Why You Need Intentions
Your intentions inspire daily thought paradigms and what you want most in the here and now. Intentions are directives for you to act upon and simultaneously – heartfelt desires of co-creating with the Universe. It’s important for you to have intentions that serve as a positive focus and inspiration – each day.
Goals and intentions are most successful when integrated. Think of intentions as daily markers – offering guidance and aligning your path towards what will bring fulfillment in the here and now – even as you continue towards your higher level (or big picture) goals and ideals.
If your goal is to complete a work project, a course, or a specific task that typically requires a certain degree of effort and work, you can choose what intentions may best support your goal. For example, an intention may be to work for 2 hours on this goal (today) and to experience yourself enjoying this work as it flows easily and well as you need it to.
Begin to see intentions as qualitative and certainly meaningful – influencing your present moment experience – and keeping you focused on what is most important to you.
Each time you think of your intention you give it present moment awareness. Your focus onto your intention directs your thoughts, ideas, behaviors and actions, helping you to make your intention a reality.
Intentions help shape your present moment experience – and the choices that you make now.
Your intentions inspire and create much happiness as you are directing the co-creating the course of your life – one moment at a time.
What are the distinctions between intentions and goals?
Goals are future projections of the mind. We set goals to help us map out our future, to become clear about what we want, to create a plan and to stay on track as we work towards this.
One challenge to goal setting is that it takes us out of the present moment and creates an emphasis on what we don’t have or that what we have isn’t enough – as we look into the future for this.
If we set goals and sometimes fail to achieve them, then the act of goal setting can lead to a sense of feeling as though we have failed. It may cause us to forgo setting future goals or to set goals without holding belief in our ability to achieve them.
Intention involves the mental activity of planning and forethought of ‘something intended’ (such as an aim or plan). Holding intentions in our mind and coming back to these often – keeps us on an inspired path towards what we desire most.
Intentions are expansive.
Intentions are the heartfelt desires that guide your moment by moment decisions. They reflect who you want to be, what you wish to contribute and express in the world and how you choose to influence and touch the lives of others.
Here is an example of several intentions.
“I intend to show acts of kindness readily today. I open myself to all possibilities in support of my highest good. I intend to bring joy into the lives of another.”
Living your intentions is different from having a goal-oriented focus. Being intentional allows you to focus on how you want to be in the moment, independent of your short term or long term goals. Allowing intentions to guide your moment to moment focus, means you are living your values and what matters most to you.
Focusing on your intentions does not mean you give up your goals or desire for achievement. By partnering goals with intentions you make present moment decisions that are aligned with your future goals.
Three differences between goal setting and intentions:
1. Goals are focused on the future. Intentions are in the present moment.
2. Goals are a destination or specific achievement. Intentions are lived each day, independent of reaching the goal or destination.
3. Goals are external achievements. Intentions are the inner-directed ideals you formulate with yourself and in your relationships with others.
Intentions are a reminder of what is most important – for this moment – and simultaneously for directing how you may manifest your immediate future.
Your intentions are the result of knowing and living your highest values.
When you align your intentions with your highest ideals and values – intentions become the daily action steps – the blueprint – for attaining your life goals. This is a powerful way to achieve success and live in a state of happiness easily.
Intentions direct your thought energy and actions. They offer inspiration and motivation to achieve a particular outcome.
Intentions as the present moment focused ideals, guide and curate positive action. One major difference between intentions and goals is in how you think of them. When you set an intention, deciding what you want, what will be and what you expect – you are already setting this into motion by your certainty of it.
This affects your present moment decisions and actions. Return to your intention(s) often throughout your day helps to manifest them in the here and now. In contrast, goals are typically future stated ideals and destinations that require ample time, planning, action and effort to accomplish.
Here are some guiding questions to help you set daily intentions. Ask yourself:
What do I want to harness, to feel, to be, to experience, to accomplish or complete – for today? (and for my present moment experiences – here and now)?
What intentions might I set that will allow me to feel inspired, uplifted, of joy (or any other significant mood state) for the rest of my day?
Choose intentions to help you co-create each day, to help you with what changes you are seeking – and to move you towards your ideals with greater certainty and conviction.
For help on setting daily intentions or to cast future goals and ideals that you will remain excited about as you work towards, please contact me. Let your intentions be an important part of what sets you up for success each day.
– Namaste
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