In our last post we talked about the important of understanding your values and beliefs. If you haven’t spent time getting to know yourself, you probably don’t really know what drives you, even if you think you do. What we typically experience when we think we understand ourselves, however, is usually more of a vague feeling rather than actual understanding.

If you want to be able to bring your goals into alignment with your intent, you first must gain a clear and thorough understanding of your intent, and hold fast to it.

Being able to define your intent has a lot to do with being honest with yourself and knowing who you are, deep down inside, and accepting yourself as you at this moment. It means knowing what truly inspires you and makes you happy to be alive. When you define your intent, you know your purpose for being.

Finding Your Word

Distilling your intentions down to a single word is a great way to bring clarity to your purpose, and will make it easier to set goals that align with your intent.

Ask yourself the following probing questions, and, be honest when you answer. This will help you find the one word that expresses your full intent.

What one value or ideal do you wish you had more of in your life? Is there a specific challenge you want to overcome? Is there a sole activity that brings you absolute joy and which you wish you had more of in your life?

If you used more than one word to answer the questions, take a look at them. Do they have something in common? Is there one word that sums everything up? Your answer is your word for 2018, and you can use it to set your intent.

The Power of a Single Word

The word you choose should speak to you, and be relevant and meaningful to you. While someone else may have the same intent word, we are each an individual, with our own experiences, talents, beliefs. The reason we choose a specific word will be unique to who we really are.

Choosing a word creates a powerful talisman you can call upon to marshal our energies and attention. As you go through the year setting goals and performing actions, you might sometimes feel conflicted, confused, or at a loss. It’s times like those when you need to look to the one word that defines your intent to check to see if your actions are in alignment with your desires.

Why Setting Your Intent is More Useful than Creating a List of Resolutions

Normally when we set a goal, we resolve to change an action or a set of actions. We create a list of resolutions of things we say we want to do more of or less of in the coming year.

When a few days or weeks pass, we soon forget about them. The end of the year rolls around and we reflect on what we have and have not accomplished. We remember our once forgotten resolutions and are filled with a regret or guilt at failing at something, yet again.

When you create resolutions, you are focused on your existing failures, and set yourself up for more failure.

This year it will be different.

When we set your intent for the year, you know and accept where you are now, and can focus on and embrace what you truly want.

You set yourself up for success because your intent defines your actions, and opens you up to the possibilities that are created as you succeed, and experience more success each step of the way.

What do you want more of in 2018? What’s the one word that defines your intent for 2018? Ready to commit to your intent and want to learn more about how to use it to have your most productive and effective year yet? Join the challenge and Set Yourself Up for Success!