The power of intentions
The power of intention
"Goals focus on the destination. Intentions focus on the journey"
I feel like I need therapy for this announcement…I am a coach who is not a massive fan of SMART goals. There, I said it.
I have lived in the corporate world for the past 30+ years. I am well versed in the need for goals. Most of our performance and reward systems are built around having clear goals. When I trained as a coach back in 2005, I learned the importance and value of helping a client establish a clear goal.
I get the value of them; I just find them restrictive. Now before you scroll by let me explain with a personal story…
I love walking. It is 11 years almost to the day since I got my first pair of walking boots and walked up a mountain. I have never looked back. Most of the transformational moments of my life have been inspired by walks. My daily walk is my meditation and where I connect most deeply with my intuition.
Last year I decided to set myself a goal. I decided to complete 10,000 steps each day between the clocks going forward and the clocks going back with an aim to walk 888 miles in total. I achieved my mile goal in September and increased it to 1111 miles and I achieved that too.
I walked in every type of weather imaginable. I walked when I was unwell. I walked with a bad back when I should have been resting. I walked around my bedroom at night (driving Rob mad) when I was 300 steps short for the day.
It became obsessive and it wasn’t enjoyable. My love for walking felt like a task rather than the mindful pleasure it used to be.
This year I decided to do something different. I set an intention to walk 1500 miles throughout the year. Yes, I had a stretching number of miles in mind. Yes, I had a timeframe. I didn’t have something so rigid that it meant there was no space for creativity or freedom.
So far, this year I have walked 1235 miles, and we still have 3 months left. I have not walked every day; I have given myself space to choose if I desired to walk or not. It has felt liberating and enjoyable.
These are the things I have learned:
By having an intention for the year (1500 miles) and not a daily total (10k steps) I have given myself the opportunity to check in each day and choose what feels right for me. If I have been unwell and needed rest, I have chosen to listen to my body.
When I was aiming to walk 10k steps a day, I would often end my walk as soon as I achieved it. Now I don’t have a daily total, I often find I walk between 12k- 14k steps a day. I am doing MORE not less than the rigid goal I set last year.
I have felt more in control of the when, where and how rather than having the rigid guidelines, I previously set for myself.
I have come to realise that goals are focused on a destination. Intentions are focused on the journey. I love this distinction.
In reality, I use a blend of the two. I have liked having a stretching mileage target that I want to achieve this year but must of all I have loved the freedom that the intention has given me in HOW I do this.
When I have this debate with people, I often get asked if ‘intentions’ are just a way of being soft on yourself and a way of letting yourself off the hook because if it is only and ‘intention’, does it matter if you don’t achieve it?
I look at it differently.
An intention is not soft. It is still something that you desire and want to do. The only difference is the intention gives you greater freedom on HOW you get to achieve it.
Consider this…
If you have a SMART goal to go to the gym 3 times per week for a month in order to lose 7lbs, what happens if something unexpected comes up and you only go twice in the 2nd week? Technically you have failed the goal. This is why so many people give up on their goals. They are too black and white.
If you set the intention to focus on your health and fitness for a month and reduce your weight by 7lbs, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get to the gym on a particular date or time. You can still achieve ti because you have not failed the moment you miss a milestone. The intention has more space and freedom.
Some practical tips for intention setting:
Focus on what you desire and most importantly on how you want to feel. Visualise what it will feel like to manifest the intention.
Describe what you desire and hold it loosely. The more parameters you put in, the more it becomes a rigid goal.
Be flexible and adaptable. Embrace the freedom that an intention gives you and explore new ways to achieve your desire.
Be kind to yourself. Intentions are a way of creating space for rest, relaxation and reflection.
Most importantly, enjoy the journey.
In summary, setting intentions over goals has been a gamechanger for me. Instead of being constrained, I have felt liberated, and I have still held myself accountable for the results I desire. I have never used intentions as a way to let myself off the hook. In fact, intentions have enabled me to grow and achieve more than I thought possible.
Intentions are a beautiful way for you to see what is possible for you and your life rather than constraining it with what you already know.
PS I also no longer have to walk around the bedroom at night to achieve my daily step count and Rob is entirely grateful ;-)
Your call to action
Why not try setting an intention for the final quarter of this year? What did you want to achieve this year that you haven’t YET? Focus on what you desire and where you want to be in 3 month’s time and then intend for that to be your reality. I think you will surprise yourself with what is possible.
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