Intent

When you learn to set conscious intent, a radical shift in awareness takes place. By setting intent you move with direction instead of aimlessly wandering, hoping that life will take you somewhere good. With intent each moment becomes an opportunity to wake up.

Most people approach life without a clear goal in mind. They have many desires, but most of the time don’t consciously move towards any one of them. When a decision is formed, it’s usually weak, and most often leads to self-sabotage. When you do what you don’t want to do in the first place, you can’t possibly achieve what you want.

Earlier in life I heard a quote from Woody Allen. He said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up”. I thought it was pretty accurate, because I knew that a lot of my success up till that point was from being in the right place at the right time. Now I think there is much more to it, though. Showing up is not just about being somewhere physically. Showing up means being there with every part of yourself. To really show up is to be conscious and clear, to have intention.

In any situation, ask the question, what do I want? Then go deeper. What do I really want? Get clear about why you are doing what you are doing. Then form the intent as a phrase. For example, “My intent is to be fully conscious in this moment”. Speak your intent out loud with as much awareness as you can bring. The more you can engage your mind and body, the more you will align yourself with your intent.

A lot of us feel as if we have been thrown into this world without a choice in the matter. We do our best to deal with events as they arise, but deep down we mostly feel lost. It takes courage to face reality as it is and consciously decide to be here now. That is the choice everyone is faced with at all times. Every time we choose to be conscious, we move from a life of reaction to a life of intention. Then we move towards what we want, and what we want moves towards us.