Setting Intentions; the Science to Success...

Setting intentions is usually thought of as just saying what you want or occasionally going as far as picturing it in the mind for a moment, but in order to be really effective, there's a bit more that goes into it, and the science says that it really can work…

On the face of it, if you were to watch someone setting an intention then it would usually just look like they were saying something that they wanted while closing their eyes and focusing on it and, of course it seems insane to think that simply doing this is going to make some object of desire or lifestyle change appear out of thin air.

The important parts of the process that actually drive the success of setting an intention are the invisible, internal factors that you don’t see and this can then be easily enhanced even further when combined with other techniques.

How to set intentions for success

Firstly let's talk about the parameters of setting intentions; think of them more as a way to boost the speed on the path or paths you are already on and a way to increase the likelihood of coincidences. For example, if you were a student and had not been studying or attending classes all year and had an exam coming up, the best application of techniques and intention setting will not help you unless you begin studying.

They are also highly sensitive to truth, as strange as it may sound, but if you are setting an intention that you really have no desire for or that goes against other things that you want then the subconscious mechanisms seem to stop it from being effective (this is explained further below).

So the process;

Step One

You need to work out what you actually want and why. How specific can you be; it doesn't matter if some things are vague (one of the daily intentions I set is to live with kindness, discipline, Gratitude and truth, all of which are very non-specific but reflect values that I try to embody) but if you are trying to achieve a specific goal such as building a business or completing a course of study, then breaking the overall intention into smaller, bite-size intentions is really helpful. This is also key to ensuring that there is no clash between your daily goals and your long term aims and desires as mentioned above.

Step Two

As you likely gathered from Step One, there are two main types of intentions- the low-resolution ‘way to live’ type and the high-resolution, specific goal achievement type. Hopefully during Step One you will have come away with a couple of each, make sure you are not focusing on too many at once, especially at first.

It is now time to frame them, and this is one of the most crucial parts. The first step to this is to make each one into a SMART Goal, this is a lot easier with the achievement type of intentions but you should do your best for both. SMART Goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed. So for the vague intention of living with discipline I would write down my SMART Goal as follows-

Specific- I will be disciplined by specifically avoiding smoking, snacks and junk food, I will work hard and go to the gym

Measurable- If I have gone the entire day without smoking or eating snacks or junk food and I do the tasks needed at work and take a 40 minute workout at the gym then I have achieved this today.

Achievable- all of the above are achievable things within the constraints of time and ability.

Relevant- Discipline is a value that I hold in high esteem and wish to keep improving in so this is a relevant goal to my values. All of the specific actions are relevant to my health and wellbeing and will contribute to building and strengthening my overall resilience and self-discipline.

Timed- All of the above are focused on what can be done within the day- I find with intentions that a daily time constraint is often easiest to measure by.

And for a more specific and achievement based goal, I would make sure that I have a bitesize, daily goal that fits into and contributes toward my bigger long term goal, such as with setting up this project; I was obviously unable to create all this content and set everything up all in one day so I broke it down into achievable smaller tasks, such as setting an intention to write an article;

Specific- I will write an article, minimum 500 words, on setting intentions today.

Measurable- I can measure the achievement by whether the article is written, is at least 500 words and completed in the same day.

Achievable- for me, writing a 500 word article on something that I have practised for years and have researched heavily is realistic and is really not that time-consuming. Make sure you understand what you can do with your time and ability and don’t push yourself beyond it.

Relevant- as content for this project, writing this article is very relevant to my overall goal.

Timed- the time constraint was day, for a longer article I would have set the intention as a certain number of words, breaking it down into chunks over several days, but just focusing on each day at a time.

After you have articulated your intentions as SMART Goals, it is time to write them each down as a short specific statement, framed positively and in the present tense. To use the examples from above,

“Today I will be disciplined by specifically avoiding smoking, snacks and junk food, I will work hard and go to the gym”

Becomes

“Today, I am disciplined, health-conscious and hard working. I exercise well and look after my body”

Removing references to negative behaviours or things we wish to avoid and refocusing on the opposite achievement is a key part of successful intention setting; we are not avoiding negativity itself but more preparing the mind for how it will feel when it has overcome this negativity. It also seems to increase success if we change to the present tense- one of the key hypotheses behind this is that phrases like “I am” rather than “I will” puts the subconscious into a state of change as it is being given information about a current state or situation rather than a future hypothetical.

So in the same way,

“I will write an article, minimum 500 words, on setting intentions today”

Becomes

“Today I am writing the article on setting intentions, it is over 500 words long”

You may have noticed that not only did I reframe it to being in the present tense, but I also referred to ‘the’ article rather ‘an’ article; this is because with achievement type intentions, it can really help to refer to it as a specific thing that exists and not just an abstract concept.

Step Three

Finally you need to take a little time with each of your intentions (this is why you keep it to only a few to begin with) and really try to focus on the thoughts and feelings you will have by achieving them. For the discipline example, I would try to imagine the sense of satisfaction, accomplishment and pride that I would feel leaving work, after the gym and at the end of the day by having achieved my intention and really try to feel the sense of motivation and peace at being on the right track as vividly as possible. The same with writing the article; I try to imagine the rewarding feeling of having the article written, content added to the collection, my brain feeling energised and exercised and excited from having done the work, while also relieved to have it out of the way.

Step Four

Now you simply combine the above- state your intentions, out-loud and confidently while visualising them and the emotions connected to their realisation as vividly as you can.

How does it work?

When setting intentions we seem to be combining the principles of two other practices which have a lot of scientific backing behind them- affirmations and visualisation. Affirmations are statements which you say to yourself (much like intentions but usually not the specific kind, more like “I am Healthy” or “I have a lot of energy”) and have been demonstrated to improve problem solving abilities, improve academic grades and even help fight addictions.

Visualisation (the part where you imagine feeling the emotions of achieving your intention) works by stimulating the same parts of the brain as if the intention has or is being achieved and this includes the subconscious mechanisms that actually influence far more of our conscious and physical outcomes than we realise. It has been scientifically demonstrated to be insanely effective, with people being able to actually improve muscle strength and physical fitness just through visualisation alone and improve the likelihood of manifesting chosen outcomes with this technique.

Furthermore there is plenty of evidence to support the effectiveness of breaking down large goals into smaller, more manageable intentions and studies have even indicated that this method can really help to increase productivity and achievement in some people who have a history of difficulty with long-term goals

It also helps aid with holding yourself to accountability when you write your intentions down and have ensured that they work within the framework of SMART Goals as you have made a realistic commitment that know you have the power to achieve.

Easy ways to work them into your day

Although you can set an intention at any time of day, it makes the most sense to maximise achievement potential by setting them fairly soon after you get up, this is also when most people have the most creative mental energy for the day. I usually write my intentions in the evening for the following day, so that I don't have to spend time in the morning thinking about what I am trying to achieve and also as this is when I tend to evaluate the day.

I like to focus on a few main intentions while I have my morning tea (there is even a tradition of stirring intentions into your tea) as I find that focusing on achievement while my brain is getting started for the day really integrates them properly into my subconscious.

Although it is important not to try and focus on the small details too much after having set your intentions and just try to get into the flow of achieving them, I often find it helps to come back to them during quiet moments throughout the day and repeat them- a brief visit to the bathroom, waiting for the kettle, stuck in traffic- all are good times to refocus that signal to your brains operating system and keep it on track!

Always remember that just because you set an intention doesn't always mean it will be achieved; no matter what actions we take, sometimes life gets in the way and the worst thing you can do is let this affect your motivation. It is important to be realistic and evaluate why you didn't achieve your set intention but always try to do it from a perspective of learning and understanding how to better improve future outcomes; don’t spend time or energy thinking negatively about yourself or others as this just creates a negative and unhelpful image in the subconscious- almost like a kind of unfavourable visualisation.