Sound familiar? You're stuck in a social media loop, following the daily lives of other people whose lives look totally exciting, free and inspiring. You know you shouldn't compare yourself to others (especially online!) and that you're responsible for your own life. Nevertheless, one or the other thought creeps into your head that you would also like to redesign your life a bit to finally live the life you dream of.
I myself was like that for a long time and I just didn't really manage to change my life positively in the long run. Until I learned how to set positive intentions that remind me every day where my focus should be - until something really changed!
What are intentions, anyway?
Intentions are a wonderful tool for finding joy and fulfillment - and living exactly the life that feels right for you. They open your mind to what you really want and give you a focus point to remind yourself of it every day. In short, they help you manifest your dreams.
Unlike the "goal," it's not just the end result that's important, but the entire journey to get there - your actual life at every moment. When we set goals, we only have the end result in mind from the beginning and often skip the moment we are in. You subconsciously create a gap between what you can experience in life with all your senses and what you would like to experience. As a result, you always view the now as capable of optimization and insufficient, and the goal always seems far away. That doesn't sound ideal, does it?
But when you set an intention, you're just taking a rough path that feels good. This path can then lead you through a multitude of forks to an infinite number of goals - and they may no longer have anything to do with what you had hoped for at the very beginning - except that they feel totally right and good and can be adapted over time.
An intention, then, is a direct invitation to ourselves to live our lives the way we deeply desire. And we can experience and enjoy this feeling, this path, from the first step.
To find your intention
Take a quiet moment for yourself, for example right now.
Listen to a short mantra to calm your thoughts, or simply a quiet song to set the mood. Close your eyes. Remember when in your life you were truly happy from the heart. Is there a moment, or perhaps several moments, when you had that pure feeling of indescribable joy? The feeling that everything is just right and you are connected to yourself? This is exactly the state you should always be in: completely satisfied, balanced, full of love, in joy and in close connection with yourself. Sometimes it also helps to write down keywords in connection with this feeling. What exactly made you feel content?
And when you think of this feeling, set this as your intention. How do you want to feel? What state do you want to tune into every day?
Formulate this feeling as a clear, positive sentence, e.g. "I feel completely secure" or "I am courageous and discover the world". Exactly this longing, this feeling, is your intention.
How to use your intention for yourself
Now that you know what your intention is, you can use it to make positive changes in your life!
The best thing to do is to start every morning for 21 days with a short meditation and focus on an object that supports your intention - for example a mala bracelet. Say your intention out loud. For example, "I will feel free and happy. I will be full of energy. I will believe in myself and realize my dreams with a clear mind. I will be ready for change and have confidence. I will open my arms and create space for this feeling in my life."
Through this little ritual, you give your intention time and space in your life every morning. It has the opportunity to unfold and can then accompany you subconsciously throughout the day to guide your feelings and decisions in a better direction.
Just try it once, you will be surprised what can change in just 21 days!
By the way: You can also repeat your intention during the day whenever you need a little extra energy. To do this, touch your bracelet briefly, breathe deeply in and out, and think firmly of your intention. This will instantly realign your power and guide the flow of your day towards your intention.
Manifest your dreams
Remember, whether you achieve your goals in life or not, your intention reminds you why you want to achieve a goal in the first place. Whenever you are in a state of deep contentment and peace, you are surely on the right path. Let that joy be your guiding star and consider what you can do to experience that positive feeling.
Over time you will get a sense of what activities, what people, what places are good for you and help you manifest the life of your dreams. And you'll have that good moment more and more often when you can just close your eyes and know all is well.