How Intention-Setting Can Get You Right For The New Year
Over the past few years, the craze of affirmations has swept various self-love circles. Speaking love and light into life by repeating uplifting words to ourselves has become a practice all throughout social media and among some of our favorite celebrities. I've dabbled in affirmations myself for a few years and the payoff has been incredible.
Speaking positivity over myself every morning has done plenty for my confidence and self-esteem. It has consistently equipped me with the bravery and gall to tackle each day with poise, grace, and self-assurance. However, the principle of speaking, believing, and acting accordingly doesn't just apply to affirmations. It's also ever-present in another practice: intention-setting.
Intention-setting is a mindfulness technique that requires you to reflect on how you want to live and show up in life. Much like affirmations, setting intentions takes your mind off areas of lack and redirects your attention toward positivity, intentionality, and productivity.
Intention-setting is the art of declaring victory, achievement, and discipline over your life.
Intentions should not be forced. For them to be effective, they must be felt. They require awareness and reflection. Usually created from an area of struggle in your life, intentions are specific to your own personal journey and are used to sow positive seeds in your everyday life of doing. The focus of intentions are not about tangible outcomes (e.g. "I will make 5 friends", or "I will apply to 3 jobs"), but instead, are set based on how you want to navigate yourself in the world. They're usually created by answering questions about what means the most to you, how you want to feel, and the energy you want to emit each day.
Below are a few in-depth intentions that I uphold to ensure my work and life remains passion-filled, my days remain purposeful, and my processing of life's challenges is rooted in growth and blooming:
- Today, I will use my wholeness to share my joy and positivity with those around me. I will operate in love and compassion as I make decisions that affect others. I will be considerate, jovial, and grateful no matter what challenges come my way.
- Today, I will navigate myself from a place of fullness, not lack. I am equipped with everything I need, and I will use it all completely. I will use my gifts to manifest greatness and will welcome opportunities that do the same.
- This week, I will set boundaries that agree with my emotional and spiritual capacity. I will not overexert energy into people or things that cannot replenish me. I will not lend myself to people or things that will leave me empty. Instead, I will be deliberate about what I am willing to expend and what I must preserve for my own well-being.
- I am walking in kingdom's order by allowing God to guide my every move. I will follow Him, and Him only, rebuking my need for control and letting Him order my steps.
- Today, I will move in courage and try things I've always been too fearful to do. I will take risks, and big leaps if I'm led to.
I usually set my intentions each week and recite them to myself every day. This way, I work it into the practice before moving on to the next one. Others tend to repeat the same set of intentions throughout the month or year. Do what works best for you.
Setting an intention, speaking it over your day, and holding it with you as you navigate various spaces reminds you to be deliberate with every decision you make and aware of every emotion you allow to consume you.
As the year winds down, this is the perfect time to start setting your mind on how to manifest even more greatness next year. So instead of focusing on one specific resolution, work on setting clear intentions and watch the beauty of becoming unfold!
Featured image by Shutterstock.
Originally published December 29, 2018
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Zoe Hunter is the writer, speaker, and creator behind the women empowerment brand DEAR QUEENS. She uses vulnerability, storytelling, and spiritual development to empower women toward healthy decision-making. Stay connected to Zoe's work by visiting DEARQUEENS.com or following her on Twitter @zDEARQUEENS.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy