Goals Versus Intentions: A Better Approach To New Year’s Resolutions

With a new year upon us, we're bombarded with messages about change and self-improvement. Make this the year you lose ten pounds! Finally look the way you've always wanted! Learn a new skill! Set a course for a different you!

Implicit in those messages is the idea that we're somehow defective or flawed. Equally inherent is the conceit that we are fully responsible for everything that happens to us.

I've come to believe that neither is true.

We each have a reservoir of potential that's vastly more powerful than we imagine. I've had moments where I've drawn on that reservoir, finding insight and capability that seemed to come from nowhere — potential richer and deeper than my usual way of operating.

I've also learned that despite what we might want to think, we don't control everything around us. Random events, unexpected setbacks, blind strokes of luck, and chance encounters play a huge role in our lives. The best-laid plans meet reality every single day.

Still, I believe in the power of habits, repetition, and goals.

So where does that leave us?

Goals and Intentions Are Different

Obviously, the new year is a natural time to consider our goals. January 1 is the perfect opportunity to take a fresh start — to let go of what hasn't been working and commit to a different approach. As we move into a new year, we have a chance to slow down and envision how our lives could be not only twelve months from now, but ten years into the future.

How can we set a course for ourselves consciously, aware of our own power yet realistic about how much we actually control?

This year, try adding something deeper to your New Year's resolutions. As you reflect on your goals, think about your intentions, too.

Goals and intentions are related, but different. Simply put, goals denote what you hope to achieve. Intentions denote how you hope to be as you pursue them.

We're taught a lot about goals: I'm going to achieve this, or I'm going to do that. Goals can be great — they help us channel our choices and focus our effort. Goals help us walk with purpose instead of stumbling down the path.

But goals are only part of the story. Goals are outcome-oriented. They focus on what you want at the end. Intentions, on the other hand, are based on inputs — what you bring to the process. If goals describe what you hope to find at the end of the path, intentions describe how you walk it.

In our achievement-oriented world, goals get most of the attention. But I've learned that intentions are often more powerful. Outcomes are frequently beyond our control. Intentions, however, are always our own. We can always determine how we want to show up, regardless of what happens around us.

Goals can sometimes work against us, too. They pull our attention away from the present, shifting our minds into some supposedly better future state. Intentions bring us back to now, encouraging us to create that future in every moment.

Try This Instead

For the new year, try supplementing your resolutions with intentions — or perhaps replacing your goals altogether.

Instead of "I want to lose ten pounds" (a common resolution after the holidays), try: I treat my body with respect every day in how I move and what I eat. That intention may do more good than any fitness regimen.

Instead of "This year, I finally want to find a better job" (a noble goal), try: I put my full effort into everything I do. You may find your satisfaction is only partially dependent on who signs your paycheck.

Instead of resolving to find a better relationship, try: I treat myself with respect and expect others to do the same. You may find that self-respect changes what you're looking for.

The Point

I don't assume to know what's best for you. But I've seen — in my own life and in working with leaders for over two decades — that we often focus on outcomes we can't control while ignoring the inputs we can. (If you want to explore this idea further, I co-wrote an entire book about it: Leading With Light.)

Goals tell you where you want to end up. Intentions shape who you become along the way.

It's great to consider what you want to achieve this year. But don't forget to ask yourself a more important question: How do you want to show up while you pursue it?

This article was originally published on January 1, 2020, and has been revised for January 2026.