We move through our lives so quickly sometimes that we don’t even know how we got from point A to point B. Or we can’t even remember who we spoke to that day or if we remembered to eat, much less remembering what we ate.
I know that I was guilty of these many times in my former career, especially when I would drive to my other office just outside of Milwaukee. I would get on the road at the crack of dawn some days, or into the evening, and find myself on a conference call jabbering away only to find myself 20min away from my final destination. I would think, “how the heck did I get this far already?” I was always surprised that I hadn’t driven into the dividing median on the tollway because I was so engrossed in my conversations. There was nothing present about my state of mind or body for that matter.
That same behavior would also happen when I was in the thick of my arms-length long project list that never seemed to get any shorter. I would start one task, go fetch an item needed and become distracted by another “shiny object” as I call it, and start doing something completely different. I was thinking that if I did this one small thing along the way while working on the other task, then it would just be done. Wrong. That thinking led to many distractions from the original project and eventually led to my complete frustration at the end of the day.
SO. Let’s talk about intention.
I am talking about doing what we need to do throughout each minute, hour and day with a “be present” mind, body and spirit…in particular, your mind. Intention to me means two things: being present and focused in the moment of doing one thing at a time with a full mind, heart and body; the second meaning, is that your actions and intentions are fully aligned and doing the same thing in their delivery to another person (s).
The first meaning is simply this. Try not to multitask. Try to do one thing at a time with your full self in it. Yes, I get that if you have a family or lead a crazy life, multitasking may be helpful or necessary for you to move forward. All I ask is that you try to do one thing at a time, with your mind focused fully on the task at hand, and I guarantee you will feel so much better. It’s hard and it takes practice. I am no master at it and I am not striving for that. I simply try every day to slow down and practice intention again. Some folks call this mindfulness and it is that. I like to call it intention.
Which leads me to the second meaning of aligning your actions and intentions together in each behavior. So, you’ve just stuffed your foot in your mouth because what you said or did to another person was not what you intended to do or say. I am sure that hasn’t happened to you ever…not. Well, before you act out or say something you regret, STOP. Take a second to think if what you intend to say or do is aligned with your principles or values. Only then can you make the next move. If your behavior or words are not aligned, then don’t do anything at all. It’s that simple and it will save you a whole lot of pain in the end.
Intention is about being mindful in all of your actions and words and making sure you are delivering them from your heart and your principles.Yes, eating a piece of toast can be done so with intention of gratitude for being fortunate enough to have food. Yes, driving to your office can be done with intention as you do it without being on your phone or device, so you get to your destination safely. Yes, sitting at my dining room table and staring at my Amaryllis flowers can be done with intention because I am doing nothing else except enjoying their beauty, their vibrant color and their elegant shapes in the middle of this cold January day.
