Let’s get back to basics and first clarify what an intention is. An intention is a mindset or a way of being. It is less tangible than say a goal, and is a way of moving you towards the future.

An intention is more like the journey. It connects you towards a greater purpose and is the energy that you are putting out there into the universe. It becomes the driving force for your higher self.

An intention aligns with your authentic self. It must align with who you are and who you want to be. Otherwise there is a disconnect and it won’t be that powerful driver towards the destination you desire.

An intention focuses on feelings. It is an affirmation of how you want to feel, so step into it!

Allow your intention to connect you with your core feelings. Recall I mentioned an intention was like a journey? When aligned with your authentic self, your intention will be your roadmap how you should live your life on a daily basis. Know that you’ll never actually reach that final destination as your intention will continually shift and grow with you as you develop and move through life.

So how does an intention relate to goals?

An intention provides the foundation for effective goals. It enables you to build upon this driving force and put tangible goals into place with actionable steps.  When these all align with your authentic self, everything will fall into place. Connect with your ‘why’ behind your intention to create a sense of urgency and propel you forward. Be clear on your reason why.

It should be strong and powerful.  It should be something that brings you to tears and tugs at your heart-strings.

Make it strong. Make it meaningful. Make it yours!

I want to run you through a little exercise to help with setting an intention and discover how powerful they can actually be.  Give me 5 minutes of your undivided attention and trust me through this process.

Think about something you want in your life and write that down.

This can be a very broad statement like “I am financially independent and choose to go to work” or “I see the goodness around me in everyday situations”.

Write your intention as if it is occurring right now, not in the future tense. You need to feel yourself as already embracing this action.

Stay away from words such as “I’ll try” as this is very different to ‘doing’ and allows room to never actually achieve your intention.

Also avoid words in the negative tense such as “I don’t want…”, instead focus on the positive of what you do want.

Make your intention believable.

Negative self-talk can have a way of creeping in so to keep this at bay, ensure your intention is believable to yourself. It’s so important to catch this negative belief system before it becomes toxic. Simply, acknowledge the thought and re-write your intention in such a way to create that powerful driver that your inner critic believes and propels you forward.

Now that you have your broad intention, write down the words “in order to….” What is your reason behind this intention?

This will be your why!

What does it mean to you to fulfill this intention?  Or look at it from the alternative perspective – how detrimental could it be if you don’t achieve it? If that thought doesn’t bring forth a surge of emotions, consider repeating the exercise.

Write the words “in order to” to drill down on the reason behind your intention again and become more specific. Repeat this process until you have a very specific, raw reason…your why.

I did this exercise the other day and was left in tears.  For anyone else reading my intention, it likely won’t bring forth the same emotion.  That’s because this is MY intention with MY WHY. Make yours YOUR intention and reason why. Make it so powerful that you won’t let yourself fail. Make it so, that you can’t even contemplate failing. So what’s my intention you ask?

“To create a life of abundance through a business that I am passionate about in order to create quality memories together as a family….”

Whilst it was a good reason, it wasn’t quite specific enough.  This was the clincher..

“…in order to never look back on life and not be one of the many people who have said to me ‘I wished I’d spent more time with my kids when they were younger’”.

That was my reason why. Our daughter. I don’t want to miss out on those magic moments with her as there is no getting them back.

So that is my driving force.

Whenever I question my direction, I let my intention and my reason ‘why’ guide me.

Amanda xx