Intentions

Take a step back and check in with your internal compass, your intentions for doing certain things in your life based on your actions you take. Before you try this let's start with a brief overview… We'll look at what intentions are, why they are important, and why getting clear on them will help you get to where you want to be. So what are intentions anyway and why are they important?

Here are six ways to think about them…

1. An intention is a mindset or way of being

2. An intention connects to a greater purpose

3. An intention aligns with your authentic self

4. An intention focuses on the feeling

5. An intention is about the journey not the destination

6. And finally, an intention provides the foundation for effective goals

First, an intention is a mindset or way of being. Goals are more about doing, intentions are more about being. Goals are more externally based, while intentions are more internally based. While goals are about moving towards the future, intentions are about moving toward the future and being present during the journey. In other words, they're connected with who and how you want to live your life. For example, your goal might be to earn a particular income, while your intention could be that you want to feel abundant. Income is a tangible result, while abundance is a mindset or way of being. It doesn't have to be tied to a specific income level, it's more about envisioning a holistic sense of fullness and living in a way that makes that fullness a daily reality.

Second, an intention connects to a greater purpose. Unlike goals, you don't move towards intentions in a linear fashion, it's more about the energy that you're putting out there. For example, your intention might relate to what you want to contribute to the larger world. If your intention is to feel abundant, maybe you want to feel financially abundant in order to be able to support people you care about, or maybe if you want to feel abundant in terms of time, you want to be able to spend more time volunteering. Do you see how in both cases the intention is expansive?

Mission statements are kind of like intentions.

“My mission statement is to play a crucial role in improving health and happiness of others and through that process creating transformational change that will benefit lasting lifestyle practices.”

This mission statement is broad and focused on the bigger picture, it describes how I wants to make a difference.

Third, an intention aligns with your authentic self. Creating attention requires tapping into your personal desires and values. What's really important to you? after all the intention acts as your internal compass, guiding you towards how and where you want to be. If it's not aligned with who you are it won't be very effective in getting you there. Returning to the abundance intention, abundance has many different value currencies. For example, feeling abundance could mean having plenty of money, time, or connection. It's up to you to choose what abundance means to you and to align your life in ways that bring out feelings of abundance, this is what heart centred intentions are all about.

Which brings us to our next point, an intention focuses on feelings. An intention is an affirmation of how you want to feel, it's a decision that you make based on what you want for your future. When you create an intention, you're painting a picture of your ideal life so that you can step into it fully. The goals are rooted in emotions, intentions bring those core emotions to the surface. If your intention is abundance, you might associate abundance with things like freedom and connection. Digging deeper, what feelings are attached to freedom and connection? maybe joy, love, or serenity, maybe optimism or acceptance. Emotions ultimately fuel everything we do, that's one reason why intentions can be powerful forces in our lives, they connect us with our core feelings.

Another way to think about an intention is that it's about the journey not the destination. Intentions provide general road maps of how you want to live your life on a daily basis. Unlike goals you don't have a specific set of steps, you just have a general sense. If your intention is to feel abundant, you would probably set goals in order to reach tangible milestones. Hopefully hitting those goals would increase your feelings of abundance. Yet unlike reaching each goal you never reach your intention, it continues to guide you no matter how many goals you hit, and like the wind, it continually shifts based on what happens in the sea of life.

Lastly, an intention provides the foundation for effective goals. An intention is essentially the mindset that fuels the consistent actions required to achieve a goal. Intentions are powerful, they are very much tide to personal values, and they also reinforce your belief in your potential. Daily connection with an authentic, inspiring intention is the key to reaching your goals, and ultimately embodying the feelings you want to feel. On a practical level, an intention helps keep you accountable, it keeps you on track by offering focus and motivation, it also helps you make better decisions and prioritise your time. Once you're clear on what you want and where you're headed, it's easier to know what's most important now. If your intention is to feel abundant, you would set particular goals that align with that, in other words, you would set goals that increase feelings of abundance, whatever abundance means to you.

Like your intention, those goals would align with your personal values, as you work towards them you would continually connect with abundance which would fuel your motivation to reach your goals. That's why getting clear on your intention right from the start is essential to getting the most out of life. The more clarity you have, the more focused you can be in your personal or professional development. If you don't connect with the why behind your intention, you're much less likely to feel a sense of urgency propelling you forward.

To help you connect with your larger purpose and vision, I encourage you to continually check in with yourself. Clarity often organically increases overtime, and sometimes all you need to do is tune into growing awareness. Remember that it's totally fine for your intention to shift over time, our goal right now is just to identify a starting point. As always bio-individuality applies here, your intention is yours, no one else’s. It's incredibly draining to work toward goals and feelings that aren't true for you, so make sure you're being honest about what really matters to you. Your intention is tied to your personal values, circumstances, experiences, and goals. No one can tell you what your intention should be, otherwise it will be very difficult to stick to it and remember there are no right or wrong intentions, you don't need anyone else's approval when setting them.

OK, let's recap… 
An intention is a mindset or a way of being, connects to a greater purpose, aligns your authentic self, focuses on the feeling, is about the journey not the destination, and provides the foundation for effective goals.