The Power of Intention

Last week, I argued that, despite conventional wisdom, goals are not the essence of successful living. Instead of beacons lighting the way to the perfect life, they act as spotlights on our weaknesses and disappointments. Rather than guideposts on the way to success, they are standards by which we judge ourselves and others. They don’t always lead to achievement, and they can result in disillusionment and insecurity. I also promised to suggest an alternative to goal-setting—something that works better and is ultimately more fulfilling. That alternative is intention.

To set an intention is to make a decision about the kind of writer, artist, and human being you are. It is to align your life with your deepest values and to commit to living those values. Like goals, intentions are guides for how we live and work. They are landmarks that help keep us on track. But intentions differ from goals in many ways.

While goals are tied to our conceptions of success and failure, intentions are tied to principles. When we set an intention, we make a decision not about the publications, fame, or money we yearn for, but about the qualities we hold closest to our hearts—truth, love, devotion, fairness. Intentions aren’t about achievements and accolades, but about adhering to our deepest beliefs.

Goals focus on the future. We will get that article published by Christmas. We will find an agent by the end of the month. We will write 1,000 words by tonight. Intentions focus on the present. They aren’t about getting something done tomorrow or next year, but about being the best we can be right now. This very minute, we can be honest, dedicated, kind, skillful, and courageous. We can live our values every moment.

While goals are all about doing, intentions are about being. To set a goal is to say that you will get a specific set of tasks done. To set an intention is to dedicate yourself to being the kind of writer—and the kind of person—you want to be. “Goals help you make your place in the world and be an effective person,” writes Phillip Moffitt in Shambhala Sun. “But being grounded in intention is what provides integrity and unity in your life.”

If setting goals aside seems too risky or strange, try doing it for just a week. For seven days, stop judging yourself on whether you’ve accomplished a specific set of tasks in a given period of time. Center your life not around accomplishments, but around your highest values. Throughout the day, ask yourself if you are being true to those values, and continually realign your thoughts, feelings, and actions so that you are. Stop measuring your work against the passage of time, and work with each moment as it arises. You can always go back to your goals at the end of seven days. But, for that week, set intentions instead and see how your work, and your life, change.