The Power of Setting Intentions
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Everyone talks about goal setting nowadays, including me. It’s all about what we want to accomplish, how quickly we can accomplish it, and savoring our success for a brief interlude before diving into the next goal on the never-ending list.
But goals, by themselves, are not the answer. Essentially, they lack meaning.
Why do we want to accomplish these things? How do we wish to feel when we accomplish them?
What’s the Point?
Enter intentions.
You can also call them your values, or your vision for what you want life to be for you. Whatever word you use to describe them, intentions are what gives your goals meaning.
Nadalie Bardo does a great job of walking you through setting your intentions in her Slay Your Goals Planner, a reusable form-fill PDF planner which you can buy for $27. (I reviewed it in this post if you’re interested in learning more.)
When I did that exercise in setting my intentions, I learned more about myself than I realized going into it.
For example, I’ve known for the last several years that one of my major goals in life is to become financially independent.
I usually expressed this by saying, “I want to be financially independent.”
But Why?
The intention behind financial independence is freedom.
Freedom to choose where to live and what to do, who to see and work with, to buy what I want to buy or shed the trappings of consumerist culture to embrace minimalism in whatever form works for my family.
Freedom to try a jujitsu class without worrying about what it costs should I be inclined to achieve a black belt.
Freedom to join the closest rock climbing gym and go there whenever I want.
Freedom to travel the world for months at a time just because we can and want to see a part of the world that we haven’t before.
Or, alternatively, freedom to stay exactly where we are right now, knowing that our options are wide open and free to choose.
This Was All Instilled Into a Statement of Intention.
What do I want to get out of life? About what do I want to be satisfied when I look back on my years on this pale blue dot?
In setting my intentions, I came up with a statement that encompasses my values for all parts of life.
I Choose to Create a Wealthy Life.
Let’s break that down, shall we?
What’s the definition of “wealthy”?
Merriam-Webster defines it like this:
wealthy (adj): 1) having wealth; very affluent. 2) characterized by abundance; ample.
Wealth is defined as an abundant supply.
But wealth is an interesting word. I think it means something different to everyone, and to me, it looks like this:
Wealth is comfort.
It’s freedom.
Wealthy friendships are the things that keep us living longer.
Wealth in health and fitness means being in top physical condition, at my ideal weight, and overflowing with energy and excitement.
It’s an abundance of curiosity to try new things, unburdened by worries and fears.
It’s cultivating a close relationship with God, giving back to my community, and pursuing hobbies that stir my passion.
If my intention is to create a wealthy life, what then, should my goals look like?
That’s Simple.
My goals should take me towards this intention; this vision.
- Building a virtual assistant side business takes me towards financial independence.
- Losing another 30 to 35 pounds by eating low-carb and going to the gym three nights a week takes me towards fitness and the ability to do whatever sports or activities I desire without feeling beat up afterward.
- Writing books and participating in NaNoWriMo pushes me towards creative freedom and abundance; a wealth of new ideas.
- Getting a new study Bible and following a Bible study plan brings me closer to God.
These all encompass what wealth means to me, and so my intention reflects that for all areas of my life.
I choose to create a wealthy life.
It’s All About Our Choices.
The next word to look at is “choose.”
This life isn’t going to happen to me, I have to be active in my participation. It’s my choice.
I can choose to not incorporate the exercise portion of my Miracle Morning, but that would make reaching peak physical fitness that much harder and longer.
I can choose to spend money on things that look pretty but are essentially useless and end up with a house full of clutter with no space for creative breathing.
(This is partly why I’m undergoing a decluttering operation this month, December 2018.)
I could choose to eat the things that smell delicious, like the wafting scent of bakery items in Costco on a Saturday afternoon, or the freshly-opened bag of chips the accountants brought in for the month-end close.
But I know, from experience, that eating those things puts my body into chaos.
My blood sugar begins to rise the moment those touch my tongue, and the sweetness of those carbohydrates turns to ash in my mouth. I am type 1 diabetic, and besides insulin, eating low-carb has saved my life.
My choices are what makes my vision a reality. I can get no closer to a wealthy life unless I work for it, by making hard choices and decisions that are for the good of my future self.
And Finally, “Create”.
Similar to “choice”, creating my wealthy life is indicative of needing imagination.
I’m not going to be offered a smorgasbord of options from which to select, such as pointing at option A and being handed a game plan for life.
I have the freedom to create my own game plan.
There is no life script here; nothing that requires me to be married with two and a half children, a dog, and a white picket fence by the time I’m 30.
Life is full of twists and turns, and if we keep our intentions in focus, always present, there’s no need to ask for a clearly-defined path forward because it will never be clearly defined.
In fact, Amy Simpkins wrote an entire book about this, called Spiral. You should go read it.
When a thornbush pops up in my path, I can choose to cut through it or go around.
(As a side note, this is why I love open-world RPG games like Skyrim. Besides the general quest lines, which can be completed in different ways from set options, everything else in the game is freedom embodied, and mods make that freedom go further.)
What Things Do You Create?
Think back to when you were a kid. Finger paintings, short stories, a blanket fort in the living room. All these things came from our vivid imaginations, which sadly get less vivid as we age.
Try tapping into that imagination again, to search for what your intentions will look like.
What kind of life are you going to create?
One with the freedom to do whatever you desire, that fulfills your purpose in this world?
Before you set your goals, take a moment to think about the power of setting your intention first.
It’s your why.
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