“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”- Dan Millman
This is what daily Intentions are all about- energy that is mindful of the present, not the past. With clarity of the mind, one can change their thought pattern and their entire life!
We all want success, love, growth. We wish to be kinder to others, create more time.. the list goes on. Yet why do we seem to keep struggling despite KNOWING what we desire?
There has to be a missing link then between our thought and action? That link is our intention. The secret is to tune into your powerful intentions daily to create the life you want at all times consciously.
What exactly is an intention?
Setting clear Intentions daily are like your guide map for authentic life. They are formed by your values, set of beliefs, and vision for life.
Without daily intentions, you will be wandering aimlessly, not knowing the right direction to take because you were never premeditated on who you are and where you stand.
Let’s say you decide to spend more time with loved ones. Did you meditate on this intention? Did you remind yourself with a positive outlook and manifest in your actions and your words?
Without this information absorbed by your subconscious brain, you will never be able to embody the change you wish to see and become.
○ Intentions > Goal Setting
An important thing to note is that an intention is different from a goal that we wish to pursue. Goals are future-oriented, whereas daily intentions are rooted in the present moment.
We may list money, success in relationships, positivity, self-love, well-being, etc., as our goals for our future selves, but setting an intention happens prior to that realization and is the energy we carry forth with us into the future.
It could be a prayer, an affirmation, a manifestation, whatever you’d like- but it defines our overall purpose in life and the positive impact we wish to have on ourselves, others, and the world at large!
○ Goals may fail us, but not intentions
The goals we set aren’t always met. Life gets in the way most of the time.
We encounter setbacks, stress, change of plans, and disappointments in general. So letting these goals define our worth and success is a recipe for disaster and anguish.
Instead, having a deeper philosophy and positive attitude behind how we take on the day, how we contribute in a given situation, and how we deal with things is something that is far more within our control. It gives us a sense of meaning and purpose.
In such a scenario, even if we fail to realize goals- we do not feel defeated since we have the consolation of our intention being in the right place. This is the trust we place in ourselves and the universe. It’s what inspires us to hope and look ahead no matter what the circumstance is.
The Power of Setting an Intention
‘By banishing doubt and trusting your intuitive feelings, you clear space for the power of intention to flow through.’ – Wayne W. Dyer
American author Wayne Dyer, who writes on self-help and motivation- talks about how life-changing intention can be in his book- ‘The Power of Intention‘.
Dyer says that in order to have a rich, successful life, simply wanting something will never be enough. He claims that it is our intention that defines everything we magnetize into our lives.
” You do not attract what you want; you attract who you are.”
Our intention works parallel to this philosophy: We cannot get something by demanding it but rather by allowing it to flow into our lives.
○ Focus on Imagination more than Willpower
Dyer advises us to use our imaginative faculty and creative power to see the grander scheme of life and events before they occur. This is a huge driving force, and ally of living with our intention since simply relying on willpower will not get the job done.
Our will is limited, but our imagination is boundless and abundant. Much inspiration and positive energy can be drawn from there.
Gratitude – The seed of Intention
If you’re wondering how to get started with intention setting, gratitude is the way to go!
To set an intention is to take a step towards having an abundance or positive mindset that focuses more on the infinite possibilities for the kind of life we want, rather than the limitations and roadblocks.
Practicing gratitude then should undoubtedly be ingrained in your daily habits and your meditation practice.
The logic behind this is that if we keep ourselves imprisoned by the happenings of the future- When, what how– and keep wanting more and more, we will lose sight of the shore.
This is a typical example of having a scarcity mindset because in doing so, we forget to acknowledge and appreciate what we have NOW. Therefore, being grateful for the present is the foundation of setting daily intentions.
○ What are some examples of daily intentions?
Your daily intentions could be milestones to a broader intention that you have set for that month or that year too.
It helps to break it down into bite-size pieces so as to practice and live that intention enough to ingrain it in your personality, channeling that energy as we go about our day-to-day life.
We could find inspiring affirmations from people we look up to or even make our own personalized ones- in alignment with where we are in life presently and what we’re struggling with at the moment.
These could look as follows:
- I wish to be productive whilst taking timely breaks and giving myself enough credit along the way.
- I intend to define my worth outside of my material achievements or external validation
- I want to take on this day at my own pace and channel inner peace and loving-kindness to whosoever I encounter
- I want to express gratitude today for even the smallest of gestures from the people I meet.
Whatever it is that you want to aim at or gain a sense of balance in, create your intention around that outcome.
○ Living your intention beforehand
A great idea to set your intention as realistically as possible is to utilize the power of all your senses whilst doing so.
In the case of daily intentions, you could visualize a particular scenario that you intend to handle with greater confidence. You could also do a little meditation, visualizing how empowered you will feel when you live your intention.
This can extend to voicing your intention loudly so as to re-affirm it to be your truth. Pre-meditate and imagine how light your body feels because you are the one holding the reigns of your life.
This exercise makes us less fearful of the future as when we imagine and let our thoughts dictate how we will our future in alignment with our intention, we attract that outcome and manifest it into reality.
The Law of Attraction has a lot to do with our intention, our values, the subsequent actions we then take- and most importantly- how much gratitude lies at the heart of it all.
Intention paves the way for Re-invention
Dr. Joe Dispenza, author of the book ‘Becoming Supernatural, ‘ talks about how creating an intention helps us escape the habit of imprisoning ourselves in that past, moving forth and creating change in the future that awaits us.
Dispenza teaches that most people wake up with thoughts of their fears and troubles. This means that their mind is still in the past.
When we focus on these thoughts, we trigger an emotional response to them in the form of stress, anxiety, and feelings of low self-worth.
As a result, even our bodies are living in the past! Repeated patterns like these keep us in the same vicious cycle that keeps us from progressing any further to create the world that we wish to attract.
○ Activate your Intention: Experience the Future
To create an intention that truly serves us, we need to break free from past conditioning, let go of the familiar and make certain changes in our overall perspective.
One of the first tips to set intentions is to have clarity about what we want. The next is to coach ourselves to live our intention before the time of the actual event.
We can tune our bodies to live in the future by asking ourselves certain questions- ‘What will it be like when I become successful? How will I feel when I’m in an abundant relationship? What will my emotional state be when I achieve optimal mental health?’
When we prompt our brain to look for answers to these questions that cannot be derived from past experiences since they haven’t been actualized yet, we start to condition the mind to live in our future reality in the present moment.
This is what intention is all about.
○ With Intention, we become Creators, not Victims of our Reality
‘Nobody changes their life until they change their energy.’
Dispenza says that our comfort and familiarity with past patterns and habits get in the way of us creating meaningful intentions and change. The way we function with preconceived notions and conditioned thinking is an obsolete, old model of reality.
> The New Model of Reality
We need to practice a new quantum model of reality wherein we let go of the known to find love and adventure in the new and the unknown.
By training ourselves to feel exalted emotions and experience our future outcomes before they occur, we begin ‘uninstalling our neurological hardware’ and change our current state of being.
The result? We now start crafting our ‘intentional reality’.
○ How to spice up our daily intentions?
When it comes to setting daily mindful intentions, we need to have a larger picture in mind before we commence. This way, even though the goals might change or fail, as they often do, but setting intentions will provide us with the necessary momentum to keep moving ahead to seek out newer, better opportunities.
> Journaling and Affirmations
Besides jotting down journal entries for task productivity, it helps to also focus on writing and coupling it with a daily intention or manifestation. You can use Manifestation Journals for this purpose.
This helps uplift us emotionally and inspires us to keep accountable for how we take on the day, irrespective of tangible achievements.
Apart from writing, speaking our own intentions aloud as part of our daily meditation or our morning mantra for the day is equally helpful.
> Plan your Intention
Because writing things down helps us process our emotions better, we can better organize our daily intentions to be more useful to our current frame of mind and even structure those intentions to culminate in realizing a reality that may seem far-fetched or unattainable in one go.
The goal of Daily Intentions: Turning Ideas to Reality
In summary, our intentions are ultimately not mere desires or want but rather the energy we embody. The more we become conscious of it, the more we’re able to harness it effectively.
Intentional living doesn’t just account for perceiving only the big achievements in everyday life, but also every little milestone you cross that humbles you, teaches you, and enriches you. It is always more about the journey than the destination.
Thus, setting daily positive intentions that ultimately channels to a broader intention could make a world of difference in this dance of life.
“The qualities of creativity and genius are already within each one of us, awaiting our decision to match up with the power of our intention.”