New Year’s Resolutions are a lot like diets. They don’t
work. Often, with the best of intentions, we make pledges to ourselves to make
big changes with the desire to live a better, usually healthier, life. The problem
is that our resolutions tend to have outcomes that are very different than our
stated intention.
There is a lot of buzz out in the world these days about
“intention” and living a life with intention. Oprah Winfrey is big on the power and benefits of intention. She runs her
companies that way. She attributes her awakening to intention to a book by Gary Zukav she read in
1989 called Seat of the Soul.
What is this thing called Intention? How is it different
from purpose? And how does mindfulness fit in? Does attitude play a part in the
outcome? How do we figure this out?
Intention is most often described as an outward
manifestation of purpose. Purpose is regarded much more as an inward reflection
on what is important to us, gets us up and out of bed everyday and allows us to
imagine making a difference. Intention is the way we realize our purpose.
The challenge is that intentions don’t automatically have
positive outcomes. Remember the famous quote—“The road to hell is paved with
good intentions?” Without conscious effort intentions can have very different
outcomes than we want, or, in fact, never materialize. This is where
mindfulness becomes important. It is the link between our purpose and our
intention. Mindfulness helps us shepherd our intentions so their outcomes are
what we intend as a direct result of our stated purpose. We have to be actively
engaged and present in the process in order to get where we want to go. Having
a purpose doesn’t get you anywhere. Having good intentions won’t guarantee an
outcome. Mindfulness helps us focus on what is important and how we can then
live a life true to our purpose with aligned intention.
Of course, if we have an attitude that is afraid to believe
or cynical or negative, how likely are we to achieve our purpose and have the
ultimate intentional outcome we desire? Not, likely.
We are complicated beings. What happens in life is not
always what we wish. Often we may subconsciously undermine a powerful intention
because of underlying feelings our issues we aren’t fully aware we have. We have control over so much of our lives but
we often forfeit that control because of all the twisted layers of our lives.
We live our lives more as automatons than as people with powerful purpose realized
through true intention. We can change that.
This year can be our year of true intentions.
If a key purpose in my life is to live a healthier lifestyle
and help others do the same then it makes sense that each time I start to eat I
should be consciously and mindfully asking myself---“Is this supporting or
undermining my purpose? By choosing to eat what is in front of me can I
honestly say it is supporting my desired intention?”
We wake up every day with good intentions. How can we
mindfully help ourselves be true to those intentions more consistently and
throughout each day? Through being mindful of our purpose, and asking ourselves
whether what we are doing is our true intention. If it isn’t, don’t do it.
Oprah Winfrey has lost 42 pounds and built a success-driven
life. We can too!
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