Intentional Will

 

                                              (image: youtube.com)

Hamok na plano.

There are those who begin the year by contemplating new resolutions, some hope to lose weight, others plan to start a healthier diet, and many aspire to be kinder in 2026. Yet too often, these promises remain mere words, spoken with good intentions but never carried into action.

Take, for example, people who aim to be kinder because they recognize times they may have hurt others. Some traits are deeply rooted and difficult to change, while others may not even be fully noticed, small, impulsive reactions and habits that sometimes emerge unexpectedly during interactions, showing the more challenging sides of one’s character.

Changing long-standing habits is often more complex than simply declaring a new intention. As Duhigg (2012) explains, behaviors are shaped by deeply embedded habit loops that require conscious effort and sustained practice to transform. Similarly, Goleman (1995) emphasizes that emotional patterns, especially those formed over years, often resurface in moments of stress or conflict, making genuine behavioral change challenging. Together, these readings highlight why resolutions rooted only in words rarely lead to lasting transformation.

But then again, there is the matter of will, what some call the intelligent will. When a person recognizes their flaws and consciously chooses to work on them, change becomes possible. It requires sustained effort and constant self-awareness, but over time, the old tendencies can gradually lose their hold. In their place emerges a new, learned disposition, one shaped with intention and aligned with what is good and life-giving.

The capacity for personal transformation is grounded not only in self-awareness but also in this intentional or intelligent will. When individuals acknowledge their maladaptive tendencies and commit to modifying them, they activate a deliberate process of behavioral change.

Research on habit formation and self-regulation supports this, suggesting that such change requires sustained effort, consistent reflection, and the repeated practice of alternative responses (Duhigg, 2012; Goleman, 1995). Over time, these intentional actions can weaken ingrained patterns and foster the development of new, prosocial traits that better align with one’s desired identity and contribute to the greater good.

Only then can a renewed version of oneself truly emerge, one shaped by intention rather than impulse, and such transformation is not confined to the turning of a new year.

Ultimately, real change comes not from yearly resolutions but from the daily choice to confront our flaws with honesty and to reshape our habits with intention. When we commit to this steady inner work, transformation becomes possible, quiet, enduring, and not bound by the turning of a new year.