You don’t need better goals.
You need better intention.
Most of us approach the New Year like a performance review we’re already failing.
We think goals are the answer, but goals often fail because they try to force change.
Intention works because it tells you how to move, not who you have to prove yourself to.
The Spanish Lesson: When Goals Meet Reality
I used to take the New Year very seriously.
Fresh notebook, clean pages, big promises.
Last year, my big promise was Spanish.
Not “vacation Spanish”, I wanted fluency.
Why?
Because I wanted to speak with people as humans, not as transactions.
I wanted to travel without the panic of not knowing where the baño was.
I had real, human reasons.
I gave it 335 days.
I studied.
I showed up.
I cared.
I didn’t get to fluent.
In the old way of thinking, that’s a “fail.”
January has a way of dressing up pressure as motivation.
Leaving you with that quiet voice that says, “See? You don’t follow through.”
What the Goal Was Really About
Eventually, I realized Spanish wasn’t the point.
Connection was.
I wanted to feel more at ease in the world.
I wanted to be less awkward, less separate.
Language was just the symbol I grabbed.
Once I saw that, everything changed:
- I didn’t become fluent, but I traveled differently.
- I slowed down with people.
- I stopped hiding behind “performance.”
The thing I actually wanted showed up anyway, just not through force.
Goals vs. Intention: A Simple Breakdown
We often confuse these two, but they live in very different places.
Goals
Asks:
“What should I accomplish?”
Lives in the future.
You measure yourself.
Requires force and checklists.
Intention
Asks:
“How do I want to live while I’m here?”
Lives in your body today.
You trust yourself.
Requires orientation and awareness.
Intention is not a word for the year.
It’s an orientation.
It’s how you decide what gets your energy, what gets your time, and what no longer gets to run you.
It shows up in small moments.
Not big declarations.
The Part No One Likes to Hear: Doing Less
Being intentional usually means doing less.
We’ve been trained to add: add habits, add goals, add pressure.
But intention asks a better question:
What needs less of me right now?
That single question has changed more lives than any resolution ever has.
It allows you to:
- Notice: How do I want to feel when I wake up?
- Identify: What drains me, even when I pretend it doesn’t?
- Loosen: What am I doing out of habit, not alignment?
I don’t plan my whole year anymore.
I just loosen one thing.
That’s usually enough to breathe again.
And when you can breathe, you can choose better.
Why Intention Stays When Goals Fall Apart
Life changes.
Your energy and capacity will fluctuate.
Goals break under that pressure.
Intention adapts.
It doesn’t shame you when you wobble.
It doesn’t disappear when plans change.
It stays.
That’s why it works.
An Honest Invitation
January doesn’t need to be conquered.
You don’t need to reinvent yourself or prove your worth.
You just need to stop fighting yourself.
The year doesn’t need to be mastered. It needs to be met.
With honesty.
With space.
With trust.
Want to Go Deeper ?
I go much deeper into intention, health, leadership, and quieting the inner critic in my LinkedIn Newsletter.
Longer reflections.
More stories.
More truth.
Subscribe here 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6958148872745467904/
That’s where this conversation continues.
Quick FAQ
Do I still need goals?
You can have them. Just don’t let them run you.
What if I don’t know my intention yet?
Perfect. That means you’re listening.
Is intention enough to change my life?
Yes.
Because it changes how you choose when no one is watching.
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