Blogging Tips

In my post Tips for Success: Begin With the End in Mind I talked about goals and other such things. Today I want to talk about setting intentions and not leaving things to chance.

Setting intentions is different than setting goals; intentions are more for the here and now—in the moment—than they are for long term. But setting daily intentions will help you achieve your goals.

Decide how you want to feel and what you want to accomplish. You can do this with your daily health, your daily work productivity, shopping—practically anything you want to come out as a success.

I found this definition on setting intentions from About.com: “A working definition for intention is: “to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim.” Lacking intention, we sometimes stray without meaning or direction. But with it, all the forces of the universe can align to make even the most impossible, possible. My intention is to transform the conversation around dreams from fear and doubt, to hope and possibility, followed by action and results.”

I’ve practiced this many times and when I don’t—I basically leave chance open to run havoc on my day. I will have problems with concentration and focus, things will go wrong with my websites and computer and I’ll end up frustrated—all because I didn’t set out or intend to have a smooth, productive day.

You’ve heard the adage, “Be careful what you wish for?” Well the same can be said for things you don’t wish for too, in a sense anyway. If you don’t plan how you want your day to go—it’ll go the way it wants. I’m not just talking about the work you want to accomplish, but also how you want to feel about things—intend to have a pleasant, educational experience. More often than not, you’ll find that your intentions really do mold the day.

You can wish for success and happiness all you want, but until you start expecting it to show up (and put forth the effort for it) it’s just not going to show itself.

Most articles I’ve read on setting intentions suggest that you state things like, “I want this or that.” or “I will do this or that.” I’m going to disagree with this method—these are more like wishes and affirmations—to set intentions you have to intend for it to be.

The dictionary defines it as:

To set an intention, you must have a clear image of the outcome you want to achieve.

Intentions should be set each morning, come to your day and work with a positive attitude and positive intentions. You can be as general or as specific as you want, but the more specific your intentions, the better the results will be.

In the beginning, since this may be new to you, I suggest you start with more general intentions like; “I intend the day to be pleasant and productive.” As you get the hang of setting intentions you can be more specific: “I intend to finish the article on intentions.” “I intend for it to be informative and enjoyable.”

Setting intentions shouldn’t just be for work you want to accomplish either—you can set intentions for almost everything. Most people who practice yoga start each session with an intention, “I intend to feel invigorated and healthy.” You can set intentions when you start cooking supper (especially if you live in a hectic household full of children), “I intend to prepare a nutritious and tasty meal without interruptions.” Okay, you may have interruptions—my kids loved being in the kitchen with me, but you can make it a pleasant experience by setting the intention.

If traffic is a monster in your area or people just can’t drive well, set the intention before you leave home to have a pleasant experience while you’re in route to your destination—maybe Wal Mart. Once you arrive at Wal Mart, set another intention to have a pleasant experience while you’re shopping. You’d be amazed how helpful this can be. When you fail to set intentions like this, you’ll run into all kinds of obnoxious people—they’re either in your way, rude, or just staring off into space.

Focus on the result that you want to achieve. Give it two weeks and see if you don’t have better experiences in public, in life and with your level of productivity.