Photography by Wesley Shen from Pexels
Whenever we decide to go on a journey toward progress, the road to achieving our goals proves more challenging than establishing what we want in our lives.
The key is breaking your bigger goals into smaller, more actionable ones. However, even that could be proven easier said than done. We can often fall into the trap of taking on more daily habits than we could take or get into ones that don't necessarily contribute to our inner growth in the hopes of achieving real progress.
While a lot goes into creating progress, there's one that we should start doing in every phase of our journey toward our goals. Meet the missing factor in the equation: setting clear intentions.
On Setting Clear Intentions
Photography by Volant Aroma from Pexels
Setting clear intentions and establishing goals could give us the illusion that the two are one & the same, but the best way to see it as two that must co-exist.
One can always establish goals, but it takes setting clear intentions to make them happen. Think of it as this: one can always wish to climb a mountain, but ensuring that you're intent on conditioning your mind and body for it becomes the key to you successfully going the distance.
How to Set Clearer Intentions
Photography by cottonbro studio from Pexels
Many of us might think that setting clear intentions will give us little to no space to enjoy the journey as it appears to be set on one big goal. While it can apply to the bigger picture, a beautiful and fulfilling journey toward progress is multi-faceted and complex. We can have our eyes on progressing through our careers, but it doesn't mean we always have to choose between that or our relationships, hobbies, or selves.
How, then, do we practice setting intentions throughout the different aspects of our lives?
Take out the excess, unneeded, or redundant. Try to think of the things in your life that don't align with your goals first. Ensuring you identify what you can live with or without will help you get a clearer view of where you want to pour good intentions into.
Form your intention. Then actualize. Whether it's a looming deadline or a moment with yourself, try to be more firm on your intention to make things or moments happen. Get into tasks or activities with an intention in mind.
Self-check. It takes practice to set and actualize clearer intentions, so take some time to reflect on whether you were able to do whatever you were intent on doing was achieved. How did you feel? Use your learnings or that feeling to fuel more well-set intentions.
Intentions in action
Photography by Marx Sebastian from Pexels
What's great about setting clearer intentions is that it's something you can see & feel the more you do it. Practice it through different aspects of your life. Try starting with:
Your career. Set hours intended for doing one task at a time. Ask yourself: what do I need to pour my attention to? How do I intend on doing it?
Your relationships. When spending planned one-on-one time with your friends, family, or significant other, be committed to spending that time present and intent on being in the moment with them.
Your alone time. Make your rest days feel like rest days. If you're set on slowing down for the weekend, find things that give you peace, even if you feel urged to constantly be on the go.
Your skin goals. Find rituals that are on the same page as you through clearer, personalized approaches set on giving you skin progress you could see & feel.
Your body. Go beyond the confines of moving your body as a means to look a certain way and instead redirect the energy towards what it feels. Find activities or movements that are intent on making you feel good, or simply in healthy movement.
A work in progress
Remember, setting clear intentions is a practice and something that takes conscious effort. Try it out in one aspect of your life. When you do, try to highlight how it feels. Keep using that feeling & learning until progress is slowly felt and seen.