When I was 23 I had never had a serious boyfriend.Sure, there had been interest, I’d had a string of very non-serious relationships, a few brief flings, and more than enough mild flirtation but, after a particularly blerg-worthy series of events, I was over it.

I sat down one night, pen and paper at the ready, and made a list of all the things I really wanted in a man. A REAL man.

Being a goal setter since way back, I knew how important it was to be SPECIFIC and not forget to leave out the important things.

‘Be careful what you wish for’ – ran on a loop through my thoughts, reminding me of others who had not been so mindful – “It might just come true.”

As the list went on and the ink fled across pages, I thought of every scenario, every aspect of another human being and my life with them. What would they look like, who they would be, what would we do together, and what would be important to him?

“He will be so kind”

“He will have motivation and passion”

“He will give the best hugs and make me feel safe”

“He will love me so much and let me love him in return”

“He will make me laugh every day”

Within six weeks, I had met him.

He was mine and I was his – with barely a word about it uttered between us. We joked that there were tiny magnets that brought us together, but I knew that my list – my intentions of who I was searching for – had definitely played its part.

 

Goal Setting vs Intention Setting

Up until recently, I always thought of this kind of magical power as ‘goal setting’. I’m a self-confessed goal addict, and a kick ass one at that, and I always put so much value in sitting down and making goals, then doing everything in my power to achieve them.

I know the importance of having a plan and working towards it, but lately that has bored me – my interest has been waning and my goal setting has been shifting in another direction. It’s becoming intentional.

In a LIFE kind of way. Because I have come to realise something this year: that you can set goals and you can work your butt off to achieve them, BUT they will rarely shake you to the core. There’s a different way to get that result.

Live a life of intention.

Make a decision what you want your life to be like. Know who you want to spend it with, places you want to go, things you want to do, and adventures you want to have. AND LIVE IT.

How exciting is that? Set some intentions and make them part of your EVERY DAY LIFE.

“Before you agree to do anything that might add even the smallest amount of stress to your life, ask yourself: What is my truest intention? Give yourself time to let a yes resound within you. When it’s right, I guarantee that your entire body will feel it.” -Oprah Winfrey

 

Living an intentional life

It’s kind of freaky how things start to happen as soon as you know what you want.

Some people call it the ‘Law of Attraction’, but I like to think of it as ‘knowing what you want and seeing the opportunities around you.’

But that’s just me (to each their own!) Setting intentions makes things materialise right in front of your eyes.

And once you start thinking about your intentions for life, not only do things start happening, but you start to realise how close you came to letting life pass you by while you were on ‘cruise control’.

Who knows where that could have taken you? SCARY. But now that discovery of intentions and really thinking about the kind of life you want to lead…oh the RELIEF.

You’re back in the driver’s seat. It is entirely up to you.

+ Want to spend more time at the beach? Make this a part of your weekly life.

+ Want to work less? Intend to cut down your hours and brainstorm some new ways to make money.

+ Want to live a healthier life? Set an intention to get up every morning just a little earlier to do some exercise or plan your meals on a Sunday.

 

Ready to get out of auto pilot?

It doesn’t have to be an epic transformation – that’s what makes it so good! Just set one intention to start with – tiny as it may be – and then DO IT. Come up with on thing that will make you happier each day and LIVE IT.

What are your best life intentions? Or what NEW intentions would you like to implement?

Let’s fire up the comment section with some powerful intentions – leave a comment and/or hit a share button below!

 

This post was originally part of the Declaration of You Bloglovin tour. Click here to find out more.