Every achievement starts with an intention. I can’t think of many good things I’ve achieved by accident. It therefore follows that if we want to achieve something we should set an intention. This is all part of goal settings and is well known, but how do we make sure that we follow through on our goals? Keeping our goals front and centre can help and for this I’ve been using an Intention Statement for a while now. Here I explain what an intention statement is and how you can use one to help you achieve your goals.
What is an Intention Statement
An intention statement is a written statement, ideally printed out, that you will read aloud every day. It will contain anything and everything you wish to achieve.
By reading it aloud, you will be impressing on the part of your brain that is responsible for what you notice in the world. It belongs to the same family as other goal setting tools, such as vision boards, affirmations and visualisation. The reason I like it is that it is portable; you can print it out, fold it up and keep it in your pocket, to be read during the day.
How to draft an intention statement
Drafting out an intention statement, does take up a bit of time and thought, but it is well worth the effort, even just to organise and crystallize your thoughts.
List out goals
First, in your notepad write out a list of goals, wants and outcomes you would like. They can be a mix of short, mid and long term items. Put some easy to achieve items on your list. The reason for this is that you want some quicks wins to give you motivation and inspiration. Remember that motivation comes after you start to achieve. Some examples of quick wins could be to tidy up your office desk or do some exercise. As medium and long term goals obviously take longer, it’s good to be able to make progress on short term goals to keep up your momentum.
Mix of outcomes
Make sure to include a mix of outcomes from all areas of your life, such as business, money, contribution, health etc. We are creating our desired life here. Also remember to include a mix of being, doing and having wants. It’s easy to list the stuff we want to have, but what type of person do you wish to be? What do you want to be doing?
Turn each into an affirmation
Once you have your list of wants and desires, try turning each item into a short affirmation. I find it easier to write out my affirmations on a word document. This is because we will be amending them over time.
Visit my post Six Ways to Influence the Subconscious. In this post I go into more details on crafting affirmations.
Make sure the affirmation is a positive statement. It is something you want rather than what you don’t want. For instance, instead of stating I will lose 10 pounds of weight, state I weigh my ideal weight of xyz pounds.
You will also notice from the above example that it is stated in the present tense, as if you have already achieved your outcome. This is extremely important as I will explain later.
Combine them into a written statement
Now you have your positive affirmations written in the present tense, they may sound a bit dry or uninspiring. In this stage will we convert them into a written statement by adding feeling to it. The more conversational you can make it, the more inspirational it will seem. For example, in our weight example you could write. “I’m absolutely delighted that I weigh my ideal weight of xyz pounds. It’s great to wear my favourite outfit, that fits perfectly and I feel fantastic.”
One page
Write out all of your affirmations in this style, so that they fill one page. If you go over one page, you may have to cull some of your goals. We are aiming for a 2 minute read. Reading your intention statement shouldn’t feel like a chore, so if you can make it short and punchy you are more likely to follow through. Remember, as you achieve your short term goals you can always add more to the statement.
Read it aloud
Read your intention statement aloud, ideally three times daily. Firstly, read it out in the morning as close to when you wake up as possible. You give your unconscious mind a direct command for the day.
As you go about your day, your goals and intentions will be taken over by the day to day mundane. Read out your list around Midday, this way you will quickly refocus on what you want to really achieve.
Lastly, read your intentions just before bedtime. This session will imprint deep into your unconscious and as you sleep the magic really starts to happen. Don’t be surprised to notice that you will gain deeper insights on waking. You may even get subliminal messages in your dreams.
Check out my post Record Your Dreams, where I explain why its a good idea to take a note of what you dream about.
Amend it over time
As you are reading out your intentions, some may sound mechanical at first, as if you don’t believe them. That’s okay and it will start to feel more natural. By all means amend your intentions, write amendments in pen.
Once your intention statement starts to get too messy with amendments, amend your Word version and reprint it out. I like to think of mine as a living document that evolves as I develop.
Some of the amendments I make include making a change to a goal or affirmation. Maybe the goal is too much of a stretch or not enough. It might be that the wording is uninspiring, so I can change it to add some oomph.
I might want to add new goals and wants as they arise. Similarly, I might want to remove some outcomes that have occurred, or that I no longer want. It is strange but many times when I remove a goal, it automatically happens anyway. Its as if I’ve already programmed my mind to achieve it, I no longer need to keep affirming it. I keep a copy of the old intention statements, for this reason. Its inspiring to look back on old notes and see your progress.
How it works
The main reason why intention statements work is that you keep you goals and wants in sharp focus. Often what used to happen when I set goals is that they would be filed away and soon forgotten. With this lack of focus, you understandably forget to perform the necessary activity to achieve them. The intention statement ensures you maintain direction; it prevents drift.
The second reason why the intention statement works is because of something called the Reticular Activating System in the brain (RAS). This part of the brain can be thought of as a gateway between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. It is the part of the mind which allows certain sensory information into the conscious mind, out of the millions of bits of information our senses process each day. It will alert you to danger; you see a speeding car approach out of your peripheral vision, the RAS then alerts the conscious mind to beware. I talk more about the RAS in my post Follow the Signs to Your Goals.
Similarly, you can programme the unconscious mind to look for opportunities to progress your goal. The RAS then passes this information to your conscious. It will do this when you least expect it, usually when you are relaxed and not focussing on anything else. Often when I’m in my home office and I might relax and just stare into space. Then a particular book in my library will catch my attention. I know that I need to re-read this for some reason. There will then be some insight that I get from the pages.