Living with Intention

Not too long ago, I saw a sign on vacation that read, live with intention.

In my very humble opinion, living with intention often correlates to manifesting what you seek, which comes in many forms. The birthplace of your intention usually starts with an idea or goal. For example, let’s say you decide to create a piece of artwork. In this example, I will use a painting. Your goal is to complete an entire painting in a month.

First things first, you purchase your canvas, brushes, and paint. You are already well on your way to finishing what you started. You now have all of the required materials, so all that is left for you to do is paint. Or is it?

Small steps lead to big ones

Many times in life, we boil down whatever problem we may have to make sense of everything. Yet, when we complete something, there are often small steps taken that usually go unnoticed or unaccounted for like in this scenario. Buying materials for the painting wasn’t enough to complete the painting, right?

For you to complete the painting in a month, a goal you set for yourself, you must wake up daily with the intention of completing your project. How is this done? Well, it’s not always as simple as waking up and painting, now is it? If it were that easy, everybody would do it.

“Living with intention is about much more than what you intend to do.”

Manifesting what you seek

Your intentions are about things such as preparation, but perhaps more than anything, it’s about manifestation. What are you seeking? What does your spirit yearn for? In this scenario, you want to complete an entire painting in a month. So what are you actively doing every day to make this happen? Do you set time aside each day to paint? Do you use your spare time thinking about what colors you can use on one specific part of the painting? That way, you don’t have to do it once it comes time to paint. Let me paint the bigger picture, pun intended.

What are your daily intentions?

So your goal is to complete a painting in a month. What do you hope to accomplish by completing this? As in, what do you hope to gain? A sense of completion? Is it self-fulfilling? Is it the proverbial pat on the back? For others to acknowledge your work? Is it to sell the painting? Many different outcomes can be had, just from you creating this one piece of artwork.

“However, it’s what you intend to happen that most likely will happen.”

To take it a step further, if your goal is to sell the painting after you create it, what steps are you taking to make this happen? Have you messaged anyone about it? Have you contacted your close friends to sell them your one of a kind painting? If instead, your goal is to have it showcased, have you contacted your local art museum to see if they will display it?

Align your intentions

Again, there are outcomes to be had if your intentions are aligned. By living with intention, you give yourself the best chance to manifest what it is you specifically seek. Rather than living on a hope or a wish, live with intention, with purpose. If your goal is to complete this painting, wake up each day with the intention of doing so. Don’t make excuses. Don’t give up. Intend to do so, and you will.