The power of intention has the ability to transform your life for the better. Without it, you may feel like you lack direction and get bored easily, all the while living an unfulfilled existence.
When you set an intention, it gives you a purpose. Think about how driven and fulfilled you’ve felt in the past when you’ve had a purpose. Alternatively, think about a day in your life where you needed to accomplish something but you lacked purpose. There is likely a remarkable difference between what you achieved and how you felt about your achievement!
You can set an intention for anything in life. You can get out of bed and be abstract and say that you “intend” to have a great day. You can also be specific and list out the things that you intend to accomplish.
For example, if you practice yoga in the afternoon, set an intention for your practice. Say that with every breath you exhale, you are releasing negative energy, while you inhale positivity. In the end, you’re not only relaxed, but also rejuvenated.
There are ways that you can bring out your intentions to make your planning easier and your quest for your goals more fruitful.
1. Take your dreams seriously. Don’t allow yourself to push your dreams away. They’re not meant to remain fantasies forever; you need to bring them into reality! When you take your dreams seriously, they turn into plans and intentions. When you intend to do something, it becomes real and brings your dreams to life.
2. Gain clarity. Do whatever is within your power to clarify your dreams and intentions. You can do this by simply brainstorming and sorting out your thoughts.
* Keep a journal and get into the habit of writing everything down. Writing down your intentions is psychologically powerful.
* Post your ultimate dream or intention somewhere where you’ll see it every day.
3. Declare your intentions. Make your intentions known to the world so you’ll be held accountable for them. You might think that keeping them inside is better because then no one will know if you fail, but in that scenario, you’ve given up and failed yourself.
* Tell your friends and family of your goals and keep them up to date on your progress.
* Alternatively, keep an online blog for sharing your intentions.
4. Take action every day. Whether your intentions are large or small, do something every day that’s a step forward toward your intentions. Even if your step for the day is a very small one, it’s a positive progress that’ll add up to something big over time.
5. Keep building new intentions. Once you achieve a goal, set new ones and set them often. The more you build intentions around the things you do, the more productive you’ll become and the more things will seem to go your way.
* Remember that every intention doesn’t have to be about hard work. You can keep your brain active while you engage in rest activities as well. For instance, when you intend to have a good time relaxing, you likely will.
Learning how to use the power of intention is exhilarating! It frees you to be the best you can be and brings you a life worth living well. Enjoy it with all the gusto you’ve got!
When you live consciously in the present moment, you’re free from the stresses of life. It enables you to feel calm and to think with an astounding clarity.
Living in the moment sounds easy, but it will take some effort until you get into the habit. After all, with so much going on around us, it’s easy to get distracted by fears, worries, frustrations, and stress. But once you get used to it, though, you’ll wonder how you could have lived any other way!
What can you do to make living in the moment your way of life?
1. Meditate. The very point of meditation is to live in the present moment and accept things just as they are. It’s a practice that you’ll get better at the more you do it. To help quiet your mind, the best thing you can do is focus on your breathing and keep striving to release your thoughts with each breath you take.
2. Accept the past. You’ll feel better about yourself once you learn to accept past situations. There’s nothing you can do to change the past. Bringing the past into your present only clouds your present thinking and makes it harder for you to concentrate on the present moment.
* Thoughts of the past will still arise, but when you learn to accept it for what it is, you’ll be able to return to the present moment without regret or grief.
3. Accept the future. On the other side of the coin, you also need to accept the future. You ultimately have no idea about what’s going to happen, and worrying about it won’t make an ounce of difference.
* How much time do you waste in a day by sitting around thinking about what you’re going to do? When you stop thinking, you have more time to actually do it!
4. Be mindful. When you’re mindful, you pay close attention to what you’re doing in the present. You may think it’s just a mundane chore, but it’s important to do it with an open mind. Open up your senses to what you’re doing. You might be overwhelmed with positive feelings that you didn’t know existed.
5. Get in touch with nature. Take some time to get in touch with nature. You can go for a walk or just sit under a tree. There aren’t many things that can open you up to the present moment like opening up to the vastness of nature.
As long as you maintain a relaxed attitude, you can achieve conscious living if you keep trying.
It may help to think of yourself and your brain as separate entities. Your brain can be thinking thoughts all over the place while your “self” watches. When you maintain the wisdom to realize that your thoughts are out of control, the self can pull you back into the present.
Of course these goals are best achieved through meditative practice, but you can also try any activity that you find relaxing if meditation isn’t for you. While you’re relaxing, pay attention to your breathing and try to take deep breaths. Remind yourself that, in this moment, the past and the future don’t matter in the least.
After you’ve successfully added present moment thinking to a relaxing part of your day, it’s time to spread the awareness to other times of the day. The more time you can spend in the present, the better. Live in the here and now, and enjoy a more fulfilling life!
My life is a great adventure and I want to be able to appreciate every moment. Taking life one day at a time provides me the opportunity to do this. I let go of worrying about the past or the future and immerse myself in the present day.
Each morning, as the dawn brings me a new day, I look forward with excitement to living with purpose. Each day brings me new opportunities. It’s like I get a fresh start on life every morning, and I love this feeling!
I make no pre-suppositions about what the day will bring. If it brings challenges, I know I have the confidence to find solutions to overcome them. If it brings pleasant things, I can enjoy them and be grateful for their presence.
Living my life one day at a time also gets me through the hard times in my life. If it’s a particularly difficult day, I remind myself that, “This, too, shall pass,” and I know that it is only one step – one day – in my life’s journey.
I make the best of every day, for I know that I will not have this opportunity again. When I make a conscious effort to take advantage of everything each day brings, I find that there are more and more great days after that!
Making a habit of taking life one day at a time reduces my stress, makes my life more exciting, and brings me more joy than anything else I could do.
Today, I choose to let the past stay in the past, let the future bring what it may, and immerse myself in this present day.
Self-Reflection Questions:
1. Do I live my life one day at a time?
2. How much time do I waste each day worrying about the past or the future?
3. Do I wake up each morning with excitement about the new day?
There is nothing like the feeling of wearing a new outfit for the first time! It shows a new image of me. I am still the same person inside those new clothes, but I am rejuvenated with the new addition.
When I incorporate new changes into my life, I get that same feeling as when I wear a new outfit. The changes only enhance who I am! Even though it is still the same me, part of me is fresh and new, like wearing new clothes.
My new image shows courage to tackle new things. As humans, we tend to resist change. It takes courage and strength of character to be willing to embrace change to meet our goals or accept it when it is forced upon us by circumstance.
My new image displays creativity. I can think “outside the box” in order to accomplish what I desire. If I need to change my planned path from time to time to solve a problem or overcome a challenge, I gladly go shopping for the changes that will enhance me.
My new image reveals my passion for life. Change is an exciting part of life and it allows me to become the person I want to be. If I do not change and grow, I get as stale as old clothes. And who wants that? Not me! I welcome the freshness of change!
Today, I choose to embrace the changes that will allow the new me to sparkle. I can learn something new, adopt a positive habit that brings me joy, or solve a challenge.
Self-Reflection Questions:
Do I resist change, even when it can improve my life?
Am I comfortable with changing my path in order to achieve my goals?
How have changes in my life enhanced me?