In-House Counsel

Setting Your Personal And Professional Intentions For The New Year

A new year is about a fresh start, new beginnings, and new opportunities.

By  
on

new-year-7410988_1920As the new year begins, you might be confronted by various peers, friends, and family members who will ask about your resolutions. You desire to change and absolve yourself of bad habits while reflecting and creating lofty goals. You start to take action, but sometimes progress doesn’t appear as quickly, other distractions happen, and then you feel defeated.

2022 was the first year I set intentions instead of resolutions. My reasoning for this was simple: in previous years, I charted my next set of goals based on things I needed to change, or things I didn’t achieve in that existing year. I had metrics attached to quantify or define my goals. After all, goals are measurable, tangible things. However, something happened in 2021 that changed the way I saw resolutions.

Despite having one of the most successful years professionally, 2021 left me broken and depleted. I battled COVID, lost my beloved shih tzu after almost 16 years together and became engulfed in grief, injured my back, and faced numerous other personal and health-related obstacles. Given that my birthday is three days before Christmas, it’s always been the start of my next year. That week of December 2021, I was on vacation in Asheville with my husband, and yet, I just couldn’t regain my physical, mental, and emotional strength.

As a result, I set my intentions for 2022 to be happy, fulfilled, rested, and energized. I also selected a word to carry me through the year as a reminder of my intentions. The goal of my 2022 word — boundaries — meant creating more care and concern around my own mental, emotional, and physical needs. In essence, 2022 was the year of “me” — rebuilding better wellness and health in every facet so that I didn’t feel depleted by December 2022.

Here’s what I realized after setting intentions in 2022 and heading into 2023: I became more self-aware, mindful, and compassionate for my own well-being. In a world where I’ve always been a “yes” person and thus, a doormat to others, I learned to prioritize myself in order to have needed sleep, exercise, and ultimately perform better.

Exercise has been my outlet for balancing stress and anxiety. However, it often took a backseat to my workload during the practice of law and as a writer and coach. In years past, I would take work with me on vacation, respond to emails, and take on extra assignments where someone really wanted to hire me but had a time-sensitive need. I was the paradigm of the “hustle” mentality and culture as a solo business owner.

On the outside, I was flourishing professionally, but on the inside, I was constantly pouring from an empty cup — limited sleep, frazzled due to a lack of balance, and depleted energy.

Sponsored

In 2022, I became radically honest and openly transparent without fear of disappointing someone. I ceased over-scheduling and set a firm boundary on my availability to others. I stopped feeling compelled to respond immediately as an email or message entered my inbox (note to self: scheduling emails for later delivery is definitely not overrated). I used OOO messages more and stood by them to enjoy time away from work.

For once, I stopped guessing if I took my daily thyroid medication (thanks to the nifty pill organizer my husband got me in April). I also sought out a new endocrinologist in the early fall who has become a terrific advocate for my health, and I made sure to follow up with her rather than putting off appointments because I was too busy handling client work.

Guess what happened? I still had incredible business success while actually treating myself like a commodity. I created an even better version of myself — one that emphasizes rest, wellness, and recharge. I lost a solid amount of weight, I increased my fitness and rekindled my love for exercise, and most importantly, I felt balanced in all facets of my professional and personal life.

I reminded others that If I seemed distant in 2022 it was because I spent much of the year rebuilding what broke me down in 2021.

What’s my word for 2023? It’s “momentum.”

Sponsored

I want to continue the necessary self-care work, continue setting firm boundaries on my time, minimize energy vampires (people and things), and let it pave the way for everything else to come.

A new year is about a fresh start, new beginnings, and new opportunities. There’s plenty that awaits all of us in the next 12 months — it’s time to set those personal and professional intentions. What’s your word for 2023? I’d love to know.

Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at wendi@writingguru.net, connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.  

Topics

, , ,