Use deliberate intention to create what you desire

What is it you want to create in your life?

How do you want to feel?

What do you want to contribute or accomplish?

What is your intention?

Everything in your life ripples out from your intentions. You desire a particular outcome – say you intend to eat an orange – then every other detail comes together to make that happen. You pull the orange out of the fruit bowl, peel it, and eat it wedge by wedge.

But intentions shape our lives often without us knowing it. We are unconscious to the very things we intend. We consciously, intend to lose weight, yet on an unconscious level our intention is to stay comfortable and familiar, so we fill the cupboard with chips and Christmas cookies.

Bigwigs know that the prefrontal cortex of our brains fires up when we decide to do something, but so many of our intentions –those habitual patterns or long-standing, unexplored beliefs, often run by default. If we want to create our best lives, we must then become consciously aware and mindful of our intentions. Then, we can shpe them and  use them to focus our energies in the most helpful and powerful ways.

In the Mindfulness Code Donald Altman writes “The more mindful and aware we can become of our intentions that more free will we possess to cultivate conscious intentions and subsequent actions.”

On Wednesday, I’ll tell you how to consciously shape positive intentions, but right now today, get started by looking around and really noticing all that is already in your life. From the loving relationship in your life to the brown banana on the counter these are products of your intentions. Notice what’s there. See what’s working and make a list of those things that feel good, those things that match your desires, those things that are working in your life – and those areas that aren’t. Are these things and feelings you see reflected in your life the outcomes you desire? Or have you been letting someone else’s intentions shape your reality? Are you aware of what you’re creating or living by default?

Outcomes are a product of action. Actions evolve from intention. Intentions are a result of thoughts both unconscious or conscious. With awareness you can choose your intentions and use them to connect with your highest potential.