Intention, planning, & purpose

Calling all doers, over achievers and under achievers. This one’s for you.

Intention, by definition, is: to propose or plan; have in mind, mean; to have a purpose as specified. What resonates? To plan and to have purpose. These are short, big words. Planning with purpose.  I look at these words: intention, plan, purpose and I can hear my heart’s song sing.

A mentor of mine once challenged me to devise my personal purpose in life. Wow. Big words. Big task. He suggested I view myself like a business. A business has a mission, a vision, values, strategic branding….  A business who makes decisions based on their goals, values, and brands.

I found this concept invigorating! I found myself looking at organizations that I admired and then to people I admired and realized quickly how logical, easy, and fulfilling this would be.

My personal purpose came quickly and with ease; like words spilling onto paper after a life moment…. “To love, give love, and be loved.” Simple and real. I believe firmly in keeping it real. The more real and genuine we are with ourselves and others, the closer we manifest our inner needs and desires.

Breaking it down, my purpose guides me to make decisions strategically. To love means that I pledge to be kind, caring, and compassionate. To give love means that I will be a philanthropist and give back.  To be loved means simply that I strive to be a good person; someone who is open, thoughtful, and without anger, greed, or envy. Decisions, thoughts, statements, being – all of this is guided by my vision for my Future Self.

My intention is my purpose; my plan is to do things according to who I want to be, my Future Self. I must hold myself to a greater standard than yesterday; I must be better. And I can do that if I have a clear idea of who I want to be.

By writing down my purpose. using it as a mantra, and by exercising positive affirmations I am closer to manifestation.

My most recent bout of change was driven full force with these ideals in mind. I fell down a slippery slope of negative self talk and as such, I wasn’t being my best self. In a frenzy of passion, I wrote down the changes needed: To floss and wear my retainer every day (yes, I am a former brace-face). To keep my dressing room clean.  To run errands timely. To accept compliments with ease. Most of this is about loving myself, treating myself with a higher standard ) and about giving love. If I don’t give time to (centre) myself, when will I give it to others?

I tackled this with two strategies: written goal setting and affirmations. I wrote down what I want to do so that each time I feel too sleepy to floss, I would see my written goals flash across my memory and I intentionally tell myself to BE BETTER. And then I floss like a big girl.

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself.” Henry Ward Beecher.