Setting Intentions

Summary

Have you ever had a conversation with someone that ended with them saying “That wasn’t my intent”? Have you ever responded (or really felt like responding) with “I don’t care what your intention was, this is what you did.”? I know I have, many times. Now, you could be the first or second person in this conversation, and either way for me it lends itself to a deeper level of curiosity on how much effort was put into the intention setting in the first place.

In the previous blog on goal setting we discussed the timing, process, and importance of setting, implementing, and tracking goals, which got me to thinking of a wider philosophy behind the need to set goals. Why do we do it, and what’s the point? We won’t go over the content again, but I encourage you to take a peek if you’d like more information on that topic.

In this blog we will walk through what intentions are, how they differ from goals, how to set and manifest them, how to overcome challenges, and how to course-correct when required.

Background

The goal setting blog did get me thinking about the relevance of intention setting in our personal and professional growth journeys, and how clear intentions can help us all align our actions with our core values, to help create a more purposeful and fulfilling life. This really helps in understanding the connectedness of who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Our processes can be repeatable for the different areas that we are tackling, which helps build mental muscle on our practice and execution.

What Intentions Are

Intentions are conscious and deliberate thoughts or desires that guide our actions and shape our experiences. They are rooted in the present moment and focus on how we want to show up and engage with our world. They are (or should be) positive and empowering statements that reflect our core values, aspirations, and desired qualities, and will serve as a compass, guiding our thoughts, emotions, and actions towards our desired outcomes.

What Intentions Are Not

Bit of a clunky title here, I know, but I wanted to clarify here that intentions are not the same as wishes or goals. Intentions are about the process, your process, and the way that we intend to approach life, while goals are specific, measurable objectives that we strive to achieve. Intentions focus on the present moment and your process, while goals are more outcome oriented. Our intentions guide our actions and mindset, while goals define the specific results we want to achieve.

There is, however, a complementary relationship between intentions and goals and they can work in synergy if approached correctly, with intentions providing the foundational aspirations and direction for goal achievement.

Why Setting Intentions is Important

You get to decide how you act and react, how you behave, and how you show up in your life. This is where the significance of setting intentions is of paramount importance. For example, if you pay no attention to your intentions for a given interaction, then at best you’ll get what you get and deal with the situation real-time. Thinking, preparing, and planning about your overall intention can and will positively impact various aspects of your life, such as human interaction, mindset, focus, and overall well-being. Specifically, the importance of setting intentions is categorized into the following four areas:

• Alignment and clarity: Intentions help us align our thoughts, emotions, and actions with our core values and purpose, providing clarity and direction in decision-making
• Positive mindset: Setting positive intentions can help shift our mindset, foster optimism, resilience, and contribute to a more expansive growth-oriented attitude
• Focus and motivation: Defined intentions help us stay focused on what truly matters to us, thus allowing us to identify and avoid (or minimize) distractions, and maintain clarity and motivation during challenging circumstances
• Creating a fulfilling life: Intentions can contribute to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction by aligning our actions with our deepest desires and core values

Who doesn’t want more alignment, clarity, positivity, focus, and motivation in their quest for a more fulfilling life?

The Power of Intention

Setting clear intentions can influence our thoughts, emotions, and actions, ultimately shaping our reality, thus contributing to the following:

• Neuroplasticity: A wee bit ‘sciencey’, I know, however setting intentions can rewire our brain by strengthening neural pathways associated with positive thoughts and behaviors
• Law of attraction: Like attracts like. Setting clear intentions can attract opportunities and resources that align with our core values, desires, and meaning, thus creating a positive feedback loop in your experiences and relationships
• Self-fulfilling prophecy: You might have heard the saying “You become what you believe you are”. Thought-out intentions can act as self-fulfilling prophecies, influencing our beliefs, actions, and outcomes

Ok, so we know now that we can work within our cognitive brain, which when manifested and implemented will attract like people to us, allowing our intention to be realized. I hope you’re seeing how this can benefit you. Now, we’ll move onto the process of creating and setting intentions, and what to do when things don’t go how we thought they would.

Setting Effective Intentions

Once you have your desire to set intentions, how do you go about actually doing just that? We’ll talk here about some practical tips and strategies for setting intentions. Some key points to consider in establishing and recording your intentions are:

• Core values and desires: Reflecting on your values and desires helps ensure you clearly understand what your intentions align with. Once known, this helps ensure your intentions will be both authentic and meaningful to you
• Specific and actionable: Setting intentions that are specific, actionable, and measurable helps increase clarity and focus, and allows more tangible understanding of what they are for you
• Positive language: Why would you use negative language when trying to improve your life? Using positive language in intentions helps cultivate a positive mindset that will attract positive experiences
• Write them down: The importance of writing intentions down to solidify them and increase commitment cannot be understated. Whatever tools you use to capture information that you require easy access to refer to and review will work (e.g., a journal, vision boarding, electronic tools)
• Regular review: It is so important to allow for regularly reviewing and adjusting your intentions to help you stay aligned with changing circumstances, emerging situations, lessons learned, and personal growth

This takes an investment of time in your growth work, especially if you’re relatively new to setting intentions. Use information and a process that works for you.

Manifesting Intentions

Once you have your intentions created and recorded, it is time to manifest them into your reality by aligning your thoughts, beliefs, and actions with your desired outcomes. Some ways to do that are:

• Visualization: This is the process of visualizing yourself already embodying your intentions, including engaging all your senses to help create a vivid mental image
• Affirmations: While these might not be for everyone, many people today use positive affirmations to reinforce their intentions and help them intentionally reprogram any limiting beliefs that are holding them back (see Overcoming Challenges below). Repetitive affirmations work by rewiring your brain and influencing your subconscious mind. Consistent practice (and belief) in the affirmation process is key. These can be self-talk (internal or external), mirror work, written, or consumed via apps or other recordings
• Gratitude practices: Regular and repetitive expressions of gratitude can be important on your intention journey. This could be through journaling, meditative practices, during conversation, and/or electronic capture

Remember this is not a one-size-fits-all scenario and you must choose a set of manifesting practices that works for you.

Overcoming Challenges

Not everything is going to go the exact way that you want it to. In the spirit of continuous improvement, and as mentioned in the Setting Effective Intentions section above, a regular review process should form a core part of your overall intention journey and process. Typical challenges and obstacles faced include:

• Limiting beliefs: These can manifest from self-doubt or can be learned through other life experiences. Everyone endures limiting beliefs at some point, and when seen for what they are and what can be learned from them makes them powerful for your ongoing growth. Understanding where your limiting belief is manifesting from and how it feeds into impacting your progress will provide you with an opportunity to analyze and address it with a view to lessening the overall impact. To do this you can use positive self-talk, reframing negative thoughts, and seeking support from mentors or coaches
• Distractions: In today’s world, distractions are inevitable and tend to lead us to a lack of focus. You must create an environment that is conducive to what will support your intention. This will include setting boundaries and practicing mindfulness to overcome distractions and help maintain focus. Another key factor is not to emotionally lambast yourself for getting distracted – that doesn’t help with anything. Figure out what happened, what your role in it was, learn, set (or reset) your intention to do better next time, and resume your journey

Your challenges can be internal, external, or both. Recognizing your own typical traits in everyday life today will help you appreciate where you could encounter challenges in the future, to plan for them, and ensure that they don’t materially damage your ongoing progress.

Reviewing and Adjusting Intentions

Like most things in life, setting, manifesting, and maintaining intentions is not a one-and-done action. It must be grown and nurtured to ensure it is still serving you (and others) and is open to course corrections throughout your journey. The following principles describe items that will support your review and adjustment process:

• Scheduled reviews: It is recommended that you build and schedule in regular reviews of your intentions, such as weekly or monthly, to assess progress and make necessary adjustments. Put these reviews in your calendar and make every effort to keep the commitment. Work on a measurement criterion that will help you establish your success, and be honest and open with yourself on how things have gone for you
• Self-reflection: This can be a more regular occurrence or be aligned with your scheduled reviews. Honest, open self-reflection helps you evaluate whether your intentions still align with your core values, desires, and goals
• Flexibility / adaptability: At all times there is a need for you to be flexible and open to adjusting your intentions as new insights or opportunities emerge. In fact, it is encouraged that you be open to the idea that your intentions today will look different to next week, month, year, etc.
• Accountability and support: You don’t have to progress on your intention journey alone. You can engage with accountability partners, coaches, or join communities where you can share your intentions and receive the support you need for ongoing growth

Intention setting is a journey, not a destination. Creating a realistic process for setting, manifesting, and nurturing your intentions is a great start, and one that should constantly be top of mind and ingrained into your ongoing self-development journey to ensure you’re living a life of intent. You won’t always get it right, but living at a higher conscious plane when working on your intentions will serve you and your community more than it will harm.

I’m always open to a conversation on your thoughts, opinions, and experiences on this or any topic in the library. Get in touch by subscribing below, or by using the form on the Book Gary of the site.