Intention and Attention

"Our bodies and our minds have their own timing that pay little attention to our cerebral desires. We can't force or expect things to change as fast as we want, but when we put our efforts in the direction of our intention and drop everything else like snow falling, things unfold with ease." - Tara Stiles

Authentic Happiness is more than pleasure, says Martin Seligman, father of Positive Psychology. Authentic and lasting happiness is acquired when one lives a life, full with purpose, engagement, as well as pleasure.

I invite you to think of Seligman’s purpose and engagement, as 'intention' and 'attention'.

Intention is what you desire. Your objectives. Your direction. Your goals. Your dreams. Your purpose. Your North Star. Whether it is to have a rewarding career, open your own business, build a family, serve the community, change the world, be more outspoken, connect with your community, emanate power and presence, liberate yourself from your past... what you want to achieve is your intention.

Attention is the focus of your resources, your assets, your strengths. It is where you choose to spend your time, energy, thoughts, connections, intellect, money. It is what you have at your disposal every single day to construct and change things. All of those assets fuel wherever they are focused on.

When our intention and attention are not aligned, we are often not truly happy. We may have hopes and dreams. We may have a busy, vibrating life. We may enjoy many pleasurable moments. Yet, we are not progressing. Somewhere deep down, there is often a distinct feeling of lack of true fulfilment or meaningful progress. We are not using our resources to fuel our intended journey.

Here are some examples, where our intention and attention might not be aligned:

- Working for a job (attention) that does not fulfil you or your purpose (intention).

- Desiring progress at work (intention) and spending most of your thinking time (attention) on how your boss does not support you, how you are being treated unfairly, or how your colleague seems to be ahead of you.

- Desiring a peaceful warm and genuine connections with others (intention), and spending your time criticising or fighting them or the past in your head (attention).

- Dreaming big (intention), and engaging in frequent negative inner self-talk (attention) about your weaknesses and shortcomings.

Where we put our attention grows strong in our lives. Call it the law of physics, law of attraction, secret of life, or stating the obvious. When our resources are mindfully focused on what we want, we are engaged with purpose... like a rocket engaged for take off..., a plant leaning into water and sunlight..., a new born whose only focus is his survival through food, rest, and care..., we attract and create the life and lasting happiness we are meant to live.

When you consider what you want to achieve, who you want to become, where you want to go, reflect on the following questions:

How is my attention feeding my intention?

Where am I focusing my mental, emotional, and physical assets?

How directed are my resources towards my intentions?

How focused am I on bringing on the change I want to see in myself and my future?

What is standing in the way of my attention fully feeding my intention?

Give your dreams the gift of attention and watch your intentions bloom into reality.