“New Year’s resolution: drink less. Oh, and quit smoking! And keep New Year’s resolutions,” Bridget Jones says in the opening scene of “Bridget Jones’s Diary.”  Sound familiar? January has come and gone, and the futility of setting resolutions has never felt clearer. The short-lived liberation of beginning with a clean slate has now passed, and bad habits we tried to leave in the last decade are back.

According to Forbes, around 64% of resolutions are abandoned. The intimidatingly long time frame of the year, combined with the negative nature that resolutions tend to inflict upon us, makes New Year’s resolutions especially difficult to accomplish. The pressure behind seemingly admirable resolutions such as going vegan, using less plastic, giving up sugar or investing in an exercise regimen often subject us to disappointment. When resolutions focus on surface-level changes, one slip-up can feel like failure.  

Setting intentions is an insightful way to reflect upon your truth and determine where you want to take your life. From there, you can build goals that you are inspired by and purposefully connected to.

I challenge you to take 30 minutes to reflect on the year and then think about what you want more of in the coming months. Set intentions. They invite you to concentrate on your life and consider what you would like to cultivate more of. Intentions aren’t resolutions — they have no rules or limitations and there are no negative connotations with not completing an intention. They are designed to promote growth.

I hope this inspires you to come up with your own intentions — maybe even write them down and see how putting pen to paper manifests within your life.

Below are February intentions from students and faculty members within the Archer community.