The Great Power of Intention: 8 Key Steps

What drives us? What makes us decide something?

Deepak Chopra tells us that it is intention that is the creative force that leads us to make choices, express our desires and aspirations, and is the starting point for every dream we have about ourselves and our life.

Wayne Dyer sees intention as a force in the universe enabling the act of creation to take place. He views intention as an energy that you are already part of. This is very different from the general view that intention is the determination to succeed at all costs by never giving up on your inner dream, based on hard work and having a tireless inner drive.

So intention is a word we throw around quite a bit. We create ‘new’ intentions at the start of the New Year. We ‘intend’ to lose weight, to get a new job, to move home, to read more and thousands of other ideas that we intend to do.

Intention is all well and good. It’s the beginning point of an idea- our starting point to begin navigating towards what we want.

Then the rubber hits the road.

How many people do you know set intentions only to see them fall by the wayside at the earliest opportunity? How many of you have gone on that diet on the 1st of January? Maybe you joined the gym and forked out your monthly/six monthly/years membership? Perhaps you intended to become an even greater person and so you decided to do more meditation, become more patient, develop more compassion?

These are all great intentions. But usually what happens is that something triggers us; we have a bad day and we are short-tempered with our partner. Maybe we met someone in the supermarket and they looked incredible, and we felt diminished and envious and despairing because we’re still 5lbs overweight.

What’s the first thing we do?

We reach for the very habit that we are trying to move away from. Why? Because it gives us comfort. Because it also reinforces our beliefs that we are not determined enough, disciplined enough, pretty enough, slim enough, fit enough…enough…enough…..enough….

So why bother?

And we wave ‘bye-bye’ to our good intentions…….until we find another one!

Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

How to use the Power of Intention

So how can we use the Power of Intention to not only find our inner desire and dream, but to achieve it? Well, whether we like it or not, we are driven by old patterns that continue to pop up and do their best to seduce us back. So instead of just ‘getting rid’ of the old pattern, we have to understand it and replace it with something better so that we maintain the incentive and momentum to fulfil our intention.

Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.

If you look at the starting point- the intention- there are a number of steps required in order to be successful at manifesting our intention into our reality. For example, when we look at The Law Of Attraction, the key elements are to Ask the Universe for what you desire, Believe that you will have it, Take Action on the ideas and intuition you have around your desire, and Receive the desire which is now your new reality.  If you imagine that the Universe is always saying ‘yes’ to you, then every thought you have gets a ‘yes’ from the Universe. So here’s the big thing, if you are alway’s thinking that you’re not good enough, not loveable enough, not worthy enough, the Universe is saying ‘yes!’ and giving you more opportunities to experience being not good enough, not loveable enough ect!

The area most of us forget to do is the ‘Take Action’ and therefore the good intention leads to disappointment and failure.

So the biggest change you have to make is in your beliefs- your mindset! You have to become the master of your own thoughts. You have to discipline yourself to shift your mindset from a perspective of scarcity (it’s never enough) to abundance (there’s always more for me and for everyone else). Only then can you start to see your intentions taking root, and beginning to grow.

8 Key Steps To Take

Here’s the key steps you need to take so that the Power of Intention can work for you positively. These are not new, they have been expressed and explored by many, yet because of their perceived simplicity, they are often overlooked.

1. Be grateful– the more you are grateful for what you already have, the more you’ll begin to generate more to be grateful for. Your mindset will begin to shift from complaining about the dirty washing in front of the machine, to being grateful that you have a wonderful family that like to look smart and have clean clothes. Trust me the first few times you do this, you may be saying it through gritted teeth especially when you see the volume by the washing machine, but it does get easier! Think of all the things to be grateful for; breathing, sleep, laughing, friends, home, car, other experiences. And don’t forget the ones which at first glance seem painful- experiencing loss gives us the ability to be grateful to feel, to miss someone, to appreciate what they gave us.
2. Get really clear on your intention and what you want– If you are woolly and unsure, how can circumstances conspire to assist you in your dream?
3. Recognise that you are creative– Ok so you may not be a Picasso, but you have ideas and ‘a-ha’ moments where you do something in a slightly different way and get amazing results. It may be that you decided not to engage in a war of words with someone, or that you’ve had a calling to do something and you decide to do it. By recognising that you have incredible creative abilities enables you to approach things differently.
4. Be kind to others– the mantra ‘they are doing the best they can with the knowledge and experience they have’ helps picture things in a different light. That’s not to say that you accept bad behaviour, but it is to develop compassion that they are struggling. And maybe the reason you are experiencing it is because you can help them, or they can help you.
5. Believe that you will succeed– your intention will come to fruition- Unwavering faith in your ability to succeed will help you in the dark days where things have plateaued or feel like there is some back peddling occurring. Locate like-minded people who are also using the power of intention to develop their new reality. Share the failures and successes- they will help you stay on track.
6. Take Action– Use your intuition and trust it- it won’t fail you, but often it’s the quiet voice that gets hidden behind the loud inner critic. Look at your intention and ask yourself the question ‘what is my next step?’ and wait for the answer. You will get one, sometimes its a case of exercising a little patience!
7. Act as if you already have your intention– This is always the tricky one, because let’s be honest, if you’ve got bills piling up and little money coming in, the natural inclination is to worry. The more you worry, the less you’re grateful and you’ll waver over your intention. You begin to think that maybe you’re asking for too much, that your dreams aren’t really going to make you happy, that dreaming won’t pay the bills- yep you’re back into scarcity mindset. So like a snakes and ladders game all that’s happened is you’ve slipped, so get back to your clear intention and gratitude to get your mindset back on track. And let go… and letting go it doesn’t mean ‘giving up’ it just means allowing it to be released in a way that you are getting on with life and not so tunnel visioned about when the intention is your reality.
8. Receive- With your consistent action, trusting your intuition to guide you to your next steps  you will receive. The intention has led to get the ball rolling, you’ve committed to your goal, you’ve kept your courage and determination and the belief that you will succeed and you’ve achieved it. So congratulate yourself. You used the Power of Intention positively! Enjoy the feeling of success and achievement.

Then…..

You’ll set another intention! Only this time, you’ll know the exact steps to accelerate your success. Good luck friend!

Thanks to Steve Carroll of Moonshadow Therapies for inspiring the post!  Take a look at this or this to help you develop your intention setting.