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What is an Intention?
Everything in the universe starts with an intention. Intentions are the principles that guide how you want to be, live, and show up in the world. It is one of your most powerful creative forces because it is your unconscious and conscious motivations that shape your life.
Setting intentions helps to create effortless manifestations and a deeper sense of presence and purpose in everyday life.
Your intention sets the foundation for what you will receive back from the Universe. Use it mindfully, and anything is possible. In ancient India, it was taught that personal destiny is ultimately determined by your desire, intention, will, and action. Essentially, desire leads to intention, and intention leads to will. Your will drives your actions in the world, and your actions create your fate.
“You are what your deepest desire is. As your desire is, so is your intention. As your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.”
– The upanishads
Intentions vs. Goals
Intention is the internal process or principle that manifests a desire (or goal) into reality. In other words, it is your personal commitment to how you are showing up moment-to-moment as your progress towards your goals.
Your goals are the external end results/compelling future that your intentions create. When you desire something, it becomes your goal to attain it. Intentions, paired with actions, are what set your goals in motion for success.
Don’t have time to read? Check out this helpful video on what intentions are + how to set them!
Why is Setting Intentions Important?
When you make a habit out of living without conscious intent or purpose behind your actions, it can lead to discontentment, stagnancy, and unfulfilled desires.
You can start to feel stuck, as if you’re just “going through the motions” of life, or living day to day on auto-pilot. You may be setting goals and dreaming of the life you want but feel like you aren’t actually getting anywhere.
It is important to be aware of how you choose to live and show up daily so you don’t drain your energy or sleep on your potential. The practice of setting intentions produces clarity and calibrates your desires into effective energy and action – ultimately leading you to a more fulfilling, mindful life and rewarding manifestations!
How to Set (Successful) Intentions
Setting intentions consists of dropping into the present, cultivating energy, and taking aligned actions. When we consciously do this, we can manifest our goals more easily and enrich our lives with a deeper sense of presence and meaning.
You can work through this process at any time and as many times as you feel the need to! Even taking 5 minutes out of the morning to go through these steps to set your intentions for the day can make all the difference.
1. Drop into the Now
The process of setting powerful intentions starts with pure self-awareness. Take some deep breaths and allow the present moment to invite you in. It’s time to get clear about what you really want out of life. Ask yourself,
- What matters most to me?
- What makes me feel the most fulfilled?
- What are my beliefs and values?
- How would it feel to perfectly embody my desires? What would it look like?
Your desires are the essential foundation of your intentions, so you won’t be able to live intentionally if you are disconnected from yourself and don’t know what you truly want. By dropping into the present moment, you will be able to focus on what you truly want/need and expand the connection between your mind, body, and spirit.
2. Cultivate Your Energy
Next, take notice of the energetic state you’re in. Some questions to reflect upon or journal out include:
- How am I currently contributing to the reality I desire – inwardly and outwardly?
- What energies do I need to release to achieve my intentions?
- What energies do I want/need to integrate?
Actively choose to nourish and cultivate beliefs, values, attitudes, thoughts, and words that support your goals. This will help to enforce your desired state of energy + intentions. Crystals, vision boards, music, and affirmations are incredible tools to help with this!
3. Create Aligned Action
Finally, once you’ve established your intention and the energy to match, it’s time to embody your intentions through aligned action. Aligned action is any action taken that is in alignment with your intentions or goals. [1]https://tarajacksonlifecoach.com/aligned-action/ This step is crucial to successful intention setting! It may take some self-discipline to stay consistent and even feel strange at first, but without aligned action, your intentions would stay as desires forever and would never manifest fully into your reality. Aligned actions are your intentions in motion.
Remember:
The more you become conscious of your intentions, the easier it will become. Gently bring yourself back to the present and realign as many times as you need to.
Part of manifesting is 50% your desire + effort and 50% trusting the Universe and letting things unfold as they will. Turn your desires and intentions into action, but also remember to relax and receive as well. The Universe/God/Source is your co-creating partner that you can trust to meet you where you’re at!
Also, intentions can be extremely fluid and you can repeat the process are awareness, energy, and action whenever you feel called to. Do what feels right for you.
Nine Examples of Daily Intentions
- I intend to keep an open mind and heart today.
- I intend to listen to my intuition and trust where it leads me.
- I intend to see the divinity in everyone I encounter.
- I intend to honor my boundaries and limits.
- I intend to breathe deeply in the present moment.
- I intend to see love all around me.
- I intend to move my body in ways that feel good to me.
- I intend to always find things to be grateful for.
- I intend to pour love into myself, even when I don’t feel like it.
Make Your Intentions Stick
Reinforce your intentions throughout the day by engaging your natural 5 senses! These methods ground you in the present moment, which helps raise personal awareness and mental clarity (staying mindful is key to living intentionally).
We’ve rounded up 5 extra tips to help you make your intentions stick. You can get super creative with these; they will serve as anchors for your brain to help you stay focused and move with purpose. Plus, each is generally good for you anyways, so you can also enjoy a little self-care boost, as well as elevate your manifestations and life to the next level! ✨
5 Extra Tips for Setting Intentions
AFFIRMATIONS: Once you’ve set an intention, choose a correlating keyword, affirmation, or mantra. Our words and thoughts carry the power of creation, so choose them wisely! Chant your affirmations, write them down, or even listen to affirmation music (more on that below)! We have a whole playlist dedicated to affirmations and mantras on Spotify to help you get started.
MUSIC: Set the vibe of your intentions with music! Music is incredibly powerful in swaying our moods, thoughts, and feelings. This directly affects our energy, which affects our actions. Listening to music that supports your desires will naturally help keep you on track. Be aware of what you’re consuming and how it makes you feel!
FOOD: A little kitchen magick is another amazing way to help you move mindfully throughout your day. The idea is that you can pick or use foods that you associate with your intentions. (For example, oranges can represent happiness & success; honey for kinder, gentler speech; spicy foods for protection or strength.) You can really have fun with this and refer to the energetic correspondences of ingredients as well!
COLOR: Colors carry certain energies and influence our subconscious (which ultimately affects our conscious mind). Try using color as a cue for your mind. You can do this by wearing certain colors for specific intentions (e.g. yellow for joy), with jewelry, through accessories, décor, flowers, art, crystals, and more!
AROMATHERAPY: Get your sense of smell involved! Our olfactory senses play a major role in shaping our present mindset, emotions, and memory, which can be used to our advantage.
Light a candle, roll on some essential oils, spritz on your favorite perfume, and nourish your skin with a scented lotion – you get the idea! The key is to use scents that you relate to your intention. You can use this massive list for a quick guide on scents & their meanings to see what best fits your goals!
References
| ↑1 | https://tarajacksonlifecoach.com/aligned-action/ |
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