Intentions govern our journey to good health

Vitamin “I” is everything. Each one of us has heard people saying — live with an intention or set your intention in the morning. What is an intention and why is it so powerful?

The moment we start setting little intentions when we wake up in the morning, before we sleep at night, before we pop that medicine, before we undergo chemotherapy/radiation/surgery, before we enter a relationship or are in one, we begin to realise how powerful it is.

Many confuse intentions with goals. There is a big difference. A goal is what you set for the future. It is something that you want to achieve over the course of time. Intention is about you, in the present moment. For example, you want to lose weight in three months. So that becomes your goal, you are going to work towards achieving it in the next three months. But the intentions you set for this, to reach the larger goal, are the things you do daily. So, set an intention to get one meal right, and then two. You could also set an intention of eating slowly, without distractions, bless and chew your food and eat it gracefully. You can have the biggest goals, but most people fail to achieve their goals because they are not able to do the little things they need to, with discipline and consistency.

We wake up in the morning and throw ourselves into the day, reacting to everything that comes our way, with no time for ourselves to workout, meditate, go for a walk or spend time with family. However, adopting this inexpensive practice of setting intentions before your day begins, can help you stay on your path. You could look at something like,

>> Today, I intend to spend 15 minutes of time with my family and give them my undivided attention.

>> Today, I intend to go for a walk amidst the nature for 30 minutes.

Setting these intentions becomes that invisible thread that holds you together.

Let’s talk about one of the most common distractions today — mindless scrolling on social media — taking away most of our precious time that could’ve been invested in something productive. Now, why does that become mindless?

Because we grab our phone and enter social media platforms without an intention. You don’t have to give up social media, you only have to set an intention before using it, so you know your purpose. Set an intention to spend maybe five minutes on Instagram, 10 minutes on Facebook. Five minutes to check what is happening in your favourite groups — maybe check your DMs, reply to comments, put up a post, and that’s it. You then log off and move on with your day. Without setting an intention, it is very easy for platforms like these to keep you trapped, and then you’d end up wasting so much of your valuable time without even realising it. It can lead to mindless scrolling, comparing your lives with others, feeling inadequate and unknowingly damaging your own mental and emotional health.

Intention, in a way, is your purpose. What is your purpose? A goal without a purpose is useless. A businessman could set an intention for his business. For

example, today, my intention is to spend time with my employees, appreciate them, add a new vertical to my business, etc. Your goal may be to have a turnover of one billion, but it is the everyday intention you set that is going to propel you in that direction. A life without daily intentions can become very frustrating and pointless.

Similarly, a parent can set intentions for his/her kids. For example, I’ll spend 30 minutes with my kids today and teach them a particular skill. Teach them about our planet or watch an educational channel together. Even watching television can be done with an intention because without that, it only becomes an idiot box and you mindlessly waste your time and gain nothing in return.

You can set an intention around everything. It’s powerful when done daily. Teach this to your kids as well. A life without intention is devoid of purpose. You can find yourself demotivated, complaining, blaming, getting entangled in gossip and things that add zero value to your life. Try it as a daily habit, you have nothing to lose.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai