“There are two ways of spreading light. Being the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
I discovered a website in 2006, that I really connected with called iJourney.org. It’s simply a blog and community of positive content and writing, from a very simple, human, spiritual perspective. Lot’s of common sense ideas about how to handle, navigate and deal with change, challenge, the unexpected. It’s slogan is “Go within or Go without”. I LOVE that! One of the big themes and ideas I talk and write a lot about is “everything you need is already inside of you”.
One article I particularly loved was by Gil Fronsdal titled “Bringing Attention to Intention“, written in 2006 but pretty timeless in its message.
He begins with this idea. “The greater our awareness of intentions, the greater our freedom to choose. People who do not see their choices do not believe they have choices. They tend to respond automatically, blindly influenced by their circumstances and conditioning. Mindfulness, by helping us notice our impulses before we act, gives us the opportunity to decide whether to act and how to act.”
In thinking about this year and the incredible effort, perseverance and faith not only I have had to have, but most people going through these changing times, I can’t help but think how powerful this is to our personal and professional success. We create our vision, mission, the plan and then we go about executing our intentions. The universe picks it all up and takes it where it’s supposed to go.
The people, places and things that have opened and closed for me this year are all a part of my intentions unfolding.
Fronsdal says: “Our intentions – noticed or unnoticed, gross or subtle – contribute either to our suffering or to our happiness. Intentions are sometimes called seeds. The garden you grow depends on the seeds you plant and water.”
How much harder is it today to plant the seeds and water them? It’s definitely harder but the process and outcome is the same. Now is a good time of the year to think about how our intentions have unfolded and to review which ones didn’t quite pan out and why, and which ones unfolded perhaps more unexpectedly.
Fronsdale ties it all together with “Self-consciousness and self-preoccupation may be exhausting, but not awareness. As we become clearer and wiser about our intentions, we find greater ease. We begin to act with less and less self-concern.”
This is an amazing promise. That I can find greater ease and less exhaustion is a wonderful reason to work on that clarity and to use the wisdom I already have. Bringing attention to my intentions is really about a good look at myself in the mirror and asking others who I trust and admire to mirror me. Taking what I see and the feedback I get and bringing that into harmony with my motives, intention and mission assures that I will continue to get picked up by the universe and led to exactly where I’m supposed to be going.
As professionals and business people today, having a clarity of purpose and intentions in our personal and business relationships and putting that out there as a branded entity can greatly increase our chances for success.
Ask yourself…
Am I authentic?
Am I being honest?
Am I paying attention to my intentions?
When you brand your intentions, your intentions will brand you.
Author:
Deborah Shane is an author, media host, speaker, writer and branding strategist. She hosts her Toolbox Blog and is in her third year of hosting a weekly business radio show called Deborah Shane’s Metropolis that has over 32K downloads! She is a regular contributor to several national business, career and marketing blogs and websites. Her new book Career Transition-make the shift is available on Amazon.com and all major book sellers. Deborah delivers smart, no-nonsense ideas and solutions, which make her a popular go-to resource for clients, national media and influential blogs. Visit her at www.deborahshane.com.
