Living a Life with Intention

"I desired to create an energy about my life that could be linked to specific goals, but not just be about the goals. "

---

It took me a long time to write this month’s blog because I didn’t want to be redundant. But, if my intuition is correct, many of us are making our lives more strenuous with how we establish our goals and with it being the start of the year there are so many blogs about goals. I tackled some aspects of goal setting in my last blog of 2019 and I wasn’t sure it made sense to tackle it again. But with all the vision board parties, news articles and social media posts about goals, I know my intuition is right: it’s time we reconsider how we establish our goals. 

As 2019 ended, I began to consider what are my goals? What are the things that I desire to focus on for 2020? The last few years have been goal heavy: new business, grow the business to earn “X” amount each month, develop a professional community, buy a home, renovate my home, etc. Initially, I was determined to set goals that were greater than what I had achieved. As I focused on that, my anxiety increased as well as doubt about what I could do or what is possible. Being blessed enough to really say I have the majority of what I dreamed I could have a few years ago (that is within my control), I decided to take a step back in my goal setting to obtain clarity about what I wanted next. 

I have achieved every goal I set so I wanted to be clear going into 2020 about the things I desired and how I would achieve them. However, the more that I found myself thinking about goals, targets and benchmarks the more resistant I became to establishing concrete goals for 2020. I decided I wanted my life to take on a different feel, I wanted to be intentional about how I am living. I desired to create an energy about my life that could be linked to specific goals, but not just be about the goals. ​

"Intention is defined as an “aim or a plan,” one synonym for intention is “purpose.” Goal is defined as the object of a person's ambition or effort."

Intention is defined as an “aim or a plan,” one synonym for intention is “purpose.” Goal is defined as the object of a person's ambition or effort. Setting intention for me is a mindful act to create a life that I desire. While the goals that we achieve can be linked to creating a life, without intention you may miss the mark of the life that you want while having the things you want. I think about this as the intention is your purpose and the goals are how you will achieve that purpose. Although I have always been clear about setting goals and attaining them, setting intention was a bit more difficult for me and took some time. 

In the beginning, the only thing that I could come up with was one word: “ease.” I know that I want my life to have a flow that is not necessarily easy, but with ease. Free from anxiety, reduced stress and the ability to move through seamlessly making choices and completing desired tasks. With “ease” being my focus I was determined not to be stressed to have the intentions or the goals set before January 1st, 2020. Setting “ease” as an intention meant that I held myself accountable to create the thing that I was seeking. It shifted how I thought about what I did and the choices I made for myself. ​

"The ability to sit in silence, understand what you need and tune into self is powerful."

On Sunday, January 5th, 2020 I attended the Reup a day long wellness event for women,  produced quarterly by Shirvonne McCarthy. During this event there was a meditation led by Omikunle Ekundayo, MS that helped me to frame my intention for 2020. The ability to sit in silence, understand what you need and tune into self is powerful. It permitted me to admit to myself about what I desire and the life that I am working towards. I was able to solidify that it is about more than the goals that I am trying to reach, it is about how I want to achieve those goals and live my life moving forward. 

​My intention for 2020 is to:
Move with faith and have gratitude with ease. Expecting and experiencing full abundance in finances, love and all experiences. 

"I was able to frame my 2020 goals around these intentions and for the first time my goals don’t feel heavy or unattainable..."

With this in my purview, I was able to frame my 2020 goals around these intentions and for the first time my goals don’t feel heavy or unattainable because the intentions set forth outline the methods that I am using to guide me. With ease, faith and gratitude at the helm I am already viewing experiences and opportunities differently and that allows me the ability to progress without the pressures present in the past. 
In a world where we are very oriented towards outcomes, it is vital that you consider the process of achieving just as important as what you are working towards achieving if you are really going to attain ALL that you desire.