Do you feel like you're at the whim of your daily circumstances? Or does it seem like you have no control over your interactions with others? Once you create the habit of setting an intention - for your day, for your tasks, for your interactions with others - you'll start creating the life you want for yourself.
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Most people simply go through life passively experiencing things that happen to them. Think about this for a minute for your own life. Have you ever thought about how you want to be and what you want to experience from a particular situation? Have you considered what emotion you want to put into something you're creating? Setting an intention creates the opportunity for us to experience the life we want for ourselves, day by day.
Set an intention
Start to form the habit of setting an intention for you day. How do you want to BE as you engage with the world? Happy, joyful, loving, playful? Choose an intention for the day. Take a few minutes to focus on what this feels like for you before you rush head first into the day. Envision interactions with others as you're living your intention.
Next, remind yourself of your intention as you go about your day. Write it on a note card that you carry with you, or set a timer on your phone and call the intention word to mind each time it goes off. Check yourself - are you living and expressing your intention, right now?
As you get better at doing this for the day, start setting a specific intention for the various tasks throughout your day. Set an intention for your meeting at work, for being with your kids, even when preparing meals. Stop mentally for 30 seconds or so, take a deep breath, and mentally or verbally express your intention.
Why intention matters
Intention is all about your purpose, desired result, and attitude. Maybe you've heard the quote, "Where attention goes, energy flows," or "Where intention goes, energy flows." Setting an intention gives us a guidance system internally that is then expressed externally. When we set an intention, we direct our energy toward expressing that particular desire or emotion.
If you want to feel a certain way, set the intention to feel that way! If you want a certain experience, set the intention to create that experience.
In big and small things, it's important to create this habit so you can experience the life you desire.
Create the life you want through your intentions
- Form the habit first of setting an intention for the day.
- Next, start setting an intention for the various tasks and experiences of your daily life.
- Setting an intention literally puts more energy into that outcome. It's a critical step in creating the life you want for yourself.
What has changed for you as you've set an intention throughout your day?