So, what do I mean by an intention? Well it’s about putting out the energy of what you want. It’s a bit early for New Year’s Resolutions, so I’m not talking about that.
The subject of Intention/Intentions came up last week when Marion and I were taking to a client. She was explaining how a situation had gotten out of control at work the previous week with someone totally misunderstanding what she wanted them to do. She said something which they then took the wrong way and her comment was “Well that wasn’t how it was intended”.
It’s something we often say isn’t it when we hurt someone’s feelings, or we get an outcome we weren’t expecting; ‘well that wasn’t what I intended to happen’.
But the problem is often NOT that it wasn’t what you intended. The problem often is that there was no intention there in the first place. And therefore, if intentions are not set, then you just get a random outcome, does that make sense?
Be honest now, how many mornings do you spring out of bed and set your intention for the day? Or take some time for reflection on a Sunday and set your intention for the week? Or review the previous month and set an intention for the month?
I don’t mean a goal here, I mean an intention.
“So, what’s the difference Cheryl?”, I hear you ask?
Well a goal is something you can ‘tick off’ when you have done it. “Lose 2 stone” is a goal (not a very good one). Lose 2 stone by X date is a better goal (but not that much better). “Be at X weight by X date” is better again and still a goal.
“Enjoy eating healthily/feeling happy about my change of eating habits/smile through the whole day/notice and feel good everything that goes in my mouth and savour it”, are all intentions.
Intentions are something you can feel and feel NOW. You don’t have to wait until you hit your goal to achieve them. This is where most goal setting goes wrong.
If you goal is to walk twice a day because you need to do more exercise, that is a goal. If your intention is to have personal reflection time whilst walking, THAT is an intention. And because the intention is something you feel good about, you can enjoy your walking even when it is teeming down with rain.
Here’s the thing with intentions – if you don’t set one, then your actions are just actions and how you feel about your day will depend on the outcome of those actions. You are at the mercy of stuff you have no control over and then another “feeling” can appear …the feeling of being a victim.
However, when you set as your intention “happiness”, then WHATEVER happens that day, you will take it in your stride and find the joy in it.
For example, if your goal this quarter is to double your turnover at work, but you set no intention with that, you may or may not get there, and you will undoubtedly work hard and probably feel a lot of stress in the meantime. However, if your intention is to enjoy learning what happens when you set a challenging goal, then you will learn a lot, probably be less stressed and also probably more likely to hit your goal.
So, my question is do you set intentions? For today / this week/ this month / your life?
Are you living life on purpose, or waiting for what happens to determine how you feel?
If you would like some help with setting an intention, hop over here, and get a free copy of our book “Find Your WHY, to Become Frickin’ Awesome”.