*** this article was published on December 30, 2021, through my mailing list ***
According to Joseph Goldstein, these are the 3 most important words in mindfulness meditation. You give the mind a simple object to focus on, and before not too long, you find yourself lost in thought. It’s like having hopped on a train of thought, not knowing where the train is going or even how long you’ve been on the train.
This is one of my favorite mindfulness scripts which I might have offered to some of you. It’s such a great reminder to be gentle with ourselves and still put in effort towards our goals. That it is the process itself that matters as well as the outcome and that we can invite anything back into our lives over and over again. It’s also a great theme I find for an end of the year and new year’s resolutions. It definitely came up in my end of year reflections.
INTENSIONS
One of the intentions I had formed at the beginning of 2021, was to communicate more regularly with my coaching community - meaning YOU! Individual communication comes a lot easier to me than writing texts to such a diverse group of people I care about like you.
As my coaching practice was growing, this also meant that by the end of the year, I realized I cannot reach out to all of you with an individual holiday’s message. While on a longer bush walk a couple of days ago, SIMPLY BEGIN AGAIN came to mind when thinking about all of you. So, here it is. In 2022, I will offer four seasonal writings to my coaching community around the themes I am passionate about - people, places and performance. My next quarter of the year is all about places and how to ground myself in nature. Something I took away from the Sydney region lockdown when I started overnight hiking and water walks. Stay tuned for more.
So, let me ask YOU: what are your intensions for the next weeks, months or even 2022?
Does anything come up (again)? Maybe from one of our coaching conversations? If you haven't had the chance to reflect this transitional time, I invite you to take a couple of moments now.
Take a deep breath. Notice your body sensations. Close your eyes if you want to. And just notice what is coming up for you with this question? Here are some more questions to stimulate your thinking and noticing.
What do I want more off in 2022?
What stressed me out and I want to leave behind?
What do I want to look back on at the end of 2022?
What could small steps look like along the way?
Intensions are such a powerful way to be conscious about what you need and want, to set goals for yourself. In a way that is meaningful to you, that gets you energized and that resonates deeply. It’s an ancient, almost spiritual way of listening to yourself. It’s more and more applied in Coaching Psychology. An intention is a personal, positive call to action for something you want to do, rather than something you don’t want to do but feel that you should. When you set an intention, you create a guiding principle for how you want to be, and how you want to live.
“Intent” originates from the Latin word “intentus” which means an extending, attentive to, and strained. It is a past participle of “intendere” which means to direct attention. So, where do you want to direct your intention towards in 2022?
And as with my example of communicating more regularly, there is the intension - action gap. For me, I just needed a reminder of why this is important and how I can implement the action to serve my intension. There are other reasons, why we sometimes not follow through on things that are really important to us. This worksheet (https://positivepsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/Implementation-Intentions.pdf) from the Positive Psychology space might offer some more ideas. And if you get lost, stuck or distracted along the way - simply begin again.
GRATITUDE
Intensions go hand in hand with gratitude. Once you know what you want to see more of for yourself, you actually have to notice and appreciate when it's happening. Beyond all the challenges and stressors in 2022, I look back on many beautiful experiences that this work enabled. To name a few: the networks I am part of, SheEO and AC NSW, my business partners - Syspo excellence, BetterUp and Bravely, Positive Intelligence- the opportunities to explore coaching in nature, virtual mindfulness journeys, brave transition interviews and first team coaching assignments down under. I even got to travel to Europe again despite all COVID challenges to connect with old and new business partners.
Again, I am so grateful for the growth of my coaching practice. Getting to partner with all of you and calling this my work brings me so much joy. Thank you! Let me ask you to take a moment to reflect on what you are grateful for, anything that brought you joy, big and small. And if you would like some help creating space for yourself, please reach out anytime at mail(at)cindy-hurley-leister.com or +61(0)491713288. I'd love to hear from you. Below you find my offerings in the new year.
OFFERINGS in 2022
(1) On-demand Coaching: you just need a booster in self-awareness, optimism and solutioning? Book yourself onto my calendar for a single session or contact me for coaching packages.
(2) bush & mind: sensory experiences: live at 7sisters festival in Victoria and free online offering coming up in March. Register your interest with a simple text at +61(0)491713288 or email.
(3) Mental Fitness online program: in cooperation with Positive Intelligence, this is a seven week course to boost your mental fitness. A Also available for whole teams. Includes three coaching sessions to boost accountability for your goals. Register your interest here.
(4) Listen to the Brave Transitions Podcast and get inspired.
Visit me - online or IRL - at Blue Mountains Coaching in the lovely village of Leura, NSW 2780, amidst Blue Mountains National Park.
@timhurleyphotos
