Happy New Year to everyone....

Each year, I hear a lot about New Year's Resolutions. And each year I feel like I'm setting myself up for failure. Will I lose weight/stop smoking/eliminate my debt/whatever? And each of those seems focused on my current failings or things that aren't working well for me up to now. What do I need to fix? What's wrong with me now?

On top of that, resolutions seem to be part of a pass/fail system... Either I succeed or I fail at them - doesn't leave much room for effort, does it?

So what if we thought about New Year'sIntentionsinstead? For me, intentions help me in two ways. First, I can think about an bigger outcome for myself rather than a more narrow resolution. So if my resolution would be to lose weight, I can ask myself why. Why do I want to lose weight? It might be that what I really want is good physical health. If I make good health my intention, then I can succeed whether I lose a few pounds, start riding my bike, eat veggies, or any combination of these.

Focusing on Intentions can help me focus on the process, while having a positive outcome in mind. I now can pay attention to what I am doing in my life that is working, what I can build on to get the outcome I have in mind. And all my efforts count toward success. Sounds very "ABCD-ish" to me...

So what do you think? What are your intentions for the New Year? I want joy in my life, good health, great work, and meaningful relationships. Now those intentions make me happy just thinking about them!