Hello, friends! Francesca here, and welcome to another week on the Live Fearlessly Podcast! This week you get another solo episode by moi and I wanted to dive into a little practice I’ve begun integrating into my daily routine.
And it’s all about daily intention setting.
So before we dive into how to set intentions or what are some intentions I love cultivating, let's chat about what it means to set intentions.
What does it mean to set intentions?
For me, setting intentions is all about living a purposeful life. Intentions are all about purpose, an objective, or something you’re aiming to do. And to do that on a large scale, you first have to start with the every day.
I recently heard a quote that i fell in love with while taking a course hosted by photographer, KT Merry. She quoted author, Dr. Mike Murdock and he says, “You don’t decide your future. You decide your habits and your habits decide your future.”
So if you’re like us over here on the Live Fearlessly Podcast, and if you’re listening right now, I’m sure you are - then you’ve got some bigggg dreams for your life. And we love that.
So in order to accomplish those big, wild, audacious dreams, we agree with Dr. Murdock in that the only way we can get closer to achieving those dreams is through daily, intentional habits that set us up for success.
So what does this look like?
Truly, setting daily intentions can look a little bit different for everyone! And it’s great to find a rhythm that works for you!
But let’s get granular: the main goal in setting your daily intention is cultivating a word or a phrase that depicts how you want to move through your day. It’s about not leaving your attitude towards to the day in front of you up to chance.
And this may sound a little funny! I’m sure you're thinking, but Francesca, how do I know how the day is going to play out? How do I know what I need? And that’s a great question! We will never know what lies ahead of us in the minutes, and hours of the day. But we are in control of how we feel about the day.
An Example of Setting Intentions
Let me give you an example! Just this weekend, I had an exciting engagement session for some incredible clients planned. I was so looking forward to working with them and we dreamed up this amazing session that totally reflected who these two were as a couple and what they hope to remember out of this time engaged. It was perfect.
Prior to the session, I was a little nervous! I always get some excited jitters right before a big session or wedding. But I also wanted to make sure that I could give this amazing couple my very best at the session. That meant, I needed to cultivate some extra creativity.
So that was it. On my way to their session, I listened to my favorite meditation podcast, Mindful in Minutes with Kelly Smith, and cultivated my intention for their session. Now the process by which you create your intention can be different than mine, but I start by a few deep breaths and listen to a podcast episode I’ll be sure to link in the show notes! From there, I just think about the best outcome I can have from this session or this day and think about what I need in order to achieve that outcome.
So for me, the best outcome was to create beautiful images for this couple and feel really great about my work after their session. So the phrase that came to me was authentic creativity. After that, I just repeated it a few times to myself along with some badass mantras and I Am statements and voila, I was feeling prepped and ready to kick butt at my session.
Turns out, the session was A BLAST! And I felt so fulfilled afterwards.
Setting intentions is all about setting you up to achieve the best outcome of your day and ensuring that you’re chasing a life of fulfillment, rather than just crossing off tasks on your to do list.
Make sense?
Ways to set intentions
Now that you know what daily intentions are and how they can benefit your day, I wanted to give you some ideas for how you can go about setting intentions in your day!
Meditations: Like I mentioned earlier, for me, I love to do a quiet meditation. Whether thats listening to the Mindful in Minutes podcast I mentioned earlier, or just taking a couple quiet moments to myself at the beginning of the day to think about how I want the day to turn out.
Here's the episode of the Mindful in Minutes podcast that I love!
Journaling: Another great way to set your daily intention is to take a few minutes in the morning to journal about your day. You can write down your to do list, take a minute to analyze what you need to get done, and then write down a few words or phrases about how you want to feel at the end of the day. Maybe you need a little motivation to get through your day. Write that. Maybe you need a little inspiration to get through your day. Write that. Maybe you need to cultivate more energy to get through your day. Write that.
Writing things down is a sure fire way to remember them and be able to recall them repeatedly throughout your day.
Set an alarm: I haven’t tried this one out just yet, but another great idea is to set an alarm every few hours that reads your intention to you. So for instance, let’s say your intention for today is to simply drink more water to feel a bit healthier. Every two hours, set an alarm on your phone reminding you to refill that bottle of water and keep chugging to achieve that goal. At the end of the day, you’ll probably feel so refreshed, and fulfilled that you were able to achieve the intention you set out for yourself.
How does daily intention setting lead to overall growth?
Ohhhh so many ways, my friends. In that example above about the water, you can easily see how setting your intention early in the day with a few reminders, helps you to feel fulfilled when the day is done.
That’s just one day of reaching fulfillment. Now, imagine that feeling growing exponentially if you’re able to get into this practice every day. Months will go by with that same incredible feeling that ultimately teaches you that you are in control of your attitude, your positivity, and your level of fulfillment. It will also teach you that you can achieve what you intend to. It’ll show you that you have the power to accomplish every goal, every desire, every dream that sets your soul on fire. It just starts with one habit, today.
We believe in you. You can do this, friends.
Let’s get ya started
So I didn’t want to leave you hanging! Let’s get you started with setting up your intention for today right now. I’ve never quite created my own meditation before, but we’ll give this a try and you can let us know over on instagram @livefearlesslypodcast if this worked for you!
Now, unless you’re driving, I’m going to ask you to close your eyes. If you are driving, please remain focused on the road and just listen!
So close your eyes, settle in, get comfortable. Start with a big inhale. Fill your lungs with life giving breath until you feel your chest begin to expand. Hold it there a moment before slowly releasing your breath. Now, exhale, letting out a big sigh through your mouth. Do this a few more times. Really taking your time to inhale, hold, and exhale. How often do you take the time to breathe deeply like this? A few more: Inhale, hold, now exhale.
Now, with your eyes close, visualize the best scenario for your day. What does the best version of today look like? How do you move through your day? How do you speak to people? How do you speak to yourself? Think about what you need to get you through your day. Is it motivation? Is it patience? Is it inspiration? Is it energy? Thinking about the best version of you, see what comes to you in terms of an intention.
Now repeat it to yourself over and over. You can say it out loud, no one’s here with you.
Know that you have everything you need to achieve this intention. You are in control of how you feel about your day. You are in control with how you move through your day. You are strong. You are important. You are valued.
Take a few more minutes to breath deeply. On the inhale, repeat the intention to yourself in your mind. Now let out a slow exhale. Do this two more times. Inhale your intention and exhale slowly. Inhale your intention and exhale slowly.
You guys are amazing. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to and I know you are all off achieving your wildest dreams, despite your fears.
We’re so proud of you! See you next week! xx
Meditation Music from this Episode is titled, Running Waters by Audionautix.com