5. Download and save it as your wallpaper

Start Small

We don’t have to jump into January with big goals like losing 100lbs in 2 months and quitting anything sweet out of your life forever. We mean well, but that type of drastic change probably won’t happen. And while I know that getting out of our comfort zone breeds change, I also know that accomplishing bite-sized victories is still a win.

If there’s a big goal that you’re trying to reach, break it down into smaller steps or habits and then work on those. For example, if your goal is to post on social media consistently – try to break it down by forming a habit of sharing a “good morning” video to your stories. It won’t seem as daunting as committing to sharing the perfect photo and caption every day.

I also like to set monthly 10-minutes or less tasks that aren’t overwhelming that feel like an easy win. Things like:

• cleaning out my purse (because the bigger the bag, the more receipts I hold on to for some reason)
• deleting unused apps from my phone
• unsubscribing to emails I don’t read
• recycling old magazines & catalogs

Fun Tip: Play beat the clock: set a timer to keep yourself on task. No pressure if you don’t finish it all in one sitting.

Share with a Friend

Find an accountability partner like a close friend or a mentor that you can check in with on a regular basis. It’s always helpful to be able to share success stories and bounce ideas off each other especially if you’re on the same journey. When you find yourself thinking negatively or are struggling to stay in the present, your accountability partner can help you stay on track.

Reward Yourself

Shhh! This is my favorite part. Rewarding yourself and celebrating the little victories along the way will help you stay on track. Add in some self-care or a quick day trip to that place you’ve pinned on Pinterest, and you’ll have something to look forward to during your journey.

Most importantly, when all else fails – keep going. You got this.

I hope 2022 brings everyone reading this post lots of success and transformation. I’m a firm believer that in order to attract better, you have to become better. We can’t do the same things and expect change. But it all starts with you and how you feel about yourself.

Happy New Year!