Focus on Your Intentions
Intentions and goals can seem synonymous at first, and they are related. But one of the things I’ve learned in life coaching is how important language is. Using more precise language has a direct effect on how you feel in the moment and what action you take.
Intentions and goals are like angina and heart attacks. One can be part of the journey to reaching the other, but it’s not nearly as finite or final.
Intentions are the internal compass by which you reach the external destination of your goals.
Intentions allow you to be more nimble. It’s easier to pivot because there’s no failure in not achieving. There is only the awareness that either you’ve lost connection with your desires and need to refocus or you need to change them. Or that your intentions aren’t guiding you to your goal.
Goals are about results. They answer the question “Where?” Intentions are the principles by which you live your life on the daily. They are the answer to “Why?” and “How?”
Intentions allow you to focus your time and attention on your values and principles. This makes life better by directing appreciation of each day in some way rather than rushing through life to a future that never actually arrives because you’re always chasing the next horizon.
When I was in practice, I often fell into what I call “survival mode”. Survival mode was something I fell into in college and continued in medical school. “I just have to get through these tests, these finals, this paper.” I was only focused on the goal, not on my reasons that the goal mattered.
In residency, we’d say to each other, “You can survive anything for three months”, thinking we were being helpful. But what we were really saying is “Just make it through now and later will be better.” This leads to a life lived trying to make it through to better, without the means to do so.
Once I was in practice, I would default to the same kind of thinking. It would start with a weekend or week on call. “I just have to make it through this time.” “Or, I just have to make it to the next vacation.”
Pretty soon my whole life was lived in survival mode. That’s not living.
Rather than striving for the next goal, I could have concentrated on providing great care, experiencing connection with patients and colleagues, and enjoying something each day.
Using this as a daily intention would have served me much better. I would have been reminded of my values and purpose. And I could have succeeded pretty much every day.
The key to lasting happiness and a sense of well-being is not achieving a specific goal. It’s infusing your life with purpose and meaning that you take the time to notice and appreciate.
Intentions are ongoing considerations about how you live your life. Not something you reach/complete/finish.
To set intentions that actually increase happiness, they should focus on being, not on doing, or being done. Not action but mindset.
When choosing your intentions, make them meaningful to you. Anchor them in your values. Challenge yourself to grow. Find ways to forge connections. Contribute to your social group, community, or society.
In short, intentions will help you become the person you want to be. Today and every day.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what term you use, as long as you know what you mean and you find it helpful. That’s the thing about the best goals or intentions. They’re for you.
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