LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE

Iused to set New Year’s resolutions. Lose weight.

Save money.

Eat right.

Stay organized.

The list goes on.

We all know by the end of January, most people give up on resolutions.

Have you ever wondered why?

Let’s take a look at the difference between resolutions, otherwise known as goals, and something more powerful: intentions.

A few years ago I was asked to speak to an international group of women about the power of setting intentions.

I stumbled upon the power of intention while recovering from a serious head injury almost a decade ago. Prior to that, most of my life I was a fierce goal setter who accomplished many things.

Over time, and with age and health problems, the process of setting goals didn’t seem to fit into my life. I felt like I was chasing after things. I was completing tasks for the sake of getting things done.

Some days I did absolutely nothing. Life was not as enjoyable as it once had been. Achieving goals seemed to be coming at a very high price and I was missing out on the present moment.

I needed a more meaningful way to go about living and getting things done.

Let’s take a look at goal setting before we explore intentions and how you can achieve your dreams for 2019 by setting one simple daily intention.

Goals are future-oriented and require us to look into the future, sometimes at the expense of enjoying the present moment.

They flow from the head which can be problematic when we have something important that wants to flow from the heart and into the world.

Goals can also be out of alignment with your values. When this happens you will more often than not find yourself procrastinating and never achieving your goal.

Here’s an example. One morning in July 2011, I was scheduled to see a doctor. I was in no mood to drive 45 minutes to be told there was no help. I needed pain relief.

Luckily for me, I was in the habit of setting one daily intention before getting out of bed. To guarantee this, I refused to let my feet touch the floor until my intention was set.

This July morning the intention that flowed from me was this: “I intend to heal more deeply today.” Before I knew it I cancelled my doctor’s appointment and drove to a local church where they were having a day long workshop on the power of deep healing.

That choice set me on a powerful healing journey. I also felt lighter, brighter and in less pain when I left the workshop.

Let’s get back to the talk I did for the women’s group. This is what I told them about the power of intention. Intentions flow from the heart and are connected to the present. They bring action in line with values and create a connection from to something greater.

The key is to let one intention flow from your heart in the morning before you get out of bed and then try and stay with that idea through the day.

Over time, the important things begin to get done easily, and resolutions are no longer needed.

Give it a try and let me know how you’re doing.