How to Set Intentions For The New Year

Polka Dot Jumpsuit: Anthropologie
Shoes: ECCO
Monogram Necklace: Anthropologie
Straw Bag: Amazon

Wow, 2019 flew by and it’s crazy to think that the new year starts tomorrow! I’m sure you all feel this way, but as I get older the years go by faster and faster. As the year is winding down, it is a great time to reflect about the current year and it really got me thinking. This year we traveled to 4 different countries: Puerto Rico (I consider it a different country even though it is a U.S. territory), Denmark, Sweden, and Italy. I completed my final dose of Zometa (part of my cancer treatment), my niece entered into this world (my namesake!), and so much more!

But I am excited for a new year to begin or more like a new decade (so wild to think). This time of the year is also great to set intentions for the next year. I haven’t talked about it much in the past – which I’m surprised by, but every year I like to set intentions for myself. I’m a planner by heart and intentions are so important because they keep me on my toes, give me a sense of purpose, help me achieve things I didn’t think I could achieve, and overall I become a better person. Have you set intentions for yourself for the new year?

How to To Set Intentions For The New Year

Intentions Versus Resolutions

It is important to recognize the difference between setting resolutions versus setting your intentions. Resolutions are result driven. This means it focuses on outcomes. Resolutions can lead to unrealistic expectations because it is hard to measure things we haven’t approached yet. I used to make new year’s resolutions in the past but always ended up feeling disappointed. Usually, I don’t end up completing my resolutions and then I feel bad about myself and go down a rabbit hole of not feeling good enough. It’s either I never had the time to get my resolutions started or I was 99% close to completing but just couldn’t get to the finish line.

I hate that feeling of not being good enough. Hence, I stopped making resolutions. This is where intentions are different. Intentions are all about the journey and focuses on the action versus the results. Intentions make us look deeper inside ourselves and find what we can do to make an impact. It’s all about that mind body connection. You can create goals to achieve these intentions but overall it helps you feel better about yourself mentally and physically. There’s no specific outcome to achieve as long as you do it. They can be things like be with family more, drink more water, etc.

Reflect On Your Life

As I mentioned earlier, the end of the year is the perfect time to reflect about the current year. Take that time to think about it. What worked, what you liked about it, what you didn’t like about it, and think about what is important to you.

Make A List and Write it Down

Write down anything that comes to mind. Sometimes seeing things in writing helps us create the intentions we want and validates them. It is also easier to remember! I always have a (cute) pen and a notebook with me. I even have a notebook dedicated to just writing down random things. I also came across this set your intention journal. When something just feels important, I have the urge to write it down and set goals. So as you go about your day, write down any intentions that pop up. Sometimes forcing yourself at a given time makes it harder to come up with something.

What Makes You Happy

Have you ever thought about your happiness? Sometimes we tend to put our happiness last. But ironically, it should always come first. It reminds me when flight attendants go over the safety rules and when they talk about the oxygen mask. They always say put your mask on first before you can help others put theirs on. Happiness should be applied the same way. We can’t help others if we don’t know how to help ourselves.

Create A Mantra

Words are powerful. They are a great reminder, they’re motivating, and help us get right back on track. Think about a mantra that speaks to you. When you feel like life is spinning out of control, this mantra will reel you back in.

My Intentions For The New Year

Here are my intentions for this coming year. They’re nothing lavish but I hope it will help improve my quality of life. I noticed when I feel good about my life that energy is contagious and hopefully the people I am around will feel good about theirs too.

Continue To Read More

It wasn’t until last June I decided to get back to reading and since then, I’ve been reading every month. I love to read but always gave an excuse that I was too busy. This is where I put my happiness first. It turns out, I do have time. Even if I only had time to read one book in a month, that still satisfies me more than none.

Advance My Skills

I’m talking about skills in career. It is either getting more proficient in data analytics, getting more familiar with a new software, and overall continuing my education. I love learning new skills or fine tuning my current skills. I don’t like to be stagnant. This keeps me relevant and helps me better my career. I signed up for LinkedIn Premium and they offer online courses for pretty much any software and skills, and I am loving it! I even revisited skills I thought I was really good at and realized I learned even more and enhanced them.

Relax More

Relaxing is something I have a hard time doing. I feel guilty like I am supposed to constantly be doing something. I’ve talked about this with my onco-psychologist and it is a work in progress. One thing she suggested is to write it down or dedicate a single day or hour to relax. Since I’m driven by lists and goals, writing it down in a calendar makes it seem like a task I have to do and it has worked once for me. So I know I just need to continue to add relax onto the calendar.

So these are my intentions for the new year. I kept them short and sweet, and if I add more to this list great. If not, these are the top 3 I am focusing on.

Filipino Polka Dots New Year Tradition

I thought I’d share something fun and maybe it will help with your New Years Eve outfit!  In general, I love the polka dot print. So it is easy for me to want to wear polka dots. Growing up, my mom made it a point for all of us to wear polka dots on New Years Eve. So when midnight strikes we are wearing polka dots in the New Year (wearing sequins counts!). It is one of the quirky Filipino New Year traditions. Therefore, it was only fitting to share a polka dot jumpsuit when talking about the New Year.

The reason why there is emphasis on wearing polka dots in the New Year is because polka dots resemble coins. Therefore, it symbolizes wealth and good fortune. So that hopefully in the new year you are blessed with wealth and good fortune. Another tradition to bring wealth and good fortune is having coins in your pocket. My mom always tells me it is good to have money already on hand on the first day of the new year. It means you will always have money.

My Polka Dot Jumpsuit

I wore this jumpsuit when we were in Venice. More specifically, when we took a day trip to Burano. I also wore it to my friend’s engagement party a few months ago. It is one of my favorite jumpsuits from Anthropologie’s Fall collection. The fit is amazing, so comfortable and so chic. I always receive compliments whenever I wear it.

The jumpsuit fits true to size. I’m wearing a size 4, and I normally wear a size 4. Since the top half is button down, I will say it fits true to size unless you are really busty. As a reference, I normally wear a size small and my chest is 32C. But anyone who has already owned this jumpsuit loves it as much as I do!

I hope you all have a Happy New Year and I’ll talk to you in 2020!

xo RD