If we think of each year of our lives as a chapter, and look back at the last couple, there’s probably an underlying theme or sense of what that year meant to us in the overall scheme of our lives. For the last couple of years, I’ve set conscious intentions for my chapters and they’ve worked for me in a way that resolutions never really have.

2008 was a year of intention to find out what kind of lifestyle I wanted and where I wanted to live, as well as to reconnect with nature.

2009 was a year of intention to both allow myself to ‘put down roots’ (create stability) and also to utilise the many resources I had on hand (rather than trying to acquire new ones).

These intentions once set, influenced my available options, my decisions and my attitudes for the year that followed in both subtle and deeply meaningful ways. I could not have imagined half the things that have occurred in those two years, yet I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. There is something magical in choosing a theme for the year, and claiming it as your own – yet at the same time relaxing with it, and trusting that it will manifest when it is ready.

I can’t say that I didn’t occasionally try to force these themes, or to become impatient with the apparent lack of speed of their solutions. However, I was able to remind myself that they were always sitting in the background and percolating in my mind, and that it was the journey of the year that I’d remember rather than a single moment.

How did I come to decide upon these intentions? I guess it was a combination of honestly appraising my life, noticing the things that seemed to pop up repeatedly calling for my attention, and then deciding which was the highest priority. That might sound a bit complicated, but it was very much driven by intuition or gut instinct, and once the decision was made – it felt like the obvious choice.

My intentionality for 2010 is to surrender up to God, the Universe, Spirit – or GUS as a good friend calls it! – everything that I am struggling with or trying to control; everything that seems petty, or that feels so much bigger than me. To take action with the belief that what is meant to be will be, that I have everything I need right now, and that faith and intuition will lead me to synchronicity.

I may need some help with this! Gentle reminders appreciated!

And I’d love to hear about your intentions for the 2010 you want to have.

1. What is the one sore spot you’ve been struggling with for a while?
2. What lesson seems to keep popping back up, whose message you’ve not quite heeded yet?
3. What one thing, if it was achieved, would make 2010 shine for you when you are looking back on it?

Happy New Year to all our listeners – I, and each of the ActionPodcast coaches, look forward to sharing 2010 with you!