Living with Intention: The Power of Intelligent Action in Achieving Your Life’s Goals

Living with intention is about knowing what you want from life and intelligent action is the ‘how’ you get it. This approach helps us focus on our goals on our North Star Trajectory and make choices that lead us to success. When we align our actions (therefore making them Intelligent Actions) with our intentions, we can achieve more and feel more satisfied with our lives.

Understanding Intention and Intelligent Action

Living with intention means doing things on purpose with a clear aim. Intelligent Action is when your actions are aligned with your values and goals. For example, if you intend to become healthier, your actions should include eating well and exercising regularly. This alignment helps your brain and body work better, making you feel happier and more fulfilled.

The benefits of Intelligent Action goes beyond feeling good. Psychologists have found that it can lead to better decision-making and goal-setting. This means you’re more likely to succeed because you’re clear about what you want and how to achieve it.

The Impact of Intelligent Action on Personal Goals

Taking Intelligent Action can have a big impact on achieving your personal goals. It helps you stay focused and avoids wasting time on things that don’t help you reach your objectives. For instance, if you aim to hit a higher revenue in your business, making sure your daily actions, like studying new marketing strategies and engaging the sales function of the business to perform better, are aligned with this goal will greatly increase your chances of success.

However, staying aligned is not always easy. Sometimes, what we say we want and what we actually do can be different. This misalignment or ‘incongruence’ as you’ll often hear me say can make it hard to reach our goals and can cause frustration. It’s important to regularly check if your actions are still matching your intentions, and adjust them if necessary.

By understanding the power of living with intention and keeping our actions aligned with our goals, we can make our dreams more achievable and our lives more rewarding.

Strategies for Aligning Intentions with Actions

To truly live with intention and achieve your goals, it’s essential to align your daily actions with your plans. Here are some practical ways to make sure your intentions and actions match:

1. Set Clear Intentions: Start by clearly defining what you want to achieve. Be specific. For example, instead of just wanting to “improve my business,” set an intention to “work a maximum of 25 hours a week whilst seeing a 10% growth in profits this quarter.”
2. Use Visualisation: Imagine yourself achieving your goals. Seeing yourself successfully reaching your targets in your mind’s eye can motivate you and make your intentions stronger.
3. Practice Affirmations: Repeat positive statements about your goals. Saying things like, “I am a successful business owner” reinforces your intentions and keeps your focus sharp.
4. Create  North Star Trajectory: Create a roadmap of goals that break down into small steps that lead to your bigger goal, I call this a North Star Trajectory. This breaks down your intentions into manageable actions and helps keep you on track.
5. Regular Self-Assessment: Check in with yourself periodically to see if your actions are still in line with your intentions and that you’re on course. Adjust as necessary to stay on course of not.

Adapting As You Progress

Keeping your actions in line with your intentions isn’t just a one-off task; it requires consistent effort and adaptability. As you grow and your circumstances change, so too may your goals. This means regularly revisiting and possibly revising both your intentions and the North Star Trajectory you’re taking to achieve them. 

It’s like navigating a ship; you have to adjust your course regularly to reach your destination. Embrace this process of continual alignment as a natural and essential part of achieving lasting success and fulfilment. By staying committed to this practice, you’ll find that your ability to achieve your goals becomes more natural and effective, leading to a richer, more purposeful life.

Moving Forward with Appreciation

Understanding and practising alignment between intentions and actions opens up a powerful path to achieving your life’s goals. As you move forward, remember that every small step you take in alignment with your intentions brings you closer to the desired outcomes that you have set on your North Star Trajectory. It’s not just about achieving goals, but about creating a life filled with fulfilment and satisfaction.

So, why not start today? Think about what you really want to achieve, set your intentions clearly, and align your actions to be Intelligent Actions and make your dreams a reality. And remember, the journey of intention is ongoing. There’s always room to learn, grow, and refine your approach.