Increase Your Intention and Get Er Done

People tell me all the time they want to move forward, but then they don’t do what they say they are going to do.   My question to them is what is their intention.  A good definition for intention is: “to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim.”

When you say you want to do something you need to set your intention to go where you want to.

Are you ready to move forward – not just a step or two, but a whole level?

Are you ready to leap into a new existence of achievement and power?

Are you ready to leave your old life behind and move right into the life you deserve?

We can only achieve as high as we think we can.

Try this little exercise: Stand up and extend your arms out on both sides of your body. Close your eyes and, turning at the waist, see how far you can twist to one side without causing yourself bodily harm. Open your eyes and make a mental note of where you are pointing behind you. Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself going a little farther. Ready, twist! Open your eyes and see if you surpassed your previous point. If you’re like most people, you did.

Why didn’t you go further the first time? For the simple reason that you didn’t think you could. Once you imagined yourself going further, you did. It’s not very complicated!

If your mental beliefs impose limits on your physical stretching, it make sense that they’ll limit your mental and spiritual achievement, too. So you need to ask yourself what limits you’re putting on your:

• …dreams. Are you dreaming big enough?

• …income potential. Are you unnecessarily limiting your income or salary?

• …relationships. Do you doubt what you can achieve in your friendships and family life?

• …physical health. Are you accepting less than the best because you think you’re too old or too out of shape?

The first step to changing your boundaries is to “up” your deserve level. Here are three things that block you from accepting that you deserve the best:

• Envy. Envy is the result of a scarcity mindset. You think that if someone else gets something – a great job, a new car, a book deal – that you can’t have it, too. That is not the way the universe works. Just because someone else gets something doesn’t mean no one else can ever have that. Hey, even Brad Pitt has been engaged more than once!

Realize that whatever anyone else in this world has – from a great body to a great family to a great career – you can have it, too. Use their example to inspire rather than depress you.

• Fear. Fear is one of the greatest demotivators. It’s hard to feel limitless and powerful when you’re shaking in your shoes! It’s natural to feel scared of breaking outside your normal boundaries, but remind yourself that all growth takes place outside your comfort zone. To grow, you must push your own limits, by definition. Get comfortable with discomfort – see it as a sign of growth, much like aching muscles indicate you worked out hard and are getting stronger.

• Laziness. We get used to where we are and decide it’s good enough because we don’t really want to have to work harder. Time for a harsh truth: If you want an extraordinary life, you’re going to have to go to some out-of-the-ordinary measures. That means whipping yourself, bribing yourself, coaching yourself, whatever it takes to motivate yourself to move beyond “average.”

Moving upward and onward starts with believing you deserve to have more and be more. It’s essential to own your dreams – and dream big.

3. Surround Yourself With Success

It’s been repeated so often that it’s basically internet law at this point: Your income will average that of the five people you hang around most.

Whether it’s literally true or just sort of true, it doesn’t really matter – the point is, if you want to be successful, you have to surround yourself with successful people.

If you want to run a triathlon, hang out with Ironman-types.

If you want to be a published author, go where the published authors are.

If you want to start a successful internet business, commune with online entrepreneurs.

There are many reasons to hob-nob with people who have achieved the goals you aspire to:

1. They show it can be done.Often we think that success happens to “other” people, not people we actually know. When we get to meet actual achievers, though, we see that they’re really not much different than we are. They put their pants on one leg at a time, they have dogs who chew the furniture, and they have kid/car/in-law troubles just like the rest of us. By demystifying those who live and breathe where you want to reside, you gain a realization that you can do it, too.

2. They know what it takes. We tend to believe the “overnight success” stories. But talk to the Ironman athlete, the best-selling author, the online businessperson, and they’ll tell you that it took a lot of hard work to get where they are. The bad news: It takes extraordinary effort to achieve extraordinary results. The good news: Once you stop believing that luck determines your success, you’ll see that if you’re willing to put in the time and the sweat, you can have whatever you want.

3. They share their secrets. It may be nothing more than where to buy the best wetsuits, or how to cut a minute off your transition time from swim to biking stage, but these little secrets add up – and they’re exactly the kind of help that you won’t read in books or magazine articles.

4. They want you to succeed, too. Most successful people know that there is more than enough to go around, and they’re happy to see you get your share, too. Being surrounded with people who have an abundance mindset will help you think of all you can have in this life, not all that you can’t.

5. They show the gaps in your knowledge, skills, and behavior. If you see that all the self-made millionaires you know invest in real estate and act as their own agent, you might decide it’s time to brush up on your broker’s license courses. If the people who have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off all bring their lunch to work and work out at least an hour a day, you may commit to finding more time to hit the gym. Model yourself after those you admire and you’ll find yourself becoming more like them, success and all.

I’m not saying you have to say goodbye to the boys from the old neighborhood, but if you want to soar with eagles, you may have to limit your time with the turkeys.

 

Photo -  Flickr:Cassandra Kinaivaq Rae