There’s a reason people call January the “Monday” of months - after all the excitement of the holiday season and buried in the heart of winter, energy in January can be pretty gloomy. The New Year is a great time to reflect and reset personal goals and intentions for your next journey around the sun. If you’re not familiar with them, intention boards are visual representations of the goals or intentions you’re actively trying to achieve. They are a wonderful way to organize your thoughts and energy. Host an intention board gathering with your closest friends to set your goals with one another - it's fun and it'll hold you more accountable to achieve them!

Here are some tips to make your intention board gathering a successful one:

• Invite 6-10 friends & ask everyone to RSVP so you can plan accordingly.
• Supply each guest with a poster board or craft paper, scissors and glue.
• Request that your guests bring old magazines, fancy pens, stamps, or any other items laying in the craft drawer that could add some visual depth to your board.
• Set a calm, inviting atmosphere so your guests are able to relax and focus on their intentions. Light a candle, put out a few snacks (like some Tuscan nachos and spicy black bean dip), hit ‘play’ on your favorite playlist and get those creative juices flowing!
• The simplest way to get started is to pick one goal in each area of your life (relationships, personal, community, work, travel, creativity, and business) and try to highlight one goal in each of the categories. Setting too many goals can be overwhelming and a tad chaotic, so remind everyone to dig deep and set intentions that are both challenging and achievable. Once everyone has had time to set an intention, go about creating a visual symbol of these goals on your board.
• Don’t forget to share your goals with everyone. This can spark great conversation, ideas and inspiration.
• Lay everything out on your board to organize it before you glue it down. Leaving a little blank space is a good idea so you can come back to it and add things later in the year.
• Hang your board in your office, bedroom, over your desk, or any other location that you are likely to pass by daily and be reminded of the goals you’re working towards.
• Gather again in 3-6 months’ time to reconnect and chat about everybody’s progress.

Here's to reaching our personal goals in 2018!