The Power Of Intention, and Asking “WHY?”
Story: I had never deeply questioned my
true intention around the habits and big goals in my life.
I was putting one foot in front of the other without asking “WHY?”
Science: A study measured cultivating exercise as a habit with a
control group, motivation group, and intention group.
Strategy: Mindfulness, meditation, vision board, journaling, and goal setting.
True intention. A magical, yet simple key has the power to unlock opportunities, meaningful and life-changing experiences, and create connections that I once believed unlikely.
Why are you doing what you are doing today? How do you feel, and why? Why did you choose this major, this career? What is your time going to, and why?
Are you living out your intention?
I didn’t walk through this life completely aimless, but I never deeply questioned the intention behind my motives. Freshman year, I selected a major I never once strayed from and designed a career path out of extensive research with a promising outlook and salary. I convinced myself that this path would bring me the success and satisfaction I expected from a career. Would it bring me meaning and fulfillment in my life?
I had created this belief that my life was somehow separate from my job. I would spend nearly 100,000 hours in a career, and I had never taken the time before to carefully calculate the numbers and question what my impact would be. 35% of our waking lives are spent working, what exactly would I be working towards?
I never questioned the true intent behind these actions. What was success for me? Was I following a view molded by society, my family, friends? Was it created out of a limited view I held for myself? A career crafted from a restricted lens of experiences that I had only been exposed to, coaxed by familiarity? Was I afraid to believe that I could be capable of something more? Was I protecting myself from failure by not even trying?
What was my intention?
I realized I was monotonously going through the motions. I never really questioned deeply why I was doing what I was. My long-term and short-term goals, my daily habits. My thoughts and emotions. I would have came up with logical reasons, but I never checked in with myself to question them deeply. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Of course, I’m still clumsily putting one foot in front of the other but with a deeper and more meaningful intent than I once had.
I’ll walk you through one habit that I questioned, examined and clarified my intention. Watching Netflix, I wasted countless hours with an unsatisfied intention. Why was I watching Netflix for a couple hours a night after work and classes? My belief and intention was to relieve stress, a habit I continued to do for a few years until I started asking questions.
TV subtly disturbed my sleep, and locked me into wasted hours with the craving to click “play next episode”. I didn’t carefully manage or consider the importance of my time that could have been spent on more meaningful and healthier habits that would provide the true sense of relief I was originally looking for. I was entertained momentarily, captured and immersed into a different reality that stole the attention away briefly from my stressing obligations.
Honestly, I used Netflix as mostly a protective measure. I was fearful of sitting alone with my feelings. I’d sit on my bed after a day of classes, and I felt uncomfortable with just being. Fearful of the conditioned dark thoughts that came around like clockwork at this time of night. I wanted to block out the constantly arising thoughts of what I should be doing, who I should be, questioning if I was or wasn’t good enough. At that time in my life, my internal dialogue was not comforting, and I would ignore and numb in moments I was left with myself.
Through questioning and intention, I’ve explored these thoughts and implemented strategies to face and sit with the discomfort until I reconcile or it leaves me. With intention, I work each day still to reconstruct the negative thoughts I had conditioned for several years, and I put in the effort to refrain from numbing or distracting myself in these moments.
If I was watching Netflix for 15 hours a week, in 50 years I would have spent 39,000 hours of my waking life to Netflix. It’s hard for me to imagine I would be on my deathbed wishing for just one more hour of Netflix..
I know this may sound like a drastic view, but it’s this thought process I’ve started to use while understanding my daily habits and the intention behind them. I have to be aware and mindful of my habits and the long-term effects they have on my life. Time is precious. Now, I spend 30 minutes to 1 hour reading before bed each night, truly granting me relaxation while also learning meaningful topics from extraordinary people who placed their years of knowledge into a single book. Surrounded by an incredible amount of technology constantly throughout the day, it feels good to grab a physical book without a bright desktop or TV at the end of the evening. If you don’t take my word for it, you can check out other reasons to grab a book before bed.
I want my habits to foster meaning and fulfillment, meaningful connections to others, and an opportunity for growth. This curiosity is something I always hope to carry with me, to choose habits and opportunities with great intent.
I started asking a big “WHY?” to everything I was doing. I mean everything.
Why was I reaching for certain comfort foods, and how did they make me feel? Why did I have distinct repetitive thoughts, and how were they shaping my entire life? How had I been molding my perception through the content I was consuming? Why did I hold specific beliefs, and could they be broken down and reformed? Were these beliefs limiting or empowering me?
Intention comes with awareness and diving into the big “WHY?” It comes thoughtfully, connecting with the process and leaving the uncertainty of the result up to the universe. With intention, we set specific plans, goals, dreams. We carefully visualize what we hope to happen, and set clear steps and goals towards it.
“Our intention is everything. Nothing happens on this planet without it.
Not one single thing has ever been accomplished without intention.” – Jim Carrey
What am I here on this planet for? What will be my contribution, and WHY? What will be my intention?
I expect my intentions to mold and form over time into different expressions and paths. Our intentions are intricate as a force behind minor and major decisions. Generally and currently, I intend to be a positive and healthy influence for others. I intend to be open and share my story in hopes that I can connect with others to help them look through a different lens and learn healthy strategies for them to implement in their lives.
Strategies for Intention
Mindfulness and meditation grants me an awareness of my internal dialogue, the quickness and repetitiveness of my thoughts that I’m not always conscious of. It teaches me focus and grants me brief moments of relief, being as I am. Meditation brings me clarity and thoughtful intentions set for the day.
A vision board has manifested and unfolded things in my own life. It came out of the deep intentions I had set by creating this board with carefully chosen quotes and images. Check out my post on how a vision board led me from a 2.55 GPA one semester to straight A’s. The end result isn’t the important part, it’s the process and enjoyment of learning I experienced while setting this intention.
Journaling is useful to throw your thoughts onto a page- bend, mold, dismantle. Play with the words, the meaning. To set your intentions clearly to visualize. Check out my post on how writing creates a playground for exploration.
Goal setting is critical, sometimes people only end up setting goals for work and school. We need to make sure we are still setting goals for our personal lives as well. I set intentions around my mental, emotional, and physical health.
What are a few intentions you will be making today and for your life?
You may also like to read:
The Luxury Of Becoming
I’ve crafted this state of curiosity, openness. Engaging in endeavors, activities, and people, I otherwise wouldn’t have, to experience transformation and growth.