My Intentions for 2017

HI. WELCOME TO 2017! Let's hope it's a better one for the human race and for the entire planet. Go ahead and send out some positive energy into the universe right now. I'll give you a sec to do so.

So... another New Year. I'm not going to bother with New Year's Resolutions this year (I recommend that you  read this inspiring blog post here to understand why). Unrealistic expectations aren't good for any of us, nor is the pressure to be this or that or the other.

Instead, I've decided on and established two intentions for the next year of my life:
- Practice self-love
and
- Choose desire over fear

Healthy, happy, productive, heart-warming, soul-enriching intentions.

I've never been too good at the whole self-love thing (*cue a few raised eyebrows as to what I mean here*). I mean, you know those little whispers in your head that tell you you're not good enough, or clever enough, or as pretty as so-and-so, or confident enough, or have a small enough waist, or big enough boobs. The whispers that say you're too quiet or too loud, too thin or too fat, annoying or ugly or boring.

Ignoring those whispers, realising that you're perfect just the way you are, understanding the things that make you gloriously you, shining your inner light, doing things that set your soul on fire, focusing on being kind to yourself and treating yourself the way you would treat the people that you love the most?

That's practicing self-love.

As I said, I've not bossed that yet - not in the slightest, to be honest. But I'm starting to run out of excuses as to why not. And I'm starting to realise that those whispers don't do anything good for me, or say anything nice, so why would I let them in? Why would I choose to listen?

Where these whispers come from are probably different for everyone. Upbringing, comments made by others, the media's representation of what is 'perfect', toxic relationships, maybe a collective universal negative energy brought about by millions of years of a combination of these things.
But we all have them, and most of us tend to listen. We have an innate (or rather, false but overriding) idea that we must berate ourselves, that we should not love ourselves (that's narcissistic and egotistical and vain, is it not?), that being kind to ourselves, believing we're beautiful and talented, is selfish.

WHY IS THIS A THING?!

It needs to stop being a thing, guys. It really needs to do one.

Walking hand-in-hand with self-love is a little lass that I like to call 'desire over fear'. She may appear weak, but if she's chosen, she works wonders. She's often ignored - fear usually takes the front seat. But I've seen her work miracles, and I quite fancy taking her along on my life journey in the next twelve months - and beyond.

My lack of self-love means that I am often afraid to take opportunities. I value others' opinions of who I am and what I should do more than I value my desires and instincts. Which, when I write it like that, is absurd! It's gotta change.

2017 is going to be a big year for me, as I finish my degree in May and am currently faced with a scary but exciting thing called 'the unknown'. Not having to turn up to uni every day (or rather, once a week, as the case actually is) means I have 24 hours every single day to do whatever I choose. It means somehow needing to make a living. It means I have to fill my days with something else. And this is a choice that I have complete control over - what a blessing that is!

So to be put off by fear of judgment, fear of rejection, fear of being too this or that, or not this enough or that enough, is only going to distract me from doing stuff I love. I can't let that happen. I can't waste this awesome freedom.

Hence my intention for choosing desire over fear. Following my instincts, my wants, my loves, my creative urges, tapping into which direction my soul is being pulled in and listening to its callings, without being held back by fear, insecurities or judgment. That's my intention. And that's part of practicing self love.

So I'm going to try my best to replace inner evil whispers with kind, comforting words of support.
I'm going to try my best to take time for myself every day to do something that I enjoy, that my soul says YES to without hesitation.
I'm going to try my best to look in the mirror and be like 'girl, you look fricking fabulous today', even if I don't feel it. I'm going to try my best to make myself feel it - because why would I let myself not feel fricking fabulous?!
I'm going to get outside and immerse myself in nature whenever I can, do yoga, read books that click with me, spend time with people who lift my spirits, travel to places that I long to visit or know that I feel at home in, watch David Attenborough's Planet Earth series' over and over again, watch Friends because it makes me laugh, play the piano and guitar, eat cake (I bloody love cake), eat cake for breakfast (it's even better at breakfast), just do things without feeling guilty, do things that give me a warm glow from fingers to toes.

I cannot WAIT.

Have a go at tuning into your self, recognising negative patterns, things that drain your energy, and make the decision to let them go. Set yourself some intentions for this next year of your life based off of what feels right and good for you. Document them however you choose - a journal, a list, a blog, a vision board, a mental note even.

No pressure. No doubt. No beating yourself up. Just a whole load of love and doing things that will make you happy, that will make you grow.

xx