Ep 7: The power of intention
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Jo: Hello, beautiful soul and welcome back to the podcast. After the breakthrough day that I spoke about in the last episode. I've really just been craving rest I'm talking bubble baths and naps at the [00:01:00] office. And sometimes that's just what we need, right? We just need a little bit of time to rest. And I don't know if you know anything about human design or what your human design is. But I encourage you to find out because in human design I am a manifestor, which means that the way that I am designed to work, is a little bit different than the way that society has us conditioned to work. I am designed to work in creative burst cycles where I will have a period of intense creativity where I can stay up for days on end working on a single project. And after I have birthed that project into the world, I need to rest deeply. And I've absolutely been in one of those rest periods lately, I've tried to honor that. With, like I said, bubble baths and naps at the office. Now, I've still tried to make sure that I get my [00:02:00] workouts in because I know that those nourish me and give my body the dopamine and endorphins that it needs. to keep me in a good mental space, but I've also honored that my body needed that rest. My mind needed that rest, and I didn't try to push myself out of it too quickly this time. Now, today I want to talk to you about intention. The New Moon is coming up on the 21st, so by the time this episode drops, it'll be Monday the 20th. So if you are listening to this on Monday the 20th, when it drops, I am hosting a new Moon visioning party in the Rise Empire community. It is absolutely free. So click the link in the show notes and you'll be taken to the link to, uh, register for the community. The visioning party will take place in one of the live meeting rooms and I would absolutely love to have you there. We'll be doing a little bit of Kundalini, we'll be doing some journaling, getting really clear on our intentions.[00:03:00] So if you're someone who struggles with achieving your goals or staying motivated, this episode is for you and this visioning party is for you. So let's go ahead and dive into this episode. Setting intentions is more than just setting goals. Right. Setting goals is great, but intentions are much more potent. Now, I want you to think about this for just a second. when you think about goals, what comes to mind? How do you feel in your body? For me, when I think about goals, what comes to mind is like a five year, 10 year goal, or maybe how many people I want to serve this year, or a monetary goal or paying off debt, or whatever that may be. And the feelings that come up are just like, oh, that's just another like milestone. Now I want you to think about intention. When you think about the word intention, what comes to mind and how do you feel in your body? For me, what comes to [00:04:00] mind is having an intention to do something, intending to do something that means I am going to get it done. Whereas a goal is like, I might achieve that. An intention is this is going to get done. I am intending to do something today. I am intending to go to the gym today. I am intending to get my workout done, so I'm going to get up. I am going to, uh, get on some workout clothes and I'm gonna go to the gym when I intend to do something, when I have an intention to do something. It is more of a feeling of this is going to get done, more of a feeling of certainty, whereas goal setting is kind of just like, oh, that'd be great if it happened, but not so much of a, this is happening scenario. So just tune in to how you feel about goal setting and intention setting, and kind of just weigh them, see what comes up for you. And the reason this [00:05:00] is, the reason there is a difference here is because we have different definitions of different experiences with goal setting versus intentions. We learn in school to set goals. We don't learn how to set intentions. A lot of times we'll be talking to somebody and it'll be like, oh, well we intended to do that, but it just didn't happen. And when we say something like that, it's like, oh man, I really meant for that to happen. It just didn't. . But when we're talking about our goals and we say, oh, well we just didn't achieve that goal. It has a different weight to it. It feels different. So setting intentions is more than just setting goals. It's about creating a clear vision for what you want to achieve and aligning your thoughts, emotions, and actions to achieve it. And you would think that goal setting. Is the same thing, but the science behind intentions is fascinating. So did you know that setting intentions can change the structure of your brain and [00:06:00] impact your behavior? Crazy, right? Your brain is a powerful tool that responds to your thoughts and emotions. You feed it. By setting intentions, you're creating a positive feedback loop that you can achieve your goals faster. So instead of setting goals, let's start setting intention. Oftentimes when we're setting goals. We set them to be this big, broad overview or big broad milestone that we want to hit in our life. Whereas the intentions can be the small steps to get there. So instead, I want you to take that big, broad goal where it's, this would be nice if it would happen, and instead put the energy of, I intend for this to happen. So if your goal is to make, let's say, a hundred thousand dollars this year, instead of being, this is my goal. My goal is to make a hundred thousand dollars this year. let's phrase it as, I intend to make $100,000 this year that has a different [00:07:00] weight to it. It has a different feeling, it has a different vibration behind it. It feels much more determined, much more resourceful, much more. I am going to figure out how to do this. As opposed to, this would be nice if it happened. So with the New Moon coming up on Tuesday the 21st, new moons are great for setting intentions because it's like a fresh start. Generally the new moons are for setting your intentions for the moon cycle, and full moons are for releasing anything that isn't serving you. So with the New Moon coming up on Tuesday, I invite you to look at your New Year's resolutions, look at the goals that you set for this new year and just take another inventory of them, see where you are with them because I forget what the statistic is, but the majority of people fall off of their New Year's resolution by February and it is now March. so Let's go back and look at New Year's [00:08:00] resolutions and just take another look at them. Have you lost your motivation for them? Have you fallen off completely? where do you stand with making this goal, your reality? And let's set the intention. To take the next step to making that goal, your reality. Let's set the intention to do one thing every day to make that goal come to fruition by the end of the year. We're only in March. We still have so much time to make this happen, setting intentions can help us focus our mind, increase our motivation and productivity. It can also have a positive impact on our mental and emotional wellbeing because by setting intentions, you're giving yourself permission to focus on what you want to achieve, and you're creating a positive mindset that can help you overcome obstacles, setting intentions. can help you prioritize your time and energy and lead [00:09:00] to a more fulfilling life simply because it's an intention. How crazy is that? So now that we've discussed the benefits of setting intentions, let's talk about how to set them. It can be easy to get overwhelmed when setting intentions, especially if you're not used to doing it. The key is to start small and to be consistent. So, like I said, set the intention to take one step, to do one thing every day to get you closer to that goal. Set aside some time each day to reflect on what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it. Be specific and focus on that outcome. Use positive language because the subconscious mind doesn't process negations. For example, if I say, don't think of a blue tree, what do you do? You automatically think of that blue tree and then try to unthink it. So when we're setting goals and setting intentions, it's important to use positive [00:10:00] language, focus on what you want as opposed to what you don't want. Knowing what you don't want is great. It's a great place to start. because it gives us that polarity. Knowing what you don't want is fabulous. However, our subconscious mind does not process negations. So if we are saying that we don't want to be unhappy, we don't want to not have time, we don't want this, that, and the other. , our subconscious mind is focusing on all of those things that we don't want, and what we focus on expands, right? We talked about in one of the previous episodes about our reticular activating system, and what you focus on is what your reticular activating system deems important. and what your reticular activating system deems important, it's going to seek out more of. So when we tell it over and over and over again, what we don't want it is thinking about that thing that we don't [00:11:00] want. It's focusing on that thing that we don't want, and it's going to seek out more things that are similar. Instead of seeking out the opposite because it's not processing that don't, it's having to think about those things that we don't want in order to try to unthink it. I hope that's making sense. So knowing what we don't want is a great place to start. Because knowing what we don't want, we can then flesh out what we do want. If we don't want this, what do we want? If I don't want to not have time, what do I want? I want to have time. So what does that look like? Get clearer on what that looks like. Create a picture, create an internal representation of what that looks like for you. and then instead of focusing on what you don't want, start focusing on what you do want. Set aside some time each day to reflect on what you do want. Be specific, use positive language and visualize what you do want. By doing this, we are training our reticular activating [00:12:00] system to seek out more of what we do want, because that's what we're focusing on. That is what we're telling our reticular activating system. Hey, this is what I want, this is what I'm focusing on. Let's go find more of this. If you are having trouble focusing on what you do want, because those neural pathways that you have around what you don't want are so ingrained. Write down what you do want, write it down so that you can keep it somewhere where you can see it, and you can read it every day so that you can start creating a new neural pathway, neurons that fire together, wire together. So as you are creating this new neural pathway you are weakening that old neural pathway is focused on what you don't want. Write it down and keep it somewhere where you can see it like on your bathroom mirror so that you can remind yourself of it while you're brushing your teeth or washing your face and incorporate it into your daily routine. Making it a habit, like I [00:13:00] said. Will help those neurons fire together and wire together and create that new neural pathway to focus on what you do. Want to set that intention to train it like a muscle, like you're going to the gym and working out and stronger. It doesn't have to take up a lot of time. but it does require consistency and repetition. Start by setting intentions for the day ahead and then move on to setting weekly or monthly intentions and just take note of how your intentions are helping you achieve your goals. Then adjust them needed. remember, Setting intentions is a process. It's not a one-time thing. So what I like to do is set my goals for the year and then set intentions to help me achieve them. Your intentions don't have to be this huge, grandiose thing. It can simply be to take one step. So what can you intend to do? Maybe it is applying to a [00:14:00] new job, maybe. It's reaching out to that person on Instagram who you saw doing this thing that seems absolutely amazing to you. Maybe it's just having a conversation. Setting intentions is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals and create a more fulfilling life. By aligning your thoughts, emotions, and your actions, you're creating a positive feedback loop that can help you overcome obstacles, right? We're creating that positive neural pathway and training our reticular activating system to seek out the things that we think are important. So if you are listening to this on Monday, I encourage you to click the link in the show notes and join us for the new Moon visioning party On Tuesday at 1130 Central. There will be a replay available, so if you miss it, don't fret. Just make sure that you sign up. Make sure that you are a part of the Rise Empire community. I intend to do these parties, these workshops, every [00:15:00] New Moon from here on out. because revisiting our goals, revisiting our New Year's resolutions in community with other people on a regular basis and checking back in will help us stay accountable and actually achieve the things we want to achieve. And not only achieve them, but surpass them. And then when we do it in community we don't only have the accountability of other people in the community, but we also have the support, the encouragement, and the extra magic that goes with setting intention in community with all of that energy. So this new Moon visioning party, we will revisit our New Year's resolutions. So have those available. If you set them, We will be setting intentions for the next 28 days, or. We'll be doing a little bit of Kundalini to get the energy flowing. We'll be doing some meditation. We'll be doing some journaling. We'll be doing some dancing, [00:16:00] so come prepared with your yoga mat, a cozy blanket, your journal, something nice and cozy to drink, your favorite beverage, whatever that may be. Cacao tea, wine, water, whatever it is. And your energy. I'm excited to see you there. I hope you enjoyed this episode and. I will see you next week.
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