I recently posted on the With Mads IG about how resolutions are a bit off from what I’m focusing on this year. Don’t get me wrong, I have goals and things I’d like to achieve and ways that I’d like to improve as a person, but having your typical resolutions are not something that I’m focused on, and that’s why we’re not setting resolutions this year. We’re setting intentions.
It’s all about feelings baby.
I read once from an expert that one of the keys to manifesting is thinking about how you’d feel if you achieved or had the thing you’re wanting. Then you take that feeling and write down all the ways you already feel that way in your life. As you start to write down how you’re already that thing or feel that way part of the manifestation process is realizing that you already are that, you have everything you need.
Breaking down the concept of manifesting vs. resoluting
So let’s say you want to have a career as a fashion writer and creator (hi). How would it make you feel to be that? Powerful? Accomplished? Inspired? Proud? What are the ways you feel those things now? Do you feel powerful as a mother always knowing what her baby needs and being the center of that baby’s universe? Do you feel inspired by photos you see on Pinterest or the trees you walk by on your daily stroll? Are you proud knowing that you ate a vegetable today? Heck maybe you eat them most days? If you can find ways that you already are what you seek then the dreams come to you because you’re in a place to receive them. Seems like a healthy dose of magic and logic to me. I like that.
You could use this model for most things I’d like to think. From losing weight to buying a house. Starting a business to having a baby. Manifesting doesn’t mean that everything will come to you, but most people who manifest tend to lead fulfilling lives, and I think it’s because they’re intentional people. And intentions are all about vibes. Particularly in the way you want to feel.
The vibes of your intentions
If I had to choose how I wanted to feel everyday I’d land first on ‘great’ or ‘fantastic’ and then get more specific like ‘happy,’ ‘awake,’ ‘content,’ ‘joyful,’ ‘powerful,’ and some other feel good ideal day type words. My perfect day involves the best food, movement, people, and feelings (or vibes). What I’ve learned in the past few months as a new mom is that most days will not go according to plan. I really don’t know what I did with my time pre baby, but damn you have to be so must faster at getting things done when you do have the time. It’s those little moments. There are days where all I’m doing is momming. From nursing to playing, diaper changes, to contact naps, walks, feeding, and then doing all of that multiple times it can be 9pm before I’m sans baby and breathing. And the last thing I want to do at 9pm is write. I feel tired and uninspired at that time. All I want to do is watch Bravo or a comedy and lately, knit. Call me Martha.
I would love to open my laptop and get in it. Writing the best content and posting every single night. Finish editing my book, and read the book I keep trying to finish. I know those things would be better for me than watching TV or zoning out, but then I also know that I need to go to bed.
So then this process begins. I’m tired, I’m so exhausted (different than tired, you can be tired and exhausted), and I just need to rest. There are few nights where I truly go to bed when I should, I’m often up either finishing design work (she has a full time job outside of fashion people), or I’m trying to figure out what to post on IG. But then I get distracted like I think a lot of us do.
Getting to the point
Intentions. Intentions are defined as “a thing intended or planned.” And I like that. I plan on being a present mother. I plan on being a frequent writer. I plan on being happy and content. I also plan on looking fabulous or at least put together most of the year. It feels very different than saying “I’m going to do this thing no matter what,” because then you usually don’t. I have goals of course, but I’m not going to say I’m going to post every single day, because if I don’t then I’ll feel awful.
When resolution setting has gone wrong for me. And in general when I’ve been too rigid.
In my 20s I really focused on my mental and physical health. I took very seriously the job of eating well, exercising, journalling, and meditating. Let me tell you I had a routine girl. Before I ate breakfast I had basically conquered the world, and while that served me for a time it also made me feel pretty shitty when I messed up. Or I would start to cheat a little here and there for the sake of making a goal. The funny part is no one was there watching or holding me accountable. No one knew that I counted a cookbook at the end of the year as book number 50 instead of a novel because I wanted to get to that big number of 50. That’s a lot of books in case you didn’t realize.
From counting books to calories and steps, I’ve done the whole tracking and accountability thing. As I started earlier, there’s a time and a place for that. Being a new mom juggling a baby, a house, a full time job in design, and my side hustle in fashion is not the time for that. Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you can’t, but I hope that you focus on setting up your life with intentionality, and maybe some intentions too.
Intentions instead of resolutions
So what do you want to set as an intention for 2025? Do you want to feel happy or joyful? Accomplished or inspired? Do you want to feel intelligent? Do you want to feel loved? Think about how you want to feel. What do you need in your life? Spend time journaling and Pinteresting so you can articulate what’s important to you. Then…just live your life. Put your intentions somewhere you can see them. Maybe you want to be fabulously dressed and your goal is to get a designer handbag this year. Love it. Have a picture of that handbag on your mirror, on your desktop, or create a calendar invite with yourself to look at it. When we really want something or want to be something we can create the world we want to live in. But it takes motivation and the ability to withstand disappointment too.
Lucky for you, your intention of being well dressed can be achieved so easily this year. Why? How? Cause hey, hi, hello, that’s what With Mads is all about. I’m here to help you look good, feel good, and succeed as a well dressed human. Putting yourself together isn’t about wearing a label necessarily, it’s about creating an environment, which includes your physical body, that you feel fabulous about.
Ready? Let’s go. Drop a comment or reach out via the contact page and let’s get started. Cheers to you!
