New Year, New Intentions: Let’s Make 2025 Meaningful And Purposeful.

Dec 31

Setting Intentions for the Year Ahead: Aligning with Your Core Values

As the year of 2024 closes, many of us naturally reflect on how far we’ve come and what we hope to achieve in the year ahead. It’s a time for both looking back and setting intentions for the future. Rather than diving into an overwhelming list of New Year’s resolutions or stressing over perfect goals, what if we approached the coming year with more intention? Instead of focusing on rigid objectives, what if we centered our actions around what truly matters—our core values?

When our intentions are rooted in our values, life becomes more purposeful and aligned with who we are, free from the pressure of perfection. As the saying goes, "The best way to predict your future is to create it." By focusing on the person you want to become, rather than just what you want to achieve with fixed boxes, you take ownership of your story—and the rest will follow. This time of year also offers an opportunity to pause and reflect on what’s working and what isn’t. Self-reflection helps us recognise what truly fills our cup and what quietly drains it. Without this mindful approach, life can feel like running on a treadmill—constantly speeding up but never moving forward. By aligning our actions with our values, we create a life that feels both meaningful and fulfilling.

As the new year approaches, consider embracing this practice of reflection to understand greater clarity and purpose in your choices. If you need time to reflect before diving into the new year, take it—it’s just as important to pause as it is to move forward. When we approach the future with intention, we set ourselves up to create a life that is deeply connected to who we are and who we’re becoming.

Reflection Practice:

1. What Worked?

What am I proud of?
What did you achieve this year that made you feel good about yourself?
What habits helped me?
Were there routines or habits that made life better?
What made me happiest?
What moments or things brought you the most joy or energy?
How did I grow?
What did you learn or improve on this year?
Who helped me?
Who supported, inspired, or motivated you this year?

2. What Didn’t Work?

What challenges did I face?
What were the hardest things you dealt with this year?
What goals didn’t I reach?
Were there goals you didn’t achieve or didn’t make progress on? Why?
What held me back?
Did bad habits, distractions, or negative thoughts stop you?
When did I feel stressed or burned out?
Were there moments when you felt overwhelmed or drained?
What did I avoid?
Were there things you put off or procrastinated on?

3. What Did I Learn?

What did I learn about myself?
Did you discover something new about what you like, what you’re good at, or what challenges you?
What mistakes taught me something?
What did you learn from any setbacks or failures?
What worked well with others?
Were there things you did in relationships or communication that helped you connect better with others?Connect with your core values

Before setting any intentions, it’s essential to reconnect with what truly matters to you. I call this, your core values! Your values are the quiet guiding force that influence behaviours, decision-making, culture, actions, and growth. Your values are the foundation upon which everything else is built.—when you stay true to them, you can move through life with purpose. Core values must be clearly defined, consistently communicated, and authentically lived out to create positive results. Start by reflecting on experiences, beliefs, and the principles that guide your decisions and actions. Your core values should stem from what is deeply meaningful to you—whether personally and or professionally. When you know your core values, you show your core values, which allows you to lead with confidence and consistency in day to day life. Check out this post to guide you with more clarity in helping you define your core values.

Choose One Word

In addition to reconnecting with your values, consider choosing a single word to guide you throughout the year. This practice brings simplicity, clarity, and purpose to your life and the decisions you make, grounding you in what truly matters. I first started this journey about 10 years ago, but it’s only in the last four years that I’ve truly embraced it, allowing that word to ripple through every aspect of my life. Just like core values, I return to this word time and time again, using it as a touchstone that keeps me focused and aligned with my deeper intentions. Last year my word was ‘Believe.’ And I used that word to solidify every decision I made, as a mother, a wife, a homeowever, a business owner, a friend, a sister, a sister in law, and more! Believe has become rooted in my being.

Your one word becomes a powerful lens through which you can view your actions, decisions, and mindset. It helps to simplify the overwhelming noise of daily life, serving as a constant reminder of who you want to be and how you want to show up in the world. Each time I come back to my word, it re-centers me. Here are some ideas and themes for choosing a word: Balance & Peace (Balance,Still, Grounded) Connection & Relationships,(Love, Connect, Kindness) Clarity & Focus (Simple, Purpose,Mindful) Creativity, (Imagine,Adventure,Inspire) Health and Wellbeing (Energy, Nourish, Heal) Gratitude & Positivity, (Grateful, Joy, Abundance) Adventure & New Beginnings, (Start, Brave, Fresh) Achievement & Success…(Victory, Reach, Excel) When you are choosing your word, be sure to listen to your heart.

When you’ve chosen a word that resonates deeply with your dreams and values, it becomes a constant source of inspiration. So, this year, instead of setting a long list of resolutions that may be hard to keep, simplify things by choosing one word that reflects who you want to be and how you want to show up in the world. Let that word guide you, inspire you, and bring clarity to every decision you make. It's a simple yet powerful tool that helps you stay grounded and focused in a world that can often feel chaotic and overwhelming.

Embrace Flexibility

Life rarely unfolds exactly as we imagine, and that’s perfectly okay. One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned is the importance of resilience and flexibility in our intentions. In fact, it was my five year old son having done speech pathology for a year, that brought this to my attention and that we can ask ourselves, ‘Are we being rigid or flexible?’ This question reaches far beyond the positioning of our tongues in our mouth—it’s about how we communicate with others, how we talk to ourselves, and how we move through the world. It’s about how we evolve, how we grow, how we learn, and how we teach and inspire. It’s about how we share our experiences and connect meaningfully with those around us. Flexibility in life is about creating an environment where growth can happen naturally. Just as we allow our homes to evolve and reflect who we are, we should let our mindset and actions adapt to the changing seasons of our lives. This mindset influences everything we do, guiding how we show up in the world, how we approach obstacles, and how we use our power to create the life we desire, and a home we truly love!

Setting intentions isn’t about locking ourselves into a rigid path; it’s about creating a framework that allows for growth and change, no matter what comes our way.

When we place too much focus on a specific outcome, we often set ourselves up for disappointment when things don’t go as planned. (I have been there, with someone who is naturally a huge go getter and dreamer) Instead, I encourage you to embrace the idea that your intentions can grow and shift with you. After all, life is messy, and the best stories are the ones where the character evolves along the way. Like your home. Intentions are there to support that growth, without forcing you into a box or a preset idea of what your journey should look like.

Visualise Your Future Self

A great way to set meaningful intentions is by visualising where you want to be by the end of 2025. This isn’t about setting goals in the traditional sense, but about imagining how you want to feel. Who are you? How do you want to show up for yourself and others? What kind of energy do you want to bring to your work, your home, your relationships, your health?

Visualising your future self can help you clarify your intentions and connect to a deeper sense of purpose. That mean sound intense, but it's true. When you know how you want to feel and who you want to become, the steps to get there become clearer.

Create a Vision Board
To make those intentions feel real, create a vision board—a visual representation of your goals and intentions. It’s not just about collecting pretty images. Cut out pictures, words, and quotes that resonate with your core values too. This board serves as a daily reminder of the bigger picture and keeps your eyes on the prize, even when life gets busy! Don;t forget to keep it where you will see it, mine is in my office right behind my laptop as I type this.

Break Down Your Intentions into Actionable Steps

Start Small and Stay Consistent: It’s easy to get overwhelmed by big intentions, but the key is to break them down into smaller, manageable actions. Even if your goals feel broad or lofty, focus on taking tiny, practical steps each day. It’s like when you decorate your home, focus on one small area of your home at a time. But the secret here, is consistency. It’s not about doing it all at once—it’s about making steady progress, even if it’s just a little bit at a time.

Take Action with Purpose: You don’t need to make grand gestures or leap toward perfection. Start with simple, intentional actions that support your bigger picture. Maybe it’s just five minutes a day spent on something that matters to you, or organising one small space at a time. The beauty is in being purposeful—moving forward, even if it’s just one small step today. It’s the little things that add up and create momentum.

Embrace Gratitude, Self-Compassion, and Flexibility in Your Journey

When it comes to setting intentions, I’ve learned that gratitude is one of the most powerful tools you can have. Instead of constantly focusing on what needs to be done or "fixed," take a moment to appreciate where you are right now. Celebrate the small wins, the progress you’ve made, and the lessons you’ve learned along the way. This doesn’t mean you’re settling for where you are, but rather recognizing how far you’ve come. By practicing gratitude, you can shift from thinking "I need more" to realizing how much is already working in your life, which can actually fuel your next steps forward.

And let’s talk about self-compassion for a moment. Life isn’t perfect, and neither are we—and that’s okay! When things don’t go as planned or we don’t hit all our goals, it’s so important to treat ourselves with kindness. We all face setbacks, but being gentle with yourself allows you to bounce back faster and move forward without the weight of guilt or self-judgment. Progress is the goal, not perfection.

Lastly, managing your expectations is key. If your goals are too rigid or unrealistic, it’s easy to get frustrated or feel defeated, especially when life inevitably throws curveballs. Instead, set intentions that are flexible and can evolve as you do. Life is unpredictable, and that’s part of the beauty of it. By giving yourself grace and adjusting when necessary, you can keep moving forward with ease, knowing that setbacks are just a natural part of the journey—not a reflection of your worth.