Goals goals goals goals goals. At the beginning of this year your feeds will have most likely been inundated with talk of goals – fitness goals, work goals, blogging goals, 2017 goals…hell, even parenting goals.

But here’s a revelation which I discovered from an illuminating talk I heard by Dr Tamara Russell, Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence at the recent Lucky Things Meet Up organised by lovely fellow blogger Sunitha from Lucky Things.

So here’s a little something I want you to do:

Close your eyes and say the word “goals” to yourself and observe what happens in your body, and in your mind. For me, when I mulled over the word goals inside my mind, my brow furrowed, my heart rate quickened and I immediately felt under pressure – and let’s face it, we all have enough to that in our lives already. Especially against the backdrop of the emotional struggle of being a parent.

And now try the same by lingering over a different word – intentions. Feel your face soften, your heart rate slow, and a more gentle, almost inviting feeling wash over you.

What a difference eh?

In this fight or flight world, surely what we don’t need is even more pressure on ourselves by imposing the word goals on our lives – but maybe what we need is a little more gentle pathway to achieving that we wish to achieve…an intention. Because at least intention isn’t a mean word which will judge us if we happen to fall short, and at least intention leaves us open to the imperfections we should embrace in our lives.

Surely life is hard enough as it is without us having to impose goals on ourselves? So why not save goals for the boardroom, and usher in intentions for our lives instead? Whether it be health, your career, parenting, fitness or simply for the week or month ahead. Now that’s something I could work towards. Food for thought isn’t it?

What is your view on goal setting versus intentions? Do you find goal setting helps you get to where you want to be, or would you prefer the most gentler approach of setting an intention? Do leave a comment and share.

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