How to Set Your Intent for the Day

When life gets busy, it’s easy to get caught up in our routines and let external factors dictate our day. 

How many times do you just roll out of bed and get busy without checking in with yourself? 

Maybe you start the day off on your phone and let the demands of others or the pressure of social media influence what you are choosing to do and feel that day.

When things get hectic, it's crucial to understand the distinction between being reactive and responsive. 

Reactivity is allowing external circumstances to determine our behavior and emotions, while responsiveness involves being in control and deliberate in our actions. 

Setting your intent is a powerful tool for regaining control of your life and results by staying responsive and not reactive.

The practice of setting your intent

The practice of setting your intent is simple. It starts off with asking yourself powerful questions like, “What is my intent for the day?” or “What is my intent for the week?”

This process takes us out of reactive mode and returns us to creation mode. 

Often we get so zoomed in and overwhelmed by every little detail, or we get so consumed with the next thing. Setting your intent zooms you back out and allows you to take in the big picture.

Often when I talk to people about this practice, they say that they don’t have the time to reflect on what they want from the day before it begins. 

But the truth is that you don’t have the time NOT to set your intent if you want to create a life you love. 

It’s also important to avoid approaching this practice from a to-do list mindset. What we’re figuring out is way more powerful than that. 

Setting your intent is more about the person you want to show up as - how you want to feel, react and respond to the situations that you encounter. When you set your intent, you allow yourself to be in control of your experience. 

How to set your intent

To set your intent, decide what feelings and experience you want for the day or week. Then evaluate, on a scale of 0-10, how much you believe you can actually achieve that result.

If you answer with a lower number, get curious, not judgmental. Ask yourself what is getting in the way of you being closer to a 10. 

What you’ll notice 99% of the time is that it’s your thoughts that are holding you back. When you slow things down and question your thoughts, you can get closer to creating the intent you have set.

Here are some examples of intentions you can set to get you started:

• Today I intend to stay focused on my to-do list.
• Today I intend to live in the present moment.
• Today I intend to stick up for my beliefs.
• Today I intend to listen to my intuition and let that guide me.
• I intend to enjoy my creativity today.
• I intend to prioritize what matters most today.
• I intend to embrace all forms of change today.
• I intend to open myself to new possibilities without shutting myself down.
• I intend to be intentional and organized today.

If any of these feel good to you, feel free to use them. Ask yourself how believable that intention is for you, and keep checking in throughout the day. 

When things come along that don’t align with your intent, have the courage to say no and allow that intent to be your North Star.

Setting your intent in specific situations

Setting your intent regularly is powerful, but it can also be helpful to set your intent for specific events or situations. 

You may have an upcoming trip and want to experience it in a certain way. Or there might be a significant life event like a graduation, the birth of a baby, or a wedding approaching, and you want to be responsive and not reactive.

Use this practice of purposefully deciding how you want to feel and show up ahead of time. This allows you to remain in control of your experience and create the results you want.

Keep practicing

The more you practice, the easier this process of setting your intent will become.  It doesn’t have to take long or be complicated. It can be done in the car, shower, or wherever you have just a moment to check in with yourself. 

Don’t let the world or your calendar dictate what you will do with your life. You get to determine that. Stay in the driver's seat by setting your intent.

If you want more help tapping into your desires and intentions for your life, check out my free private podcast, Beyond Living and Loving Your Life. 

This podcast walks you through exactly how to engage with your emotions daily - in three minutes or less.

CLICK HERE to get instant access to the free podcast.