The Art of Intention Setting

Most people confuse intentions with goals. A goal is something you achieve. An intention is something you become.

Goals are linear: you're here, you want to be there, and you take steps to get there. Intentions are radial: they emanate from your core, transforming everything they touch.

The Problem with Most Intentions

"I intend to be successful." "I intend to find love." "I intend to be happy."

These are not intentions—they're wishes dressed up in spiritual language. They're vague, outcome-focused, and disconnected from the present moment.

What Makes an Intention Powerful

A real intention has three qualities:

1. Present-Tense
"I am" rather than "I will be." Not "I intend to become confident" but "I am confidence in action."

2. Embodied
You can feel it in your body right now. If you can't sense it as a current reality (even if subtle), it's not an intention—it's a fantasy.

3. Process-Oriented
It's about how you show up, not what you get. "I am expressing my truth with clarity and compassion" works. "I intend to get a promotion" doesn't.

The Ritual

Before setting an intention, get still. Drop into your body. Feel your breath.

Ask yourself: "What do I want to become? Not achieve, not acquire—become."

Then craft the intention in present tense. Write it. Speak it. Feel it as already true, even if just as a seed.

Working with Your Intention

Don't just set it and forget it. Return to your intention daily. Feel it. Embody it. Let it guide your choices.

When you notice yourself acting in ways that contradict your intention, don't judge. Simply observe, and choose again.

The Shift

When your intention is clear and embodied, reality begins to rearrange itself. Not because you're "manifesting" in some magical sense, but because you're operating from a different center of gravity.

Your intention becomes a lens through which you see, a filter through which you act, a magnet that draws corresponding experiences.

Start small. Set one intention. Master it. Then expand.