How many intentions do you currently have set for yourself?
I have about a dozen I think. I intend to:
Work out 3 times this week
Write about 5 blog posts
Meal prep my snacks for the week so I don’t slip on my diet
Complete all of my to-do list (this might just be a wish!)
Not have to run errands this weekend (another hopeful wish I think)
Clean out my closet
Lose weight
Ask the neighbor if she’d like to take a walk together
Spend time working in the backyard
Get my nails fixed
Schedule a weekend trip for our family somewhere
You get the idea.
These are things I want to do and in some cases need to do and should be doing. Most are on my to-do list and some are on my mind as something I want to accomplish like losing weight. How many of these things I’ll actually complete or when I’ll complete them no one knows. It is as if they are nice to do items I will get to eventually. Sometimes I often think intentions are just another form of to-do tasks that are important but not quite important enough to get on my official to-do list. And yet something I still want to do them, at some point.
Intentions are often like wishes that we hope someday come true. Intentions represent our desire for something and dream of what we want in our life. Most of the time though intentions are just that, hopeful wishes that fade away into the background. We can easily become interested in other intentions that seem easier to obtain, offer better or bigger results or are just more interesting. I call that the shiny penny syndrome where our intentions shift based on something more exciting that comes up and seems like more fun, easier to do and more promising.
However, they too will often fade away being replaced by still other things we find interesting.
When an intention becomes serious is when we actually start working on it. We intentionally focus on it and put steps in place to complete, achieve or gain it rather than just having it be in our mindful thoughts. It is no longer just a wish or hope but rather a true intention we want and are working on obtaining. These are the intentions that mean something to us. They have spurred us to action and we put goals, plans, details and support around it to bring it into reality.
Per the quote I posted on social media today on this topic:
"Only when your intent & actions are in alignment can you create the reality you desire."
Bringing our intentions to reality can be challenging. It can be overwhelming, exhausting, frustrating and seem impossible. It can bring complications we don’t anticipate and we can question the value in the process. However, those intentions that truly rise from the depths of our hearts and speak to our soul in passion and desire so intense we cannot ignore it are the ones we will do anything to achieve. The frustrations and complications will challenge us but we will press forward in belief we are on the right path and this will be achieved one way or the other.
Most of us don’t have that drive to see through our intentions to reality. We give up when things create challenge or seem impossible. We don’t have the stamina to go through the complications to create the consistency, persistence and determination to keep going at it. We don’t notice improvement, progress or change so we think what we’re doing isn’t working or we don’t know what we’re doing. We question and doubt ourselves constantly. These elements lead us to the breaking point of giving up. Realizing our intention was not worth it. It was too much to get to a result we no longer see as a prize. How many of our intentions have we given up because it was too hard to do?
What if those intentions were hard to achieve but they were worth it?
What would have happened if we had not given up?
How would our life be different now if we had kept at it?
I think sometimes we give up to easily and too soon. I’m guilty of it. Given the amount of diets and workout programs I’ve tried and given up on without losing weight I’d say I’ve given up too easily and too soon. It was uncomfortable, it hurt, I lacked motivation, I was hungry and countless other things I told myself at the time for the reason I couldn’t continue. Yet when I really sat with the idea that if I had pressed on through those challenges I would probably be at the goal weight I had set for myself by now. If I had not given in to temptations and let myself slip back into old habits I would be slipping back into my favorite jeans that don’t currently fit.
While I don’t beat myself up about giving up I am choosing to use this as a lesson of the importance. It is going to take me generating that consistency, persistence and determination on the level I need to overcome these challenges next time. It will take me aligning my intentions with solid action that I’m committed to keeping at through the hard times and frustrations. That’s when I will know this is more than just a wishful intention but something tangible I can achieve, gain, win at, and have in my life.
How many intentions have you given up on that are actually things you deeply want to do? I encourage you to revisit them and pick the one that is still deep in your heart calling for you to work on it. Let is inspire a deep rooted inspiration in you that motivates you into action. Let is fuel your work on consistency, persistence and determination. As I revisit my own natural health journey I’m loving the doTERRA Arise oil in that process. It is uplifting to me when I focus on this intentions I have and the ones I want to really focus on to the level of bringing it into reality.
If you don’t know where to start, I invite you to complete my free Lifestyle & Wellness Questionnaire. This will give you a personal report with tools, tips and recommendations to help you get started, stay the course and turn those intentions into reality. You can take the questionnaire here: https://www.dragonspitapothecary.com/