Mental Health

A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Intentions

Setting intentions is different from setting goals. It is about being purposeful in achieving your goals. Learn how to set intentions that align with your goals.

By URLife Team

25 Oct 2023

While balancing work and personal life, it often becomes difficult for most of us to sit back and sip a cup of coffee without juggling multiple tasks. It’s hard to find time for setting intentions and introspection. Setting intentions is the most important step for anyone with goals. In the process of learning and committing to your goals, setting intentions is the very first step in achieving them.

Setting intentions makes you accountable for fulfilling your goals and dreams. Understanding how they’re essential in becoming who you want and need to be is crucial before you start setting them. Setting intentions helps you to set the tone, take control and determine how you want your day to be rather than the day taking control of who you should be.

Aligning your intentions with your values works as a powerful tool for moving forward and achieving your goals. Keep reading to learn how to set your intentions and achieve your goals.

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The Difference Between Setting Intentions And Setting Goals

While both intentions and goals complement each other, they are still different from each other conceptually. Intentions are about how you want to approach life. They are personal commitments, which are rooted in the present. Intentions involve cultivating a mindset, attitude or approach to life. They are the guiding principles, which you should follow while chasing your goals. On the other hand, goals are aims, which you wish to achieve within a certain time frame. They are future and outcome-oriented. Goals talk about what you want to achieve.

How to Set Intentions

Everything starts with an intention, be it as small as buying a pair of shoes or calling a friend. While setting intentions is an easy and straightforward process, it is still important to consider the following points while setting intentions-

Be Specific

Generalisation doesn’t seem to work in setting intentions. Specificity is about clearly stating and defining your intentions. Instead of setting a general intention like ‘be healthy’, set a specific intention like ‘lose 5 kilograms of weight this month. This will make it easier to work towards it and measure the progress. Working like a roadmap, they help you set what you wish to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. They set the road to be followed, which leads to fulfilment of your goals.

Reflect

Reflecting is the process of self examination and introspection. It involves considering your deep thoughts to conclude what you want and what process you should follow to achieve it. Reflection helps you understand what change you expect in your life. By devoting some time to reflect, you can get clarity about your goals and make sure that they align with your core values and aspirations. This will also help you understand why setting intentions in the first place is important.

Journaling

When you wish to achieve something, vocalise it or write it down. Journaling could be about writing your intentions and how you plan to do so. Your journaling will help redirectyour innermost thoughts. Maintaining a journal will help you record your intentions and revisit them to track your progress. Journaling intentions helps in solidifying your commitments and making them more tangible and concrete. It will make you feel more accountable for your actions.

Inculcate Positive Intentions

Setting intentions helps to redirect your energy when it is pushed and pulled in different directions throughout the day. It is aligning your energy with your intentions. Using positive language helps in chasing your intentions. This is because negative emotions can overpower their positive counterparts. So instead of saying “I won’t be late today “, reframe it as “I will be on time today.” The idea is to replace ‘I won’t’ with ‘I will’.

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Shift Limiting Beliefs

The first step is recognising the beliefs that are holding you back. These might be thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "I'll never succeed," or "I'm too old to change”. Challenging these limiting beliefs will help you question their validity and check whether they are based on concrete evidence or if they’re just your assumptions. If they are based on assumptions, then try to replace them with empowering beliefs. For example, if you believe "I'm not good enough," change it to "I am capable and can improve with effort and learning."

Setting intentions is a transformative process that empowers you to live a purposeful life. It's a way to bring your dreams to life. By reflecting on your desires, being specific, framing them positively, and writing them down, you can set and achieve intentions that align with your authentic self and future goals.

Need all your wellness solutions in one place? A whole new world awaits just a click away.