Intention - 3 Easy Steps to Unleash Your Superpower!
The mind is a powerful thing. If we don’t manage our thoughts, our thoughts manage us. More and more, the science is proving what humanities has known all along. Like attracts like and energy attracts like energy.
To change how you lead, how you sell, how you create, collaborate or build a business, you must set your intention. Professor Richard Boyatzis, PhD of Case Western University has done extensive research into what he calls Intentional Change Theory. His research supports the power of positive intention to bring about change in individuals, teams and organizations. Intentions are inspiring, motivating, aspirational statements of vision and purpose.
Your Results in Life are Manifestations of Your Intentions
Intention setting is one of the most powerful emotional management skills you can master. “If I think it, it will come” seems like a magical super power, but it’s grounded in the neuroscience of emotional thoughts to predict outcomes in life. Here are three simple things you can start doing today to unleash the super power positive intentions.
Write down your intention. You can write down an intention for the day, such as, “Today, I appreciate one strength each individual brings to my team.” You can write down an intention for a meeting, “I listen in this meeting with intent to understand and connect with others.” Or, you can write down an intention for an individual, “I listen to my son/daughter with love and openness.” The key is to frame the intention as if it’s already happening, “I’m proud to be the top sales person in my district” or “I’m a great listener.” The mind will accept the intention as fact and manifest the emotional energy necessary to bring the intention into reality.
Practice mini-mindfulness. The science is in. Mindfulness and meditation aid focus, release stress and help to envision positive outcomes. Mindfulness increases your ability to manage emotions and change your life. If you think you don’t have time to meditate, here’s a mini-mindful practice you can do before a meeting, on the commute home or any challenging event. It takes only minutes. Close your eyes (unless you’re driving!), take a deep breath…and…
Imagine you’ve just awakened from a wonderful night’s sleep. Upon awakening, your intention (for this meeting, customer, relationship, challenge etc.) has miraculously manifested into reality. Any challenges you faced have been solved overnight while you slept. Opportunity and possibility come to you during your sleep. When you wake up, something is different. You inherently know something is different, that something happened to you overnight. What is the first thing you notice that confirms something is different? How do you know things have changed? what has changed in you? What will you now think, say or do differently? What is your intention? (P.S., if you're driving, before you start the car, close your eyes and takes two deep breaths before opening your eyes to image 'what is different' on your drive home.)
Find the funny. Intention involves resolve, purpose, dreams and aspirations. To engage in intention-setting, you must free your mind from stress responses and emotional hot-buttons. Humor induces physical changes in your body and brain. According to the Mayo Clinic, humor:
Stimulates your organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
Activates and relieves your stress response. Laughter fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
Soothes tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
These three responses help you tap into your prefrontal cortex and focus on your intention. A sense of humor also supports healthy relationships by releasing oxytocin and facilitating trust and social bonding. All good things that will put you in the right frame of mind to express your best intentions.
For more on intention setting and harnessing the power of positive energy in your work and life, contact us at www.theeicoach.com susan@theeicoach.com