“Thoughts become things.” It’s a cheesy line from The Secret, but it’s a dead accurate statement. Notice everything around you, notice everything that has been created. From a huge skyscraper to the electronic device you are reading this on, It was all once just a pipe dream. Everything that’s been created started as a thought, an idea, an intention. It took the foresight, dream and effort of someone to create that which had never been created before. This is how thoughts become things, this represents the power of intention.
When I think of yogic teachings or sometime hard to understand philosophies, I always ask myself “how does this relate to my mind or my life?” What I find more often than not, is that most things are just metaphors for life. Take a challenging yoga pose such as handstand for example; As a student, you can set an intention to learn handstand pose. You know it will take months, if not years. It will take physical strength and it will take the mental strength required to stand upside down. It will also take effort, failure and dedication. It will not come over night, and just like anything great in life, it won’t come easy.The pose represents a goal, something to aspire to, something to push you outside of your comfort zone. Once you’ve finally achieved the pose, it’s time time to celebrate, acknowledge your success then keep moving forward- as your practice (and life) don’t end once you achieve a goal. In a very similar and powerful way, intentions guide our journeys, they give us the general ideas and mindsets we need to create and achieve. Energy follows your thoughts, your thoughts follow your intention. Most of what you have accomplished today has been set in place by your intention to achieve it (whether that be consciously or unconsciously). The job you have, the house you live in, even your partner are all products of how you have intended to be. How do I know this? Simply, if you hadn’t set an intention for your life to be exactly how it is right now, then it would not look how it looks today- it would be a product of different intentions. Maybe you are saying to yourself “No, that’s not true. I never intended to be where I am today.” Well, if that were true, how did you get here then? Remember, thoughts become things. Your life, my life are no different- they are products of every decision we have ever made. If you are 100% satisfied with how your life looks right now, I’d say it’s time to shake it up- set some new goals, stretch yourself, set the craziest intention you’ve ever thought of and go create it. I once quit my job as a corporate manager and sold everything I owned to travel the world for years and become a famous yoga teacher. I’m not famous (yet) but it was a ridiculous goal to set and you know what? I’ll create it, because that’s where my energy and mind is focused.
So, what if you are saying “I’m not satisfied with my life, this isn’t how I want my life to look.” If this is you, then I say right on! How do you want to feel? How do you want to be? Truly identify what those answers are for you. Still can’t figure it out? Then set your intention to figure them out- just watch what happens. The most powerful action you can take today to make a change in your health, your happiness, your love life, whatever it may be, is to set an intention for how you want to be. Your actions will then begin to take you in that direction. You will quickly begin to see what actions are taking you towards your intention and which ones are leading you away from your intention. That’s power, that’s taking responsibility for your life and for your happiness. Your energy will also change. When your actions are in-line with your intentions you begin to experience higher levels of energy and you will notice a strong current of purpose running through your body. Everyday you wake up and act in a way that moves you towards achieving your intention, you are living a life that not only fills you up, but also begins to fill up the lives of those around you. Passion is contagious, pursuing your purpose is contagious and you know what? Success is contagious. It doesn’t matter what your intention is, that’s really just semantics. All that matters is that your intention (or goal) is important to you. Maybe you want to quit smoking, maybe you want to be rich and famous, or maybe you just want to learn a new talent- it doesn’t matter because its your intention, nobody else’s.
How do you want to be? Set that intention right now. Once you set it, you’ve already taken the hardest step- the rest is simply action.