For most of us, life can leave us feeling like a leaf in the wind. No certain direction, motivation or intention. The days turn to weeks, and the weeks to months, only to notice we are barely making progress.
Direction is born from clarity, focus and personal & spiritual growth. Ask and ye shall receive. A friend of mine once told me that prayer is for asking and meditation is for receiving. How beautiful is that? In order to receive, we must create the space to allow for those very things we want — in this case, direction.
Motivation is intrinsic. I can’t do it for you. Your momma can’t do it for you. You favorite celebrity can’t do it for you either. Others can inspire you, but motivation comes from within. It may fluctuate throughout life, but ultimately, you get to choose how badly you want something.
Intention is a powerful tool. It is the way to give life to everything you do. To your work. To your family life. To your personal development. Frankly, without intent, we have no map, no direction and no real plan to succeed at anything.
Remember the highest version of yourself you’re striving to be? What’s the plan? How will you get there? What/who will you have to give up to make room for what really serves you? Few people will give you a good gut check to see where you lie on the progress map towards your goals. At the end of the day, we are the only ones responsible for the outcomes in our lives. Let’s set an intention to set an intention! Each day this week, and hopefully for the rest of your life, you will live by your own Intention Code — a code that you will work hard not break, because you know it is what will fuel your very dreams and goals, which become your personal manifesto!
How to take inspired action
Try this exercise: Choose one intention for each day of this week. Use the list below, along with any of your own inspired thoughts to get you started. Don’t forget to have fun with this!
__ I intend to hold firm in my core beliefs
__ I intend to find happiness in each day
__ I intend to speak up for myself
__ I intend to respond before reacting
__ I intend to be lovable
__ I intend to be loving
__ I intend to lose all judgement
__ I intend to say “I love you”
__ I intend to do something nice for someone
__ I intend to speak & stand up for myself
__ I intend to be wise with my finances
__ I intend to greet a stranger with a smile
__ I intend to live authentically & unapologetically
__ I intend to meditate
__ I intend to lead by example
Your daily intention will serve as a point of focus to help keep you clear and deliberate about how you move through each day. It is ultimately something that will feed your spirit and personal growth, and will spill over into other areas of your life, like parenting, career or business.
A few things to keep in mind about setting intentions:
Good vibes only, please. Be sure the intentions you set are positive in nature and are chosen because they will help you on your path to becoming the best version of you.
How can it blossom? Since we are using one intention per day this week, this tip may not apply to this lesson, but as you begin to later set intentions for more than a day, it should be able to evolve. Ask yourself how you can further evolve, expand or deepen your intention. This will continue to “peel back the layers” to assist in your self-discovery.
Beware of setting intentions for a long period of time, though. It’s easy to fizzle out in the process and it just won’t feel impactful anymore. You can still think of your “big picture” goal, but chunk it down into steps or phases and keep working it backwards until you find a starting point that feels right (Make sure you write this process down so you can track it!). I enjoy setting one intention per week or per phase, if the intention is a part of a larger plan with a deadline.
Keep it real. Don’t try to fool yourself. The intention you set should feel authentic. Sure, there’s always room to grow, but you should not feel major resistance behind it. If you do, start with another intention that feels more comfortable until you’re ready to dive deeper.
Stay on track by checking in with yourself throughout the day. Where are you winning? Where do you need course correcting? Give yourself grace, but aim to live each day with intention and watch the tiny miracles start rolling in.