Setting Intentions for 2022
You may have already set New Year’s resolutions for the year, but have you talked to your kids about setting intentions for 2022? Rather than sticking to hard and fast rules about what you will or won’t do, instead talk with them about the future and what they want it to look like. From there, you can focus on the actions that will shape their future selves.
In the article “Who Are You in 2022?,” Judy Nutz Campanale, DC, AC, points out, ”Who we are, to a large degree, is based on the small, seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day.” Those small daily choices add up to characteristics that can define us. For example, athletes and musicians practice often, day after day, for weeks and months and years. They weren’t recognized as gymnasts or pianists until after they starting putting forth that regular effort to hone their skills.
And the opposite is true, too. If you’re not as organized, fit, thoughtful, or good at sports as you’d like to be, it may be because you haven’t yet made daily choices to support the kinds of traits you’d like to have. The good news is that you can start making those choices - right now!
So sit down with your family and talk about each of your intentions for 2022. These tips from Ms. Campanale can help shape the conversation to choose goals and actions that will help you see success this year:
Focus on the positive. Pick something you’re already good at, and strive to become even better.
Keep your list short. Trying to change too many things can set you up for failure. Choose two or three specific, measurable goals, and focus on those.
Don’t let failure make you quit. Expect setbacks. If you recognize that they’re part of the journey, you’ll anticipate them and will be more willing to start fresh the next day. Remember, working toward your goal some of the time is better than none of the time.
What’s neat about these repeated choices and actions is that your body will actually begin to help you along the way! With repetition, you brain starts to create new pathways, and the more you do something, the deeper and more ingrained those pathways become. Eventually, something you used to work very hard at becomes a habit, and you’ll find yourself getting better and better at it.
Read more about this in Train Your Brain to Ditch Bad Habits and Form New, Better Ones.
Every day, your brain and body are adapting to the world around you and to the choices you’re making. By setting intentions for 2022 and using these helpful tips as guides, your family can make this your best year yet!
