Slow, On Purpose: Intentionality in a Season of Low Energy
I’ve heard many people say that January felt like the longest January ever this year. There are many reasons it might have felt that way, and some of it relates to last month’s blog topic. January does typically feel longer and slower, despite societal pressures for us to ramp up and start the year with high energy, motivation, and momentum.
But what if this slower energy isn’t a problem to fix?
As I considered what to write about this month, the idea of intentionality kept coming to me. Honestly, intentionality is one of my personal values, and I try to do as many things as possible in my life with intention. In the context of the start of a new year, intentionality feels like the perfect topic to explore — especially when motivation feels low and pressure feels high.
What Is Intentionality?
A couple of definitions include: “the fact or quality of being done on purpose or with intent” and “an attitude of purposefulness, with a commitment to deliberate action.”
Both definitions are accurate, but the second one really resonates with me. Being intentional in your life doesn’t have to mean making a big, grand change. In fact, I discourage folks from trying to make a complete 180 overnight. It’s usually not realistic or sustainable.
An example might look like:
“My intention is to prioritize my physical health.”
In action, that might look like:
Scheduling routine care appointments
Increasing physical activity in a manageable way
Making small dietary changes
Going to bed 30 minutes earlier
You might be saying, “Well, that’s just setting goals.” And it’s similar — but slightly different, and generally with more purpose and less pressure.
Setting goals can often be rigid — SMART goals, for example. This type of goal-setting requires goals to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. This is great in some settings. But in terms of personal growth, it can sometimes feel intense and overwhelming, leading to feelings of failure if things don’t go exactly as planned.
Intentionality, on the other hand, allows for flexibility. It focuses more on how you want to live and who you want to be, rather than simply what you want to accomplish.
Values as a Guide
One of the tools I like to use when setting intentions is identifying values.
Our values are the principles that guide us — the things we find important. They tend to remain relatively steady over time. Examples include health, family, kindness, love, responsibility, justice, peace, growth, community, and many more.
Keeping values in mind can make it easier to identify where to be more intentional and explore what your next steps might look like.
For example, you might value community but feel that you are lacking in it. You might decide to be more intentional about making plans with family and friends. You might attend local events or activities that align with your interests. You might even choose spaces that reflect your values in hopes of meeting others who share them.
Personally, I find values-driven intention-setting to be far less stressful than traditional goal-setting. Neither is better than the other — but one may be more appropriate depending on the season you’re in.
Using values:
Keeps the focus on what truly matters to you (rather than outside expectations)
Encourages flexibility
Promotes long-term alignment rather than short-term completion
Ultimately, I view values as a guide and intentionality as a way of being.
Habits vs. Practice
In session, I often explore the difference between intentional practices and automatic habits. This has been helpful for me personally and for many clients.
Habit: an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it becomes almost involuntary.
Practice: repeated performance for the purpose of developing skill or growth.
The key difference is awareness.
Habits often operate on autopilot. That’s not always a bad thing. Your morning routine may flow smoothly without much thought — you get up, make your bed, wash up, prepare breakfast, get dressed, and head to work.
On the flip side, some habits develop in response to stress or emotional overwhelm. You might lie on the couch, scroll for hours, eat in ways that don’t feel nourishing, and stay up too late — only to feel frustrated the next day. (If this hits home, you are not alone. Awareness is always the first and most important step.)
That second example is usually a signal — not a failure. It often points to something deeper: stress, exhaustion, unmet needs, emotional overload. Increasing awareness allows you to ask, “What is this habit trying to do for me?”
Intentional practice invites you to gently shift from autopilot to choice.
When we are present, our actions are much more likely to be intentional. When we are overwhelmed, overstimulated, or disconnected, we are far more likely to operate on autopilot.
Our behaviors don’t exist in isolation. Our emotional state impacts our physiology. Our physiology influences our thoughts. And those thoughts shape our behaviors. If you’ve had a stressful day, your body may feel tense or exhausted. That physical state can lead to more negative or self-critical thoughts, which then influence the choices you make in the evening.
This is not about willpower. It’s about awareness.
Automatic habits often develop because they are serving a purpose — even if that purpose is simply helping us cope. Increasing presence allows us to gently interrupt the cycle and ask: Is this aligned with what I actually need right now?
Intentional practice begins with noticing.
Intentionality, then, isn’t about controlling every outcome or perfectly optimizing your life. It’s about increasing awareness in the present moment so your choices reflect your values — not just your stress, your environment, or outside pressure.
We can’t control the future. But we can influence how we show up today.
Practical Ways to Practice Intentionality
If this all sounds good in theory but hard in practice, here are a few starting points:
Identify 2–3 core values. Ask yourself: What matters most to me in this season? What do I want my life to feel like?
Start small. Choose one area — sleep, movement, relationships, boundaries at work — and focus there.
Interrupt autopilot. When you notice yourself moving through something automatically, pause and ask: “Is this habit aligned with who I want to be?”
Reflect weekly. Ask: What felt aligned this week? What didn’t?
Adjust without shame. Intentional living is iterative, not perfect.
As we slowly move toward spring — a season associated with growth and renewal — intentionality allows us to grow in ways that feel grounded rather than rushed.
When to Seek Support
Sometimes it’s difficult to clarify your values on your own. Sometimes goals feel overwhelming. Sometimes patterns keep repeating despite your best efforts.
Therapy can help by:
Clarifying what truly matters to you
Separating your values from outside expectations
Setting realistic, sustainable intentions
Providing accountability
Offering support and encouragement
Creating dedicated time that is just for you
You don’t have to overhaul your entire life. Often, meaningful change begins with awareness and one intentional shift at a time.
Slower seasons are not wasted seasons. They can be thoughtful ones. And living intentionally doesn’t require more pressure — it simply requires more presence.