Have you ever noticed yourself setting intentions that lacked a certain … oomph?
They are the intentions we set because we “should.” They are intentions perhaps inspired by influential people in our lives – teachers, spouses, friends. They are the back-burner intentions that we’ve been working on for months or even years.
Then there’s the entirely negotiable intention. These intentions are more of the “It would be lovely if this happened to me …” variety. Sure, we’d love to see our income increase … but if this involves investing ourselves through action … well, suddenly that intention becomes something we don’t really “need.” If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we discover we’re entirely satisfied with a whole lot less than what we intend.
What are these negotiable, half-hearted intentions missing?
In a nutshell, they are missing a big enough “why.”
Let’s say, for example, we have a somewhat vague intention of losing ten pounds.
Why do we want to create this new reality? What’s the burning desire, the passionate motivation behind that intention? Sometimes we find that … there is none.
The intention is merely something we “sort of” want or feel we “should” create. But in all honesty, we don’t really have a good enough “why” to really invest ourselves.
If we continue to “sort of” work with an intention that has no true “why” behind it, that intention can actually become a drain on our energy and focus. It becomes a distraction, a disempowerment because we find ourselves engaged in self-sabotage over and over again.
Here’s my invitation to you: Get rid of all half-hearted intentions. Either find a “why” that truly inspires you … or let it go altogether. Create what you truly, passionately WANT, something in which you have no trouble truly investing yourself.
You’ll find that two things happen: You will feel a tremendous relief and free up a lot of your energy when you no longer pursue what you don’t truly want. And you will approach your truly committed intentions with new appreciation and vigor.
Blessings,
Andrea
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanksm Andrea. Good angle.
What a fun synchronicity! Just today I decided to let go of my weight loss goal and to just eat what I intuitively feel like eating. I’ve always felt that I should lose weight, but when I’m being honest, I don’t have a truly powerful why for it, and no burning desire either. It was just distracting me from working on those things that I REALLY want.
Thanks!
I think that 99% of my intentions are half-hearted and the idea of scrapping them brings relief! Hmmmmm…now, I wonder, what do I REALLY want to do with my time now that I am not half-heartedly filling time?
Excellent invitation. A few of my half-hearted intentions have been hanging around so long that they no longer pack that oomph I’m looking for. You’re right; it’s time to clean us and bring the vigor of a deep why into my desires. Thanks for the poke!
A week ago I found myself setting an intention in which didn’t have a lot genuine feeling (oomph as you say) behind it.
So I sat down and tried to convince myself WHY I should stir up the energy of desire in order to help manifest the intention (sounds rediculous, doesn’t it?).
I ended up laughing in the end as I realized I just couldn’t convince/talk myself into buying into it as good as the idea was. So I tossed it out.
You’re right about it needing to be a genuine desire as we just can’t fool ourselves if it’s not genuinely wanted.
THX Andrea for reiterating that it’s ok to make half-assed intentions and then throw ‘em away!! That makes me feel a lot more at peace about some of the crazy intentions I’ve written down.
Usually it is the influence of others that leads to the nonsensical mess of intentions we try to manifest.
I will surely try asking “WHY” prior to intending and discarding =)
This makes life just so much simpler, doesn’t it?! Even if we are conscious of the *shoulds* we still end up making those kind of intentions. Feels great to let them go!
Blessings,
Keena
HELLO ANDREA, I always find inspiration and insight in your articles. I find I have more than one intention at a time. My main one is to have and experience better health – yet the action steps needed I find challenging because of the pain which creates lower energy and overwhelm in my body. I am practicing self care but sometimes I’m not sure if what I am doing for self care is helping. I feel something is missing and can’t put my finger on it. I feel I give up because it feels to difficult. This causes me to focus on what I don’t have and maybe never will have – good health. I would love any suggestions you may have for me. Joyce