2022 Intentions
Alison Pegg
Manifest Mural at Columbus Idea Foundry, Columbus, OH
It’s a full week into 2022, and I’m still not sure I’m ready to put pen to paper and outline New Year’s resolutions and goals. I am going to allow myself more grace in really thinking and outlining what I want them to be, and why I have them. But an email this week from Together Digital, a women in tech group I belong to, got me thinking about yearly intentions. You see…
A resolution is unforgiving, focuses on the negative (what you can’t do), and strives for perfection.
Whereas an intention is more forgiving, focuses on the positive (what you can do) and strives for better.
I love that intentions are about forgiveness and let you tip-toe into the accountability of goals. To be honest, I’m not ready for that full accountability yet. I’m still adjusting to this omicron-induced whiplash that seemingly came out of nowhere and that’s OKAY.
It’s also important to me to make note of some positive things I started doing in 2021. Things that I’d love to continue into 2022, in addition to the new things that I want to learn and do this year. This intention list isn’t finite – it’s a draft I hope to add to as the year progresses.
CONTINUE:
Physical movement: I’m really proud that I closed my Apple Watch exercise ring almost every day in 2021. Those 30+ minutes a day of physical movement filled my cup physically and even more mentally, and I really want to continue this commitment to exercise in 2022.
Making More Music Playlists: comfort tunes have been getting me through pandemic, but I have been actively trying to discover new (to-me) artists and their music more often. I want to continue this musical discovery this year, and who knows? Maybe I’ll share some new tunes in this space.
LEARN:
TikTok: I know learning TikTok sounds ridiculous (and really old), but creating for TikTok is something I want to experiment with. A good chunk of this intention is for my day job, but I love that TikTok still has the “anything goes” ethos, so it feels a bit safer to experiment there than any of the other social networks.
Winged Eyeliner: I adore Katie Jane Hughes and her Instagram tutorials. I share a lot of similar facial feature with her, most notably our hooded eyes. Katie does these AMAZING winged eyeliner looks on her hooded eyes, always creating tutorials on how to do them. I really, really want to learn how to do this technique this year, I just need to DO IT.
Beachy hair: during holiday break, I didn’t blow-dry my hair once. (Yes, that’s how often I left the house). I braided my hair into two French braids every time I washed it, letting it air dry for at least 36 hours. I LOVED the result the braids created – effortless, beachy waves that lasted for almost three full days. I would love to be able to recreate this look in a shorter amount of time so that I can mix up my style from my normal long and straight into something a little more undone.
DO:
Visit somewhere I’ve never been: in year’s past, I’ve always said I wanted to get out of the country. But given the uncertainty of travel restrictions this year, I really just want to be inspired by going somewhere I’ve never been.
Organize my jewelry: I’m lucky to have accumulated that jewelry that I have, but most of its sits unworn, because it’s tucked into dust bags where I can’t see it. I have every intention of organizing it very soon, there are currently 4 MUJI acrylic containers in my house waiting to be filled to showcase it.
Hand care: between all the hand-washing, hand sanitizer and cold weather, my hands are wrecked (and look old!) They need the same amount of TLC that I give my skin, and I’m putting this intention here to remind myself to do so.
Take a new headshot: confession: I’m officially one of those people who’s LinkedIn headshot is a little too dated. I need to shoot a new headshot picture this year to spruce up my professional profiles, even if said headshot is just a really fancy iphone pic taken by someone else.
Visit art galleries: I love a good solo trip to an art museum, but when it comes to visiting art galleries I get too chicken to check them out. I want to go beyond Instagram stalking this year and physically visit galleries, in Columbus and elsewhere, to appreciate more art than just the classics to gain inspiration.
Share more: I keep things pretty close to vest a lot of the time, happy to exist in my head or open up to a trusted circle of people. This year I’d like to dip my toe into sharing a bit more, on the internet and in person, giving people more than the small one-sided view that I am most comfortable sharing.