How To Live Every Day With Intention!
CHEER SO LOUD FOR YOURSELF THAT YOU CREATE A CANCEL CULTURE TO A NEGATIVE MINDSET
Have you ever watched a toddler start taking their first steps to walk? They have an unspoken intention to walk. They wobble, stumble, fall, get back up and do it all over again. INTENTION. Intention is a course of action that a person intends to follow.
Do You Approach Each Day With Intention?
Around this time of the year, we are talking about goals, planning the new year, deciding what we want to accomplish, etc. And that is all good!
However, another important ingredient to add to your life is INTENTION. What if you added the ingredient of INTENTION to your finances, relationships, hobbies, fun time, profession, community involvement, starting a business, etc.? What difference would that make in YOUR life?
Think of INTENTIONS as representing your core values, your personal belief system…those things you care about at the heart level. I have heard it said INTENTIONS are about today, this moment, and how we want to show up in your personal space. And those intentions can help you accomplish those goals you are setting for this year!
I used to work with someone who was intentional about learning a new skill at something every year. Every year she decides if she wants to learn a new language, refurbish furniture, knitting, etc. Her list is incredible. Can you imagine at the end of her life how many wonderful things she learned and experienced? She lives with INTENTION.
TODAY, WHAT IS ONE AREA YOU COULD START LIVING WITH INTENTION?
Intentions are about who we want to be in this life. Intentions help us find what we are passionate about and live it… with intention! The good news … intentions don’t have to be a huge or an elaborate idea. You will find that your intentions can be very simple and yet accomplish so much more.
ASK YOURSELF
What are my core values?
What’s most important to me as a person?
How do I want to show up every day?
What do I want out of life?
WHY BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR INTENTIONS
Why not? Your intentions can be your partner and help you set boundaries. They are your deal-breakers who keep you in your lane when people and circumstances try to pull you in the opposite direction. Your defined intentions will help you open and close doors. They will lead you to say YES or NO to something.
I talk a lot about knowing your WHY and why your WHY is so important. I think of my WHY as my compass and my intentions are my conscious. As I shared earlier, my intentions are like my core values. Your WHY might be to lose some weight or get in shape to live longer while your intentions help you make wise decisions at the grocery store.
Finally, your intentions will bring clarity to your day. There is a Barbra Streisand song called, “On A Clear Day - You Can See Forever.”
On a clear day
Rise and look around you
And you'll see who you are
On a clear day
How it will astound you
That the glow of your being outshines every star
Those lyrics remind me of the simple fact that when you have clarity with your intentions, your intentions bring clarity to you. You discover who you are, who you want to be, and what impact you want to make on the world around you. It is not just on a material level but on a personal level. You will be astounded at who you are and who you are becoming!
I think about Paul in the Bible where he sets his face like flint to finish his course: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14). He had an INTENTION to keep the course, stay true to himself, fulfill his purpose and finish his race.
WHAT I KNOW: Your INTENTIONS my friend are personal to you and they come from your heart. What if your INTENTIONS have brought you to where you are today? What if your INTENTIONS are right on time (your clarity)? What if you are exactly where you need to be with your INTENTIONS? What if your INTENTIONS are right on the mark?
So let me ask you again my friend: What if you added the ingredient of INTENTION to your finances, relationships, hobbies, fun time, profession, community involvement, starting a business, etc.? What difference would that make in YOUR life?