This is the time of year when many of us set intentions. Anxiety work is all about examining our own intentions (e.g., “Was I trying to escape from anxiety or lean into it?”) and slowly changing our habitual way of responding and relating to it.

Just like getting a new gym membership, no matter how well thought out our intentions are, our brains love to default back to their old routines.

One way to assist with overriding our brain’s autopilot is to identify the reasons or motivations for your intention: Why did I choose this intention? How will my life be different if I stick to this intention? How will my relationships be different? By defining our motivations and values, we build a resource that we can tap into when our brain tries to suck us back into its old routine.

Another resource to draw off is reminding ourselves that research has disproven the old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and it’s called neuroplasticity.

One of my intentions this year is to create a free, online, comprehensive resource for anxiety. I look forward to sharing that once it’s ready (enough).

Happy New Year!