Goals Versus Intentions

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yoga mat

Are you exhausted from my yoga yammers yet?

I know.

I’m the overexcited newly re-converted. I’m proselytizing. I’m preaching to the proverbial choir.

I cannot help my damn self.

A smidgen stems from the fact I’m stunned I’ve kept my word. The majority of my zeal, however, is simple: I’d forgotten how (ducks in the bubble) FUCKING AMAZING yoga makes me feel.

I don’t mean physically, either.

Sure, Id love to slide into Akarna Dhanurasana the way my mat-mates do, yet what I was seeking when I resurrected my practice (brain balance) I’ve already experienced on and off the mat.

Which brings me to today’s installment of Yoga Sh*t I Thought I Rocked And In Reality Had No Idea.

As each class begins the instructor invites us to set an intention.

You may dedicate the class to someone you love or want to forgive. You may dedicate your practice to something outside of yourself. We will return to this intention throughout class.

What I heard (<—-yep, note past tense. CarlaAhHa! ahead) as we stood strong in Mountain Pose was:

What are your goals, Carla? Focus on one during class. This will help you not grow frustrated as we flow through poses.

Set an intention. Set a goal. It was all the same to me.

I’d even begun to use the words interchangeably.

(Here’s where longtimeYogis cringe.)

My intention is to make progress with my manuscript. I’d jot down at the beginning of the week.

My intention is to focus exclusively on finding work in new/untapped places. I’d scrawl at the start of another.

I had it all mixed up, intermingled and incorrect.

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Goals are dreams with timelines.

With goals I identify where I want to be/what I want to do (I dream big).

I refine and focus on the future (how I will get there, how long it will take, what I might have to overcome).

I buckle down, work my ass off and do not take my eyes off the windshield.

I achieve.

I celebrate.

I set a new goal.

A goal is a desired result with a future-based timeline.

Intentions are starting points.

Intentions necessitate my letting go before anything else can transpire.

I’m present and immerse myself in the now. I neither check my rear-view mirror nor gaze through windshield.

I may set new intentions daily without the sense of I should maintain the intention of yesterday.

My intentions provide my subconscious an opportunity to speak and, as such, may surprise me.

My intentions (from a day of compassion to finding forgiveness) rarely focus solely on me. They tend toward general/escaping ME-mode.

Once I’ve set an intention for day it’s the backdrop of all I do. Grocery shopping to wobbly tree pose.

Intentions demand positive energy.

The distinction between the two is subtle and nuanced, yet now I see it it’s abundantly clear.

It’s greater than the idea goals are specific and measurable. It’s the notion an intention transforms into the very energy and standards by which (practice and) life flows.

The life-course is always changing, intentions are consistently shifting, goals remain static and same.

And you?

  • Have you considered the distinction between setting intentions and setting goals?

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Comments

  1. I think you put it beautifully and I never stopped to think it through like that but truly intentions are the start…I have always struggled in yoga when they invite you to focus your intentions…my mind is such a wandering mind…yoga thought focuses are often HARDER than the poses for me!

  2. I have not!! I also have not been to yoga in forever! But, honestly, I would have definitely lumped “intentions” with “goals.” I feel like a weight has been lifted!

  3. I don’t do yoga, but I think I had realized there was a difference only because I have heard people say DAILY intentions and I don’t achieve enough to have daily goals.
    I love your yoga posts because I may never go.

  4. ive always thought the 2 were completely different. I associate intentions with thoughts and goals as actions. Not sure why? But I need to really remember my intentions when I’m at the grocery store this week. Usually I run through the store to get it over with as soon as possible!

  6. I wrote a similar post on results vs intentions–all springboarded from a shirt that I saw while running during marathon training. I might need to revisit that post–it was a seriously interesting discussion (I was also in the height of my yoga practice during those days!)

  7. I hadn’t thought this deeply about it. I also haven’t been to yoga in years, which I keep trying to rectify, but I just can’t find the yoga love. I do like the idea of setting an intention at the beginning of a day/class/event/run, etc. Food for thought, for sure.

  8. You know I’ve heard this set intentions yammer at the beginning of class but of course my brain is going too fast to stop and actually do it because I’m so focusing on getting through the yoga. This definitely clarifies things! Also, love your yoga yammer, it is like a gentle reminder for me to practice 🙂

  9. Love this. I’ve always struggled with setting an intention as well and you put into words why I think it was a stumbling block for me. I need to get back to doing classes regularly, I have the same aha moment about how good it feels every time I get back to regular practice.

  10. Never thought of it before, as i’ve told myself ‘you need to intentionally set goals’ and ‘what do you intend to do (goals) with your life?’

  11. Since I’m freshly showered after yoga (another “who me?” here!), my thoughts are that intentions are more spiritual/internal whereas goals are more external. So maybe an intention of discipline would serve your writing goal.

  12. I had never really thought about the difference before. I also just love how I feel so amazing after hot yoga class. I’ve been trying to be more open to the intentions the instructor mentions at the start of the class and to try to think about how they might apply to me instead of letting my mind just wander.

  13. I love this. And I have a weird confession. I’ve never been to a yoga class. Not one. Not ever. And now I feel like an idiot being new to the whole thing since literally everyone I know has already been practicing for years. So I’m feeling I need to put some INTENTION behind my goal of getting up the nerve to do something new and scary!

  15. I hear you. I’m a new yoga instructor and love yoga and all its benefits. I wear my intention on my wrist. It’s a MYIntent bracelet and is “gratitude.” A reminder for all I have and can do in each moment. No more resolutions for me post 50, only intentions.

    Are you a Vata?

  17. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I wrote about it earlier this year. I like the idea of setting intentions. More than goals–which are important too– intentions guide us as to how we want to live our lives.

  18. I really like your distinctions Carla – and I think it would be easier to be Zen and in the zone with an intention rather than pondering your goals and getting focused on how to achieve them. I think we all need moments when we let our subconscious have a turn while we tune out our rat on the treadmill brain.

  19. Hi Carla! YES! There is a difference between the two but as you point out, it is so easy for us to blur them together and use the one that comes easiest by default. Remembering that they are not the same is the key and then living from that. Thank you for the reminder! ~Kathy

  20. I just returned to yoga class after practicing by myself for two years. And immediately felt intimidated when the yoga instructor gave that “Form an intention” direction at the start of the class. Thanks for yammering me through what that is all about. Feel better about it.

  22. I am done with intentions. They just don’t lead anywhere for me. I dilly dally with intentions way too much. I am a hot mess with intentions, so I simply focus on the goals.

  23. Well shoot–that is a great post and very inspiring. Thanks for another perspective on intentions. I really had not thought about it that way before. I Intend to be better at exercising!!! 🙂

  25. I’ve tried my best lately to make sure that my intentions always have a goal with them. I’m really good at saying I’ll do something, but then forgetting to actually do it!

  26. I have set and achieved all my goals so far- still have more.
    My intentions usually are not about me- they concern other people and their lives, dreams and goals.

  27. I love this…thank you for sharing! I really like what you said about setting an intention and having it guide your day. Sometimes I veer from my daily intentions and am trying to become more focused on them!

  28. I might be doing it wrong (triathlete, not yogi), but intentions feel like transitory actions, and goals are the end result. My INTENTION at the run on Sunday was to chase everyone down in my age group ahead of me. My GOAL was to get as close to the podium as I could. I suppose I could break down my intention even more and say I wanted to be “fearless” or “relentless” on the run, but I’ve found I’m better off with specific directives. 🙂

  31. I feel intentions and goals are somewhat similar, they are simply objectives a person strives to achieve, you can have good goals and intentions, likewise bad ones to

  33. Oh yes… two very different things. As someone who’s full of good intentions I completely get that the follow-through is essential!

    And on the yoga front, I’m going to restart soon. I’ve lost some weight and think I’d feel more comfortable again. I’m temporarily a member of a gym but won’t renew that as I’m not enjoying it. I’m thinking walking and yoga could be what I need in my life.

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