Intention Setting
Intention is likely not a word you have to Google to know what it means but I wanted to clarify that intentions and goals are related but are not the same. Intentions are driven by our values, our beliefs, and our motivations, where goals may be a directive given to us by others. Intentions are typically focused on the present moment, while goals are future focused. You may set an intention to meet a goal, but you don’t set a goal to meet an intention. Intentions can be vague and personal, where goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.
Intentions have to do with being, while goals have to do with doing. Going forward, I suggest you incorporate this into a weekly ‘Pause & Reflect’ (pick a day - I prefer Sundays) and will have a more limited focus of the next week or near future, but for this first one, I want you to clarify your intention for the year. Reflect on your baseline/self-discovery inventory. Meditate on how you feel today. Manifest who you want to be at the end of these 52 weeks. The steppingstones of this blog will hopefully move you in that direction.
Along with journaling, I have been doing monthly intention setting over the last year and while it hasn’t changed drastically from month to month, I can see the subtle changes and the shift in my mood in how I wrote. For example, in January 2023, I wrote very little in the boxes and was vague; I can feel myself at that time not knowing what to write and being weary of overcommitting to the challenge. But at that point, I was desperate in a way I cannot begin to describe. The level of hopelessness was unbearable, and I decided discipline in these areas could be my saving grace, even if I didn’t feel its impact immediately. By January 2024, I was building on prior months and the level of specificity made it attainable and measurable. See below grid. You can print or split your journal page accordingly; feel empowered to use this in the way that serves you best. I tend to use this structure with a bullet point list under each category. Some choose a word or few words that involve a feeling rather than an act. You may choose to write something that you’ll start doing, something you’ll keep doing, and something you’ll stop doing in each category.
Worth repeating, if for no one else but myself, THE RESPONSES HERE SHOULD CHANGE AND WILL CHANGE; your journey of self-discovery to self-actualization depends on it. This is not a static exercise. Start with small, attainable challenges to your current situation and build on it from there. If months go by and you are writing the same things - THAT IS OKAY. Perhaps come up with a few intermediate smaller steps that feel more achievable. Don’t get discouraged.
