How to Add Meaning and Fulfilment to your Days
My mornings used to start like this:
My alarm would ring. I’d reach for my work phone, check my inbox and prepare replies to emails as I made the bed…
In yoga, you never hurry into your first downward dog.
At the start of class you set an intention.
Your intention could be something physical – like balance – or it might be a personal quality you want to cultivate – likegratitude.
But you don’t need to be sat on a yoga mat to set an intention.
We can set intentions in our everyday lives to add a sense of meaning, fulfilment and purpose to our days.
Setting intentions gives you a greater sense of achievement
It’s easy to feel like we’ve failed when we don’t achieve specific goals or targets.
Setting intentions – as an alternative to goals or targets – can help increase our sense of achievement.
Instead of judging our success by specific results, we can measure our success by whether we kept to our intention.
Perhaps the overall outcome of that meeting wasn’t what you hoped for. But if your intention was to remain open-minded, and you listened to your colleagues’ views, that’s achievement to be proud of.
Intentions stop you feeling overwhelmed
Perhaps you’re up against a totally unrealistic deadline at work.
Or you don’t know where to start with that stack of overdue bills.
It can feel reassuring – and empowering – to come back to our intentions in these moments.
We might not have control over the circumstances we find ourselves in, but we always have control over the way we react to a situation.
Use your intention to guide your reaction.
Setting intentions helps cultivate mindfulness
Intentions are useful when we notice our mind has wandered, or when we’re “going through the motions” of repeat or mundane tasks.
Remembering our intention helps bring us back to the present moment.
And by focusing the mind on our intention, our actions will become more mindful. They will carry meaning and have a sense of purpose.
Intentions help you become kinder to yourself
Occasionally, we might choose intentions that remind us not to push ourselves beyond our limits.
An intention I often set in yoga is patience (especially with my tight hamstrings!) and it’s an intention I’ve started using off the yoga mat too.
“Gentle” intentions help transform feelings of frustration into kindness.
We can look back at our day with a sense of fulfilment – because even if we didn’t tick off everything on our to-do-list, we did the best that we could.
Intentions shape you as a person
We might set intentions internally, but they are reflected in the outside world through our actions and our words.
If you make gratitude your intention, it will shine through as you go about your day. Notice all the extra “thank yous” you say.
The qualities and values that shape your intentions will be the qualities and virtues that people come to know you by.
What sort of person do you want to be known as?
How will you approach tomorrow?
Tomorrow, before you launch into your morning routine, perhaps take a few moments to set an intention.
If you’re thinking – “I don’t have the time for that!” – why not simply incorporate it into your existing routine? (What else are you really thinking of as you brush your teeth?!)
Intentions won’t change what happens in your day.
But they can change how you approach your day, how you feel about your day, and how you show up in your life.