How to Set Effective Intentions (a personal story & essential tips)

Five years ago this month, I had an experience that showed me how to set effective intentions.

Six months pregnant, I was on a continuing education course in Arizona’s steamy, unforgiving deserts. I was there for a professional flower essences program on desert flower essences.

I was staying in the most unique Airbnb cottage in Sanctuary Cove. It was in the Sonoran Desert just outside Tucson, Arizona.

Isn’t this inspiring?

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Just One of My Spiritual Awakenings…

At the time, I was also probably knee-deep in one of my many spiritual awakenings. I had been a young caregiver navigating my dad’s illness with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease until his death, just a few years before.

I needed a place that embodied peace.

Inside the Sanctuary Cove cottage, I discovered a MASSIVE library of books. It was full of books written for confused but curious “spiritual seekers” like me.

One of these was Wayne Dyer’s book, The Power of Intention.

In his book, Dyer dives into the power of intentions to co-create our world.

He focused on intention as a kind of energy that we can harness and use.

This was my first exposure to this topic. And maybe this statement is a new idea for you, too, right now!

6 months pregnant in the desert… not for the faint-hearted!

How (Not) to Set Intentions (and my personal, lesson-learned story!)

Here’s my personal experience of how to set effective intentions… and how that backfired.

For the entire length of my flower essences training in Arizona, I was terrified I would come upon a snake.

Big one, little one, didn’t matter—I just didn’t want to see one. We were exploring many rural desert areas—many of which were desolate and quite literally deserted—and I was adamant I didn’t want to run into one.

So I made that intention clear to everyone, essentially speaking that energy into the universe, for a week straight. I told everyone and everyone, over and over, that I didn’t want to come face-to-face with a snake on my trip.

Fortunately, I didn’t. At least not while I was within the comfort of the group.

But late one night, as I was coming back to my Airbnb, I got out of the car to open the gate that separated the state park from the cottage’s front yard.

When I turned back toward my rental car, there was a large diamondback rattlesnake curled up next to my back tire.

I couldn’t believe my eyes!

(And yes, this is the only picture I have of the snake… taken from my driver’s seat once I was safely inside!)

You can imagine how much fear I had, being pregnant and coming across such a highly venomous rattlesnake in the middle of nowhere.

Especially since I was at least an hour out from any hospital in a city I wasn’t familiar with.

My heart in my throat, I was able to crawl through the passenger side door. I could then drive up to my Airbnb. All was well. But I still made sure to lock my doors 😉

Now it might be a “coincidence” that I came across this snake at this time, in this way. Or perhaps I manifested it by constantly mentioning and speaking about it. This is not relevant to my story.

It was, however, a great reminder to focus on the things we wish to bring to our awareness. After all, “energy follows intent.”

And because I now try to include intentions in my 1:1 sessions, group programs, products and other services, I thought I would explore how to set intentions.

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So, what is an intention exactly?

Most of us could probably say that it is a statement of focus.

It focuses our attention on what we hope to do, be, achieve, or experience.

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it is also often a statement with some level of emotional energy behind it. For me, emotions are the real “secret sauce” of setting intentions.

For me, I tend to think of intention setting as similar to prayer.

When & How to Set Intentions

If you’d like to learn how to set intentions for yourself, let me inspire you with a few ideas.

You can use intentions as part of:

• starting a morning or evening practice. When you wake, focus on your mindset and goals for the day. When you go to bed, you might set intentions to have restorative sleep and improved overall health. Or you might like to set intentions in a gratitude journal.

• making changes to a nutrition and/or eating plan (diet). Set intentions to include new foods in your diet, or perhaps commit to meal planning once a week.

• improving relationships. Foster positive connections with others by setting intentions for your interactions. You might like to focus on compassion, active listening, and understanding.

• reducing stress. Set intentions to engage in relaxing activities that bring you joy and relaxation. This could include meditation, a hot bath, or spending time in nature.

• managing finances. Set intentions for budgeting, saving, and making informed financial decisions, so you can work toward long-term financial well-being.

• practicing your spiritual devotion. This could include manifestations, which are their own form of intention!

• enhancing creativity. Explore creative activities like writing, drawing, playing an instrument, or any other form of self-expression.

The key to incorporating intentions into your everyday life is consistency and mindfulness.

Regularly revisiting and reassessing your intentions will help you stay aligned with your goals and values.

Tips for How to Set Intentions That Work

Here are my 3 tips for how to set intentions that stick:

1. Spend some time reflecting on what you want.

Focus on your desires and values.

Which areas of your life do you want to improve or change?

These could include health and wellness, career development, personal relationships, spiritual development, or any other areas that need some support.

You might like to meditate to connect to yourself and create a solid foundation for intentions that are meaningful and authentic.

2. Set SMART Intentions.

Your intentions will be more effective if you can be specific.

You can even apply the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) framework to them.

Don’t set a vague intention like, “be happier”. Set an intention like “I intend to meditate for 10 minutes every morning to reduce my stress.”

3. Write your intentions down.

Write your intentions down in a journal, planner, or other device (a cell phone works!).

I love to add my intentions to my phone wallpaper so I see them every day. Quick tip: change your wallpaper regularly to keep your intentions fresh and visible.

Writing your intentions down solidifies them in your mind and serves as a solid reminder of your commitment to them.

Bonus tip: visualize your success.

You can use visualization tools and techniques to imagine yourself achieving your intentions.

Close your eyes and picture yourself embodying the qualities and accomplishments related to your goals.

Visualizing success helps reinforce your intentions on a subconscious level. It fuels your mindset and motivation.

Create a vision board or collage. It can also visually remind you of your dreams and goals and inspire you to take consistent action toward them!

Hopefully these tips can help you set intentions that work!

Trust in your inner wisdom, take action on your goals, and embrace the power of intention setting.

If you’re interested in this topic, check out Wayne Dyer’s book or Lynne McTaggart’s book The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World.

Life is a plate… Eat up!