Intention is an ever-changing mental state; therefore, you develop it as you attempt to perform something specific. Your intentions are like a single step towards obtaining a goal or outcome. For example, if you wanted to eat healthy food on Monday morning then that means making the decision right now to have let’s say…an apple for breakfast and preparing for that right now then keeping your intention in mind as you do so.

On the other hand, you can easily get distracted along the way by what’s happening in your surroundings. Suddenly your intentions may include thinking about how to attract more luck, or improving your love life. With these intentions in your mind, chances are good that you are not focusing on what you really want to achieve, which in this example is to eat healthy food on Monday morning. Intention is all about focusing on one thing, which is reaching eating healthy food on Monday morning. By focusing on one intention at a time, you are better prepared to take action

Every day, we go through an abundance of activities, events and thoughts. If you’re like most people, you don’t even notice that you are becoming busy. It is during this period that your actions align with your intentions or start to get off track. These might include things such as picking up the kids from school, fixing dinner, fixing lunch, getting the mail, and more. Many people believe that by not being busy they are not being mindful of their intentions. However, as we continue to repeat the same actions over again, we unknowingly force ourselves to be productive without truly feeling our true intentions. How can you keep your focus on your intentions and not let them slip through the cracks of everyday tasks?

One way to change the way you experience your intentions throughout the day is to write down your goals and intentions for the day during your morning routine. The first thing that you need to do is write down your desired outcome. For example, if you are wanting to lose weight, write down that goal. The next thing you need to do is write down the steps you are going to take to attain your goal. The last thing you need to do is write down the morning routine that you will engage in throughout the day to ensure that you remain focused and finally writing down your focused intention for the day that will support you in your overall goal.

Another thing that can help you maintain focus and awareness is to engage in a consistent meditation practice. Meditation is helpful because it helps you to relax and get in touch with your inner self. It can also help you establish a deep breathing routine. The first time that you meditate, it can be difficult to find the right focus. However, as you become more experienced and develop the habit of deep breathing, it will become much easier to maintain your intentions throughout the day. One thing to keep in mind is meditation is not the act of emptying your brain, it is the practice of redirecting your thoughts. When you find you are distracted or off the thought you desire, notice it and simply redirect your thoughts back to your intention.

Here are some more ways you can maintain your intention:

1. Know with absolute certainty what you want.

Many people struggle with figuring out what they want, but you can change that by writing down what you want in detail. The more information you have, the easier it will be to identify what you can focus on to support you in taking action.

The more clear you are on what you want, the more you are able to receive it.

2. Picture your future self

Imagination is the key to visualization, but it’s something we haven’t practiced in a very long time. It’s time to pick it up again! Kids can’t be the only ones walking around with active imaginations 🙂

Our brains do not know the difference between our reality and a thought. Close your eyes and picture sucking on a lemon. Within a few seconds, your mouth would water. The thought created the response even though there is no lemon.

Consider using your thoughts to visualize the person and life you’d like for yourself. One way to get started is by empathizing with the person and imagining your future self is right in front of you. How would this person wake up in the morning? What habits would they have? What thoughts would they think? Who would they spend their time with? Close your eyes and run through these scenarios.

If you’re having a tough time visualizing, write a letter to your future self from the person you are today. Imagine you are 1 years into the future, what is the date? Focus on the actions you made and how they brought you to be the person you are now.

3. Create your ideal day

Understanding what you want and who you will become will help you find the steps that need to be taken in order to reach it. Without clarity, we can get stuck about what to do next. As clarity moves towards you, so will the path to get there.

The best way to take action is though morning routine. This is the beginning part of successfully moving towards your deepest desires. Write down your ideal day!

The ideal day exercise is one of my favorite processes.  Once you start to visualize your life and your successes, your mindset follows and you can start to live it.  At this moment, it’s not important to know exactly how you will accomplish this, it’s just important to allow yourself the opportunity to dream, no filters, don’t hold back don’t even worry…that is survival mode remember   If you need to let something go to start this fun process, you already know how to do that!

Before you jump into dreaming, it’s important to be in a position that allows you to dream with confidence.

Studies have shown that how you use your body matters, how you sit, where your gaze is and if you’re breathing deep. Certain body positions increase testosterone and decrease cortisol leaving you feeling more confident.

Stand or sit in a powerful position to make sure you don’t hold back.  One example is a Superman pose, stand tall, breathe deep and take a moment to remember some of your most proud moments, times when you were your most happy self.

Your ideal day is a day that holds magic and wonder.  A day that would make you look back later and think it was the greatest day, not because of “results” you were able to achieve, but instead, because of the type of person you are and the amazing life you were able to experience.  This is a day that would leave you feeling excited and fulfilled.

Let’s begin

Imagine waking up on the morning of your ideal day.  Think about the mindset you would have from the very first moment you open your eyes.  How much energy, passion, joy and excitement would you have for the day that was about to occur?  Take a moment to set the scene in your mind.  Picture the sights around you as you wake up on this beautiful day.   What do you hear? What do you see around you?  What do you smell? What is the overwhelming feeling you have right here?

Ask yourself questions like, when would I wake up? Where am I? Who am I with? How much time do I spend working? Consider things that are important to you, for example I may mention how I am interacting with my children.  Maybe it’s a day when time does not matter.  Maybe you have a peaceful feeling about all that is happening.  Maybe you feel an incredible sense of freedom.

A great visualization is when you see everything in great detail. Take notes on things that stick out to you like if your house has a fountain, or you’re at a hotel on the beach where the palm trees overhang your room porch. Maybe how blue the water is or how warm the sun feels.

Dedicate some time to visualize the whole experience and record your ideal day in your journal.

Once you have a clear vision of your ideal day, ask yourself these questions: 

• What do you need to do in your Personal life to hold on to the feelings you created in your ideal day?

• What do you need to do in your Professional life to hold on to the feelings you created in your ideal day?

• What do you need to do in your Spiritual life to hold on to the feelings you created in your ideal day?

Record your answers.

Now that you have captured your ideal day, we are going to create a plan.

After you have mastered a morning routine, you can set another daily ritual. Mastering daily rituals creates your solid foundation. It will help you trust yourself, and therefore trust the process and path you are on.

4. Work through resistance

During intention setting you will experience doubt, frustration, and confusion. This is is part of the process, and is also why daily meditation is so important. Rather than react to our thoughts as fact like we usually do, meditation slowly allows us to observe our thoughts.

A key to intentions is the level of self-worth you have. To establish a high level self worth, you need to work on developing it from within and not resting your thoughts and feelings solely on how others treat or perceive you. If you continue working at this, over time your emotions will settle into what matters to you most. And when you settle into what matters most to you with a high level of self worth you can bust through resistance like a boss

5. Accept that this will change how you view people around you

An surprising result of using intentions backed by action is seeing how others play certain roles in their own lives, usually without awareness. .When you understand the power of thoughts and words, you will see how many people mindlessly affirm what they do not want to see. Then more of the same comes into their life experience.

When you are intentional with your words and thoughts, you may see people in your own life from a different perspective.

Be kind to yourself. Take your time to adjust and move forward at a pace you’re comfortable with. Take time to do things you haven’t done in a while and enjoy. Maybe it’s painting. Maybe its yoga or knitting. Maybe its watching old movies that make you happy. Follow your emotions and do things that keep your emotional state high.

When you’re working towards a goal, it can be easy to get discouraged. But when the going gets tough, don’t give up! You may have stumbled on one of those inevitable hurdles that everyone has to face at some point in their journey. As we mentioned before – your intentions are like single steps towards an outcome. If you stumble for now, take this as opportunity to think about what went wrong and how you would change your approach next time around so that everything goes more smoothly from then onwards! Remember though – with every intention there is always resistance- but if you power through it and continue moving forward, eventually all obstacles will become surmountable.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you increase your sense of self-worth so you can say “no” use your voice, stand up for yourself, and feel more confident:

1. Listen to The Bold Survivor Podcast

Join me each week as I interview survivors, experts and drop juicy tidbits of my own. Each episode contains powerful information to help you heal your wounding, connect better, and own that beautiful innate value that lives inside Every. Single. One. of. Us! —  Click Here

2. Grab a free copy of my book

It’s my signature system that takes you down into your core story and back up like a Phoenix to fly free. — Click Here

3. Join The Bold Survivor Collective and connect with survivors who are healing too It’s my Facebook community where bold survivors learn to heal, rise up, and be the bold beautiful souls they were called to be. —  Click Here

4. Join my Year-Long Group Coaching Membership Program

I’m bringing together women who are eager to end the self-doubt, shame and guilt….If you’d like to work with me on your emotional wellbeing plans… Click Here

XOXO,

Contessa Akin