“No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.”

Stephen Hawking

Your Intention Creates Your Reality

Have you ever wondered about the inconsistency of your experiences?

• Sometimes you really enjoy yourself at a party. Other times, you leave disappointed and triggered.
• Sometimes you experience immense joy in cooking and preparing a meal for friends and loved ones. Other times, you feel resentment.
• Sometimes you’re energized by the challenge of work. Other times you’re exhausted and depleted.

Do you ever wonder why that is?

I was reflecting on that myself and have a few personal lessons that I’d like to share.

When I looked at my own experiences, the difference between whether I had a pleasant or “successful” experience or one that was unpleasant or “unsuccessful” was heavily influenced by the energy of my intention.

Your Experience Changes With Your Intention

Reflecting on my past intentions, depending on what they were, created a different experience, whether it was to:

• Have fun playing vs. “win” at any cost
• Be helpful vs. be right
• Serve vs. be recognized
• Express my truth vs. validate my truth
• Make myself proud vs. prove myself
• Follow my joy vs. wait to feel joy
• Trust in my inner wisdom vs. over-analyze
• Heal vs. act strong
• Follow my path vs. achieve
• Love vs. be loved

My intentions at the very least shaped and at most created my experience.

Three Lessons On Intention I’ve Experienced To Be True

Lesson #1: Your Intention Manifests Physically

The first thing that occurs when you have an intention is that the universe conspires to help you get it.

That sounds really wonderful, as described in the international bestseller book “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, but how does this happen?

Everything in your life is created by a decision you made at one point – who you partner with, what you do for work, or where you live.

As the spiritual teacher and author Gary Zukav (and one of Oprah’s favorite people who was invited to be on her show 34 times!) described in his book “The Seat of the Soul,” Each of your decisions is based on your attitude of the universe, other people, and yourself. The experiences that were created by each of your decisions further shape your attitudes.”

Ultimately, your decisions reflect your attitudes and your attitudes reflect your decisions. Therefore, your intentions create your reality.

As an example, if you’re in a tense work meeting or in a heated argument with your partner and you change your intention from “being right” to “being helpful,” your attitude about your situation will shift, thereby changing what you do and how you respond. It’s worth mentioning that if you were to change your intention in the opposite direction – from “being helpful” to “being right,” it’s easy to imagine how that also will shift the vibe in the room very quickly!

If you believe the universe is on your side, then you believe things are happening for you all the time (rather than to you). But if your intention is to challenge or defend against all the things that are happening to you, you could end up resisting the gifts that you need coming to you.

Lesson #2: Intention Is Your North Star

One of the hardest things to do if you are ambitious and driven is to recognize when to double down on grit versus when to cut your losses and call it quits.

But with clear intentions, you will know when to stay versus when to go.

Take the example of a relationship.

Maybe you’re in a relationship where you waffle between good days and rocky days.

And one day you find yourself at a crossroads. You think, “Do I nurture this relationship even more, or has this relationship run its course, and end it?”

This is a very difficult question to answer unless you clearly know your intention.

Is your intention for this relationship to:

• Have fun
• Build a life
• Grow old
• Avoid being lonely
• Be supportive
• Be supported
• Heal
• Learn to love
• Love unconditionally
• Connect spiritually
• Climb the social ladder
• Become a better person
• Learn and grow together
• Create exhilarating experiences
• Create a relationship of envy for others
• Create a family
• Accumulate personal gains

By focusing on your intention, you will find clarity for whether you should invest more or pull out based on what matters most to you.

When you’re unclear about your intention, you become uncertain, you flip-flop, and you’re easily influenced by external circumstances.

If you’re experiencing indecisiveness, it could be a signal that you need to look at your intention. You must know your intentions to know what you want and how to take action.

Lesson #3: Intention Changes You

The third lesson about intention is that it has the power to change who you are and how others see you in the world.

Take the example of a job.

How you dress, carry yourself, show up every day at work, communicate, collaborate or isolate yourself, go the extra mile, job hop, or climb the ladder, are driven by your intention.

Your relationship with your job, colleagues, boss, and the workplace is going to be very different depending on your underlying intention to:

• Learn and grow
• Make top dollar
• Pay bills
• Support family
• Angle for a better job
• Showcase talent
• Give back to society
• Make the planet a better place
• Be the boss
• Retire at 35
• Retire at 75

How you view your job is the underlying driver of everything that you do or don’t do, say or don’t say, stay or leave.

Final Thoughts

The quality of your life can be determined and changed by the quality of your thoughts and intention.

Your intentions can change over time, so revisit them from time to time.

What if you’re finding that your actions and decisions aren’t reflecting your intention? It could be that your unconscious intentions are stronger than your conscious ones. Gary Zukav warns, “If you’re not aware of your intentions, the strongest one will win.”

These were the lessons that I learned to be true, which may or may not resonate with you. You may experience intentions in a different way that’s true for you, and that’s perfectly ok.

Consider sharing this article if you found it helpful.