What Are Your Intentions?

A teenaged daughter stares out the window of her upstairs bedroom, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her date. Her father is downstairs near the door when the young man arrives and rings the doorbell. The father, wanting to protect his precious daughter, asks the nervously sweating adolescent, "Young man, exactly what are your intentions with my daughter?"

Intentions.  The dictionary defines intention as a goal, objective, aim, or plan.  In the absence of such, it is difficult, if not impossible to reach one's desire.  Well, maybe the young adolescent in this example has a plan; hopefully it's a noble one and the father will be pleased.

Here is where things get a little foggy.  What is an intention and what is a goal?  I think of intention having to do more with who you are and why you want to do something, whereas goals speak more to the nuts and bolts of how, where and when.



If you don't really take time to figure out who you are, how you were created, and what you want, chances are you'll just drift through life with very little impact or fulfillment.

It's easy enough to say, "I want to be healthy," or "I want to be financially secure," or "I want to create happiness."  These are fine ideals, but they lack definition.  They are but vague wishes. Your intention must include not only the what and why, but the how as well.  You may have heard the saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."   Perhaps you want to do something honorable or virtuous, but if you give in to procrastination or laziness or just plain lack of planning, you will get nowhere.

We can set intentions in just about every area of our lives:  spiritual, physical, financial, mental, relational, emotional.  An intention says, "I mean to do this.  It's part of the essential me and who I am at the core.  This is my aim.  I will take necessary steps to get there."

Intentions can help us prioritize, use our time wisely, and seek out resources that help us accomplish our desires.  Setting specific intentions require us to focus and take action.  Having declared an intention can also help when times get tough.  Obstacles will arise, but knowing your intention can help you say no to those things which would pull you away from your aim, and say yes to those things which would help bring fulfillment. 

I've been sitting on several different blog ideas for the past couple of months, but today I decided to take action.  That meant I needed to conceive an idea in my head, think about what it could mean, do research on the topic, make an outline, set aside time to write, find pictures, and put the whole thing together.  I needed to carve out time to do it all.  I had to find a quiet space to think and compose.  It meant I had to say no to catching up with who-ate-what-for-breakfast on Facebook.

Another of today's intentions is to each a salad for lunch.  By the time lunch rolls around, I'll be hungry NOW and will be tempted to eat something processed because it is fast.  Making a salad the
night before or in the morning helps me stay on track.  I also have the intention to exercise today.  To help me toward that end, I got dressed in workout clothes this morning.  I have looked at today's calendar and see that there is a block of time for an hour this afternoon at 4:00.  If I wait for the exercise mood to strike, frankly I may be waiting all day and never actually do it.

Intentions can be big, as in, "I intend to help eradicate homelessness in my town," or "I intend to record an album and go on tour."  Or they can be on a smaller scale, like, "I intend to speak calmly to my kids today," or "I intend to get a load of laundry done before lunchtime."

I know this is fuzzy, and I'm just working through it myself.  But as I take time to explore my own intentions, here is what I'm finding helpful:

• Think about who I am and what I want to do.  What are some of those dreams I've had that I've secreted away and never told anyone?  These have to do with the inner me. 
• Write them down.  Use words to describe the feeling behind these intentions, such as:  "capable," "strong," "determined," "excited," "loving," "peaceful," "helpful," "fulfilled," "alive."
• Share these thoughts with someone.
• Be conscious and mindful of the choices I make each day.  Are they paving the way to my intended destination, or are they a wrong turn?

Take time to ask yourself what it is you really want out of life.  Try to picture what it would look like and feel like to accomplish those dreams.  Without a plan they remain only a wish.  But with a plan they become a goal, and with a goal you can create steps to success.

Now, what about the young man arriving for the date with the young lady?  When her father asks him what his intentions are, he'd better have a ready answer.  "I intend to take her out to dinner and then go for a walk.  I intend to honor her, treat her like the lady she is, and act like a gentleman.  Because that's who I am."