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Goals vs Intentions

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Goals versus Intentions – What’s the Diff & Why Does it Matter?

Goal: To get momma to throw the chuck-it ball 🙂

Intention: To have FUN!

“If you decide to surrender the part of your mind that is constantly checking to see if the external results are showing up, you will start to access a powerful intention that is bigger than your goals.”

~ Kyle Cease, “The Illusion of Money”

And yet, what does the average bear (such as myself) love to do? Constantly keep checking on the progress of those external results!

I recently discovered a book that I have enjoyed so much, and found so helpful, that I’ve already it read it twice…and have now started on the third read 😊

The book is “The Illusion of Money; Why Chasing Money is Stopping You from Receiving It” by Kyle Cease. Yes, the book is about money…but it’s about so much more than money!

And that’s the author’s main point:

“Your value is not based on how much money you have, because YOU are the source of value.”

In my experience, this can be a tricky concept to wrap one’s mind around – because it is so contrary to how many of us were conditioned to think about money.

“Tune yourself to the infinite and always-evolving calling of your soul,” advises the author, “and the money will come.”

Which brings me to the difference between external goals (such as making more money or, say, finishing writing more screenplays) and internal intentions (the callings of our soul).

We all know what goals are. But how about intentions? Click To Tweet

“A goal is something you can understand,” writes Cease. “An intention is defining and aiming toward an expansion. A goal is in the future. An intention is in this moment. A goal is an outcome. An intention is an internal direction. An intention is saying that you want to discover more of what you are, and that you’re totally open to the fact that you don’t know what the hell it is.”

“When you have a defined goal,” cautions Cease, “it actually can sometimes cap you at that level and prevent you from going deeper because you are attached to that external outcome.”

Ahhhh HAH!

“With an intention,” he says, “you are surrendering the results and going into a deeper place that has no defined outcomes—but it has an infinite amount of possibilities.

“A goal limits you to the one opportunity that you have mentally defined ahead of time,” explains Cease. “Your intention gives you the freedom to discover for yourself and leaves you open to the many opportunities that might match and support the new awareness that is emerging. And because you are discovering more of yourself, when an opportunity shows up, you’re more aligned and able to take advantage of that opportunity.”

I am really finding this to be true!

“Your mind understands goals; your heart understands a feeling, an intuition, an insight,” he says. “Your heart is leading you to something that is so much bigger than whatever your goal is. No matter how big your goal is, it’s nothing compared to what life is wanting to show you and bring into the world through you.”

Here are a few examples of intentions:

  • Discovering patience
  • Feeling freedom
  • Expressing creativity
  • Connecting with others
  • Feeling gratitude
  • Embodying love
  • Living in your truth
  • Following your heart
  • Expressing yourself fully
  • Discovering miracles
  • Aligning with true creativity
  • Living in the moment
  • Being joyful
  • Sparking inspiration
  • Embracing abundance
  • Contributing your gifts
  • Caring for your mental health

“Think about some of the external goals in your life that you’ve been aiming for recently,” suggests Cease. “These might be things like earning more money, creating a new business, finding a relationship, losing weight, buying a home, attracting new clients, etc.”

“Think of the things that you’ve been aiming for outside and notice what it feels like in your body when you think of trying to accomplish them solely for the external result,” he suggests.

“It might feel exciting mentally,” he says, “but if you’re not connected to a deeper purpose, it’s probably not a 10 in your body. If you can connect to an inner intention underneath those things and make that your primary goal, then those things might actually start to feel closer to 10s.”

“When you allow your inner intention to become more important than your external goals,” he says, “you start to align with a higher purpose.”

“Do things based on the gravitational pull of your soul,” he suggests, “instead of a temporary fixation on an external result. Work from in to out instead of out to in.”

So for me, as a screenwriter, I have very clear external goals I am working towards: finishing multiple screenplays and pitching them to producers, etc.

But what I’m finding is:

The more I focus on my inner intentions every day - versus accomplishing my external goals - the faster I seem to be moving towards accomplishing those goals! Click To Tweet

These are the inner intentions I have been focusing on over the past few months:

  • Experiencing creativity
  • Being joyful
  • Feeling freedom
  • Being grateful
  • Having faith
  • Learning from my experiences
  • Appreciating beauty
  • Caring for my mental health
How about you? Is there an inner intention/s you might like to work with, as you pursue an external goal? Click To Tweet

Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts and blogs. She is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and a co-founder of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive Maryanne’s blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here.

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