Without goals guiding us, it’s easy to run on autopilot, default to old habits, say yes when saying no would better serve us (and vice versa), and simply spend our time in ways that might not be aligned with our deepest priorities or personal values. Setting goals or “resolutions”—beginning anew—can be a positive way to launch a new year, or season, or cycle.
But sometimes resolutions can have a self-critical flavor or focus only on the outcome/achievement. Over the last few years, I’ve been focusing on creating sankalpas.
What’s a sankalpa?
You might think of it as a resolution, wrapped in your best intentions, written by your highest self. In Sanskrit, sankalpa translates to “will, purpose, or determination.” While a resolution might focus only on the outcome (and often can skew negative), a sankalpa explores the larger purpose behind your goal, celebrates the journey more than attainment of the result, and balances effort and surrender. Here’s a guide to creating your own.
Step 1: Start where you are.
Write any resolutions, 2021 aims, or even exasperated proclamations (“I’m done with XYZ!”) that you might be working with. If you don’t have any, that’s a-OK. Move on to the next step.
Step 2: Reflect.
Bring yourself to a comfortable seat. You can even lie down if you’d like. Close your eyes and let your mind wander back through the last 12 months looking specifically, for the highlights—any experiences, big or small, that made you feel happy, content, grateful, capable, etc. Write down both your positive experiences and the positive feelings associated with them.
Step 3: Pick up on patterns.
Do you notice any patterns among the highlights that you wrote down? Perhaps they were moments shared with others. Or times when you felt brave, creative, or proud. Actions that made an impact. Seek out any similarities among the highlights you wrote down and write them down.
Step 4: Celebrate your superpowers.
Changing gears a bit, think about what qualities or attributes you already possess that will help you align your actions with your intention(s). List as many as you can think of, then circle your top ones.
Step 5: Create your sankalpa
Keep in mind, a sankalpa: 1) is decisive and whole-hearted; 2) explores what’s behind your goal + the journey more than the attainment of the result; 3) acknowledges that you will make mistakes and assumes that growth is certain. Here are some examples: I speak with integrity. | I spark joy and connection by tapping into my creativity. | I celebrate health with movement and nourishing foods. | I channel my energy to stay clear and present in my life and relationships. | I love and am loved. | I give and receive. Now you try. Draw from your notes you made in Steps 1-4 above.
Step 6: Revisit, refine, design reminders.
Work with the words you wrote in Step 5. You might edit and expand or condense to a word or two—perhaps you even have a longer and a shorter version. Write your words on a small (pretty!) piece of paper and post it where you’ll see them. Create background image for you phone (you can do that easily and for free with Canva!)
Step 7: Embody and act on your intention.
Call to mind your sankalpa when you’re practicing yoga on the mat, walking out in nature, interacting with others, use as a filter for helping you to prioritize and frame responses.
I’ve created this worksheet to walk you through the steps of creating a sankalpa.