I once overheard a preschooler say, “There is no try, only do”. While playing with another child, he paraphrased the quote from Yoda in the Star Wars series. When I heard these words spoken with the sincerity of a child in play, the phrase stuck in my head.
It’s so true. There is little commitment in the statement, “I will try.” Basically, it is the same as saying I won’t do something. Lately, I have something challenging before me to do, and this thought is streaming through my mind. Time to unpack it.
Perhaps, it is a reminder to become clear and focused on my intentions. Intending to do something is not the same as trying. When I am reluctant, I might say, “I’ll try.” Then if I do not succeed I have an excuse. I tried, but I did not really do it. While trying to do something, I might engage in many distractions that keep me from doing it.
That’s different from intending to do something. Intentions have commitment and action. They are goals combined with the fire of inspiration and the strength of will. Whatever I intend to do, I don’t try to do, I do it.
Intentions have to do with the present whereas goals or resolutions (goals set in January), are future-oriented. According to the Center for the Empowerment Dynamic: “Goals are external achievements. Intentions are about your relationship with yourself and others.”
Lifelong research has guided me to live from the inside out. Intentions that are aligned with my destiny and principles, allow me to fulfill my purpose without sacrificing well-being, to maintain relationships without giving up my Self.
Living from the inside out allows for a feeling of success that is not dependent on achieving an external goal. Being in alignment is how I experience success. In that way, I move toward my goals, celebrating the process along the way.
Writing this today has filled me with a feeling of success that I would be denied if it was dependent on goal achievement. I don’t know how many people will read this, connect with it, or share it, but I am sending it out into the world anyway. It is like blowing seeds from a dandelion into the wind. Where will they land and will they take root?
When I intented to write the book of Grandma Love, I sat at the kitchen table every morning after breakfast and wrote with pencil in a notebook. It seemed right to do it this way, to write in the room where I experienced so many interactions with our grandchildren. Later, I transcribed the stories into a digital file and took the next step.
I didn’t try to do it or set goals for the project, instead I set an intention to write a story a day. In this way, I experienced success throughout the process, and enthusiasm for the book grew within me. Then after writing the stories, I realized I had the contents of a book.
The plan for publishing the book changed along the way. Plans that grow from our intentions are mutable; they live in the present. On the other hand, goals or resolutions are not, they exist in the future. Altering goals leads to regret.
Resolutions are a destination; intentions are about the journey.
Often when achievement of a goal alludes me, I come back to my intentions and whether they are in alignment. Is there something in my inner world that needs to shift before I can move toward the goal?
Who do I need to be to receive this precious gift?
When I intend to do something, I do not know what the results will be. I do know I will move in a certain direction. I will put one foot in front of the other. I will let the fire of the intention propel me into action. And I will learn and achieve something, although I do not know what or when.
My intentions create an energy of enthusiasm around them, one that is self-renewing. There is also energy in trying to achieve goals, but it tends to be short-lived and can become an energy of resistance. When we do not achieve a goal, the energy around it slumbers – unless the goal is achieved. This does not take into account that life happens, things change, and steps along the way are important.
So instead of trying to achieve goals, I will make intentions. Those intentions will become a plan of action. Action steps lead to information. Information leads to adjustments in the plan. And subsequently more action, information, and results.
Everyday while I prepare to share my work with the world, I hold the intention and take an action. I won’t think about taking action or try to do something, I will do it!
What are your intentions for 2024?
For me, I intend to share grandma love wherever I go.