Our minds are super powerful. In order to walk down the path towards what you want most in life, it can be helpful to have some idea of what that is. This is especially helpful when we find ourselves in liminal space and moments of transition. We’re thinking big picture here. For example, you may want a relationship that has certain qualities or elements. Focus on these—the process— rather than a relationship with a certain person—the content. In this example, consider it’s not the specific PERSON you want but rather how a relationship with them either makes you or may make you FEEL. There are a lot of different methods and practices to go about setting intentions and even for identifying what it is you want. My workshops and individual holistic wellness consulting sessions can help you identify these. There’s also a lot of information available via google. Some practices to begin to center yourself in order to tap into your inner core include eating nourishing foods, getting enough good quality sleep, moving your body, journaling, and mindful awareness.
You can set broad, overarching life intentions; yearly intentions; monthly intentions; and even daily intentions. Note that intentions are not necessarily goals. While goals are more concrete and objectively achievable, intentions are more in the realm of values. They reflect states of being, attitudes, and mindsets.
The act of concretizing your deepest inner wants through writing down an intention is powerful, and can help align your mind and your actions. When you set an intention that comes from your deep inner wisdom , you can more clearly see when your thoughts, actions, and overall direction in life are out of alignment with how you want to show up in the world and what you want out of life. Without clear intentions we can succumb to our defenses, acting out of fear of the unknown in efforts to protect ourselves, which can lead to all kinds of self sabotage. Interestingly, sometimes getting a negative result may be preferable to uncertainty, and so we subconsciously do and say things that lead to ANY result rather than hang out in that liminal uncertain place. Expanding our capacity to meet uncertainty with grace, patience, and compassion is an example of an overall intention: it describes how we want to be in the face of uncertainty. Therefore, when we get pulled into behaviors or actions that are NOT graceful, patient, or compassionate we can step back and notice with curiosity and kindness, and decide if acting in those ways is what we truly want to do. We have a choice.
There are so many practices available to help you begin to define what you want out of life and how you want to show up. Discovering these is a process unto itself. My workshops are excellent spaces for this. You might write down and adjust your intention overtime. Life after all is a process. You can also google and write down some intentions that resonate with you. You might have an overall life intention and overall intentions for different areas of your life such as career, relationship, and how you treat yourself. The effects of these ‘broad’ intentions can be far-reaching. For example, if you have an intention to pay less attention to your inner critic and treat yourself with compassion, that might reduce your tendency to emotionally overeat. Having an intention to see the good around you may help you tolerate ambiguity and moments of uncertainty when dating rather than self sabotage by demanding certainty in some form.
The task for you is to come up with at least one overarching intention and write it down in your journal. Note how it makes you feel when you read it. When I read my intentions I feel a sense of inner expansiveness, excitement, and peace— almost like en exhale.
