The Magic of Setting Intentions
I was on the phone with a friend. His life had hit pretty close to rock bottom. His ex was being vindictive. His finances were trashed. His house was a disaster. He had no idea what to do next. For a few months he’d call every week and we’d chat. Every week it was the same conversation. “My life is shit. Things just aren’t getting better.” My friend was on a little drift boat in the ocean of life, letting the waves toss and turn him around. Setting intentions was a completely foreign concept to him. He was just waiting for things to magically get better on their own.
Now, life is pretty magical… but it’s the most magical when you are actively involved in making it so. Therefore it was time for me to take off the Sympathetic/Good Listener hat and put on the Tough Love hat. I told my friend that he’d better figure out exactly where he wanted to go in life and then pick up a paddle and row like hell to get there. Essentially, I told him to set some intentions and go after them.
I’d learned in my own life that drifting aimlessly – although it can start out as fun – is no way to get the life you desire. In order to get what you want, you first have to decide and declare what you want! This, friends, is called setting intentions… And there is massive power in doing so.
Let’s discuss a scenario. Say you are having money problems. You could…
- Keep spending and throw your paycheck in your bank account every month, praying that it will cover all your expenses. Wait to win the lottery. (Driftboat Method)
- Set the intention of being in complete power over your finances. Make a budget, start building up a savings account, and look for ways to earn more money. (Row like hell towards your goal Method)
B is a lot more work, but it’s much more likely to change your life than A! This is the difference between being reactive and being proactive. Reactive people wait around for something to happen, and then have to scramble around trying to fix it. Proactive people set intentions and work to stay on track, even when bumps in the road occur.
Setting intentions works in every area of life!
Whether you want your finances, health, job, love life, mood, home, or family to improve, setting intentions is the way to start. At Pure Impressions, we like to choose one word for the entire year as a beginning point. For example, my word for 2022 is “Power.” Because my overarching intention is Power, I can make goals in each area of my life:
- Relationship goal: Set boundaries more often and follow through (with the intent of taking more power over the situations)
- Health goal: Strength training and celery juice three times per week (with the intent of becoming physically more powerful)
- Business goal: Grow my business by at least 2X in 2022 (with the intent of being a powerful influence in my industry and having more financial power)
If you don’t have much experience setting intentions, start with one word. We will be guiding our e-mail list through that process for the rest of this month. If you’re not on that list, sign up for an extra weekly dose of love here.
If you already have your word for 2022, start thinking about some smaller intentions you could set:
- Debt free by forty-three
- Smile at five people every day
- Learn something new every month
- Amarillo by mornin’ 😄
Ask yourself which areas of life make you feel like you’re a driftboat, and which areas you feel like you’re confidently headed in the right direction. Take some time to really think and feel into what you want in 2022. Whatever the desires of your heart – you are worthy of them.