Remember how we all counted down the seconds to 2021, thinking it was going to be our year? Now, stepping into 2022 feels a bit like playing Hide-and-Seek with a small child – we’re all shouting “Ready or not, here I come!” over and over just to make sure it knows we’re coming.
As we all tiptoe into 2022, it seems like a great opportunity to approach other things differently as well. Like those “new year, new me” resolutions that we’re pressured to make every year around this time.
Resolutions vs Intentions
A resolution is a firm answer or decision on something. There’s a level of certainty. This means when we don’t meet our New Year’s resolutions, it can really feel like failure. We tell ourselves it must be our fault for not being committed or disciplined enough about this thing we felt “certain” of.
Intention, however, is a mental state. When you intend something, you have it in mind as a goal, and your intention is then your commitment to achieving that goal in the future.
My 2022 intentions
Last year, I had three intentions for myself: I would launch my blog, take my mental health more seriously, and grow in my training. I was blessed to experience progress across all three. I launched The Britt Blog in August 2021, expanded the tools in my mental toolbox by seeking out therapy, and took my training up a notch thanks to my coach.
2021 wasn’t an easy year, but it taught me a lot. So as I reflected on my intentions for 2022, I was able to honor what 2021 gave me and mourn what it took away.
Here are my 2022 intentions:
1. Keep growing The Britt Blog
When you feel like everyone has their s**t together besides you, you need to hear a different voice. That voice that says, “Hey, remember, no one is perfect and you’re not alone.” My intention for this blog from the beginning has been to be that “counter-voice” that we all need sometimes.
And so in 2022, my intention is to keep growing and improving The Britt Blog so that it can continue to be that kind of space. I also want to bring in guest bloggers to amplify the other “counter-voices” out there in the world.
And here’s where you come in. Do you have a topic that you think I should write more about? Or something that you’d really like to see less of? Be sure to use the comments and let me know.
2. Expand my skillset
I’ve become increasingly interested in how data and technology can enhance social change and development. We may think of UX design and cybersecurity and blockchain technology only applying to certain niche industries. But in reality, tech is already everywhere.
Another reality is that women continue to be underrepresented in tech spaces. There are many reasons for this, but the point stands that true gender equality in STEM is years away.
Growing my expertise not only sets me up for the future, but will also make me feel like I’m helping shift mindsets about women in tech while doing work that I care about.
3. Continue to build strength and athleticism
Because fitness is a form of therapy for me, I focus on training goals that have nothing to do with my weight.
For 2022, I want to continue my journey as a “recreational athlete” and keep gaining strength. I hit a few new PRs last year with weightlifting, and want to keep lifting heavier without sacrificing mobility. My left side-right side balance really progressed in 2021, and I want to keep that up as well. I also want 2022 to be the year I can do proper pull-ups – I’ve been working on them, and I’m so close!
4. Strengthen mental resilience as part of prioritizing my mental health
In 2022, I want to keep building on and practicing mental resilience, as I know it’s a critical part of my overall mental health journey.
Cultivating mental resilience has been a key theme for me in therapy. It is an extremely important tool, whether it be for handling panic attacks or dealing with the eating disorder voice in my head that’s triggered by some diet culture nonsense.
I’ve learned that resilience doesn’t mean that you’re impervious to triggers. Rather, it’s understanding how to talk yourself through them while focusing on what is valid, which builds your ability to face them with more and more self-confidence.
Setting your own intentions
It’s really easy to just think about what happened in 2021. But what about how those things happened, and how they made you feel?
Focusing only on what we want to happen in 2022 gives us resolutions that we feel pressure to meet. But by reflecting on how we want to live and feel in 2022, we can start to form our intentions for the year. So instead of a resolution to lose weight, for example, we create an intention to get stronger because we want to feel more confident, live more independently, carry our children longer distances, etc.
I hope that by sharing my 2022 intentions, it encourages you to think about your own.
Here’s to new intentions and new days in 2022.
