How to Sustain Intentions

When I began my blog over 10 years ago, I wrote from the heart about my own life struggles and shared the teachings I had gained from world renowned thought leaders I was studying with. Within a few years, my blog grew to nearly 100,000 readers and then I let it go to focus on my weekly newspaper column.

Along with my own growth, my column has evolved over the years, and helped thousands of readers with relationship harmony, physical wellbeing and mental health. However, many of you have expressed difficulty sharing the newspaper columns, so I have decided to re-introduce my blog. This way, you can keep up with my latest hacks on wellbeing and my ongoing practice in ancient wisdom.

As the hype of 2020 dwindles and our gusto for our new year’s resolutions wane, I hope this entry helps to re-ignite the spark for your hopes and dreams.

One of my clients reported feeling a great deal of pressure to set big goals for the new decade of 2020. In the past, she’s succeeded at setting intentions but then loses motivation to continue with them after the first month. She wants to know how to keep these intentions alive throughout the year.

Personally speaking, I have a longstanding passion for this topic and have been practicing the art of manifestation long before the movie the ‘Secret’ came out. I vividly remember moving back to the Maritimes from Vancouver and beginning my life anew with a clean slate at the age of 29. With no job, no partner and no dependents, I had a rare opportunity to create my life based on the desire within my heart, and my life today is pretty darn cool because of it. I’ll admit that the process wasn’t easy though, because I had to wrestle with some pretty powerful demons inside that wanted to sabotage my dreams. The following are practices I applied to successfully fulfill my vision, which you can use to step into your intentions too.

1. You may not be able to silence these old demons mentioned above, which may appear in your life as limiting beliefs of yourself, so start by just suspending them for a day. Imagine how you would live if this belief didn’t exist in your mind, how would you live? What would you do with your time and life energy? Take a day and explore these answers. If it felt good to live without these dream-busting beliefs, suspend them for another day, and another, until you’ve outgrown them completely.
2. Sometimes these inner demons are woven so deeply into our lives that our friends and family relate to us in a way that supports them because that’s how we’ve always shown up. Why don’t you share your intentions with your closest relationships so that they can support you in moving in your new direction? I know, it’s a bold and brave move, and it’s one of the most powerful ways of affecting change in your life. It will also help them to come around to the idea of the new you.
3. Become an expert in your dream. We have never before had access to the infinite amount of information that we can find with a few clicks on a computer today. Whatever your intentions are, do your research and become an expert in the field. Use your free time to up-level your life by filling your mind with information to support your new reality. As you build acumen in your field, let this new knowledge fuel the dream within your heart. You are the author of your own life, so dive in and write your story.
4. Don’t grasp too tightly to your vision of the end result. Sometimes we can become so fixated on the goal we want to achieve, that we miss all the subtle gifts and blessings along the way because they exist outside of the narrow image we’ve created for the end result.  It’s like planning a river rafting excursion, you can chart a course with a start and finish but along the way, you’ll have to flow with the twists and turns of the river, as well as the obstacles along your path. 

That said, be careful not to focus too strictly on specific details, which can blind you and block other contributing factors from enriching your journey. Instead, assume a more general, broader vision. For example, instead of being hell bent on losing 20lbs, your broader intention could be to become the healthiest version of you, you can be. Everything you do, from eating healthy, whole foods, exercising daily and managing stress levels will inevitably lead you to a healthy weight, minus the obsession with the scale. Yes, you need to be steadfast in your efforts to make changes but remember to stay open to delightful surprises by going with the flow.

5. It’s also important to recite (or revise) your intention every day. One method that’s effective is to watch the sunrise each morning and invite your intentions into your life. As you watch the sun go down (or envision it in your mind’s eye), you can let go of any challenges or setbacks that may dampen your motivation for the next day.

Each day we have an opportunity to do one thing in support of our dreams, so keep calm and let me know how the journey’s going!