Ten Mid-Year’s Intentions

So I’m starting a new tradition — Mid-Year’s intentions. These aren’t things you want to do, they’re things you know you’re going to do. It’s a taking stock, a self-clarification of priorities, a statement of intentionality. In accordance with Pollard’s Law — We do what we must, then we do what’s easy, and then we do what’s fun — this list is about what you’re driven to do (not what you wish you were more driven to do), it’s about what easy/fun playing and learning activities you’re going to do. It’s about realizing what you’re becoming, not becoming something that you’re not. It’s about being more yourself.

My reason for blogging about it is that I think it might be revealing to my readers (and if you write about your intentions that could be revealing to your readers). Our readers would then have a little better context for understanding us, and what we write about, and understanding it better. Good stuff for a Friday, I think. So here are my ten mid-year’s intentions:

1. Let myself continue to become more loving, more positive, more engaged, more attentive, more enthused, more appreciative, more self-sufficient, more open, more vulnerable, more resilient. 
2. Make my book on finding and creating natural sustainable enterprise, for my readers, extraordinary, the best thing I’ve ever written, and start experimentally building the stuff around it — peer-to-peer entrepreneurial self-help networks, partner-finders, success stories, an entrepreneurial centre of excellence, a program to get media buzz about our society’s lack of entrepreneurial skills — that will make it the catalyst for change it is meant to be.
3. Ensure that my next business assignment is aligned with helping entrepreneurs to succeed sustainably, so my book and my work reinforce each other. This is in the spirit of doing one or two things really well, rather than trying to do everything.
4. More and more, teach by showing and by facilitating, rather than by telling. 
5. Complete the transition to a healthy, natural, varied vegetarian diet of mostly raw, unprocessed, local foods. 
6. Find an opportunity every day to make someone’s life less stressful, less needy, easier, and more fun.
7. Whenever possible, spend time with children and animals, in nature and in beautiful places, in play and in spontaneous activities.
8. Continue to live simpler, more ‘naked’ in every sense. Own less, owe less, want less. Make more time for things that are important by reducing the number of urgent things that ‘have’ to be done. Learn to say ‘no’ gracefully.
9. Exercise more and differently. My running routine is immensely therapeutic, but I seek to expand it to include more varied and holistic exercises.
10. Learn something new of value every day. This could be something practical, something insightful, something inspiring, or something that builds capacity. Something that makes me more useful to others and to the Earth. And practice what I’ve learned.

Only a few years ago some of these things would have been impossible, even inconceivable, and others would have seemed so arduous that I would groan just contemplating them (or feel guilty about not even trying). Now they’re easy, they’re in my nature, they’re what I’m becominganyway. I am so fortunate!

Now, what are your intentions? If you have your own blog or website, report them there and just link back here — your readers should know.