Intention Setting Exercise for New Beginnings (in 3 Easy Steps!)

There’s no such thing as a wrong time for an intention-setting exercise  Maybe your new beginning is a new year, a new career, a new trip around the sun, or one of a million other positive things! Or maybe this new beginning is marked with grief and strife. And if so, what an enlightened path you’re already taking by choosing an intention to declare over this season.

Maybe you’re wondering:

• What is a good intention to set?
• How do you start setting intentions?

Or maybe as a Jesus Follower, you’re concerned about what all is involved and found yourself asking,

• What is an intention-setting ritual?

This post should give you answers to all of these questions, as well as help you through your own intention setting exercise (or ritual, if that word feels good to you and you like the idea of lighting a candle or marking the time in another way). As you move through the post, think on these things.

1. What you’ve learned in the last season(s) of life.
2. What brought you joy in the hardest days.
3. What you’d do differently if given the opportunity.
4. How you might show gratitude for the experiences that grew you to this point.

Before you delve in, take a minute to read and remember the differences in an Intention Setting Guide, Goal Setting, and Making Resolutions.

Intention Setting vs Goals vs Resolutions

There are as many different ways to approach change-making and new beginnings as there are hopes for what those changes will bring! As a first step, let’s look at the meanings of intentions, goals, and resolutions.

1. Intentions are defined as a thing intended or an aim, and at times even indicate the healing process of a wound. They refer to something we begin now, in the present moment. They have more to do with the way we approach and choose to experience life rather than a specific outcome desired in the future.
2. Goals are the object of a person’s ambition, the desired result of one’s efforts, or the destination of a journey.
3. Resolutions are firm decisions to do or not do something.

So let’s say you set a resolution or firmly decided to be healthier in the New Year.

As a way to ensure you keep that resolution, you might have also set goals. They may include going to the gym a certain number of times each week, changing the way you eat, drinking more water, reducing stress, and getting more sleep.

Your intentions are what already lay beneath your resolution and goals, creating the desire to get healthier. And using an intention setting guide helps you highlight what’s prompting you to make changes. It can also bring into clarity a specific feeling-tone, energy or attitude you want to experience as you grow in this direction of a healthier new year.

Intention Setting Examples

Building on the example above, you may realize that what’s pressing you toward getting healthier is that you want the energy and emotional control that’s required to parent at a level that feels good to you. And that you want to be more involved in your child’s life, as well as confidently pursue new opportunities for the good of you and your entire family. Overall, you just want to feel better!

In setting your intention, you would state these things positively and in the present tense, similar to an affirmation. Examples of these intentions might be to:

• Imbue confidence.
• Radiate health and joy.
• Live abundantly.
• Genuinely enjoy this phase of life with my children.

Or it may be one word.

• Vitality
• Joy
• Fun
• Spark

For the remainder of this post, we’ll focus on the intention setting portion. Mindfully taking time to uncover your intentions empowers you to set goals you are genuinely connected to and deeply driven to achieve. And this intention-setting exercise will make your goals make sense!

intention setting exercise

It is important as you go through the Intention Setting Guide to remember that intentions are not goals or resolutions. Goals and resolutions hinge on the outcome. Intentions place your heart and soul at the helm and determine how you plan on experiencing the growth or how you want to feel along the way.

This guide Intention Setting Guide asks you to consider 3 powerful ideas.

1. Set Intentions from a Place of Wholeness

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”

~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

You are a new creation in Christ, and continually being transformed into a person that reflects God more perfectly, one degree at a time.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

Your intention can be one guiding word or a full sentence.

World wisdom teaches that intentions and affirmations should be said in a positive manner and in the present tense. Not “I will be peaceful”, but “I am peaceful.” Or even more boldly stated, “I am peace”, which is to say I radiate holy, divine, unshakable peace. Taking a minimalist approach, your intention may simply be, “Peace”.

So as you consider the driving force behind your goals and resolutions, follow the verses above and behold the glory of God! Sit quietly and consider what God is working within you and what has already been done to prepare you for this season.

Christian meditation provides just the right balance of focus on the Word and silent communion with God. Whether you’re just getting started or continuing a long-standing guided Christian meditation practice, I’d love you to join me for this easy-to-follow series for learning How To Do Christian Meditation!

 

2. Detach from Outcome

As you connect with your intention, it is important to detach from outcome.

Your goals and resolutions cover the production side of making changes. The intention provides guidance for what will remain in you regardless of the outcome.

With the resolution example of getting healthy and all the supporting goals of how one would achieve this objective, the coordinating intention should be something positive that will remain even on the days you miss the mark. If you skip the gym, drink more coffee and wine than water resulting in less than phenomenal sleep, you’ll still be spiritually complete in Christ. And you’ll still hold the intention of living with abundant energy and being present in the moment. The goals will be something you can come back to tomorrow, but the intentions remain no matter what.

Holding your intention in place will help you get back on track with your goals and resolutions more efficiently. Instead of seeing them as a burden, you’ll begin seeing the tasks as keys of value and purpose. Rather than being the means to an end, they show up as cyclical support, birthed from and feeding into abundant life.

 

3. Trust God with the Details

If your intentions are lived daily, regardless of your progress, trusting God with the details grants you supreme security and stability as you sort out the heart and soul of intention setting. Being honest with God about what you really want and putting a focus on your driving intentions opens your eyes to the opportunities already in place.

As you see opportunities to actualize your intentions, you’ll begin seeing that the desires of your heart are already aligned with God’s purpose. It will also become evident that you’ve already been given everything you need to live out your intentions.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4

 

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8

In this way, setting intentions from a place of wholeness, detaching from outcome, and trusting God with the details doesn’t feel foreign or hocus pocus. God is with you in spirit and in truth, which is why this practice resonates so deeply. Trust God and trust the process!

Intention Setting exercise – guided Christian Meditation

This Intention Setting practice can be used at any time of the year and as frequently as needed! Sometimes, intentions change depending on the day, and then return to square one for the longer-term, more deeply rooted aspirations. Come back to this guided Christian meditation anytime you sense a spiritual shift in your growth!

This intention-setting meditation gets you started by finding your security in God rather than your performance or circumstances. Find a quiet space where you’ll be uninterrupted, and let’s get ready to meditate!

Intention Setting Exercise

Pulling together everything we’ve learned on the importance of intention setting, it’s time to put it into action! Grab your journal and favorite pen. Find a quiet space and settle in for some beholding of God, heart surrender, and transformative growth.

1. Consider your personal experiences this year. What challenges did you face?
2. What brought you joy in the hardest days?
3. What would you do differently if you had the opportunity?
4. How might you show gratitude for the experiences that grew you to this point?
5. What characteristics of God were renewed or revealed in you, and how do they influence the way you experience life and approach the new year?

Sit quietly and hone in on your answer to #3. Within this desire for different, lies a lesson learned and the key to a guiding word or desire. Use this in your intention setting.

Remember when setting an intention to make it positive and present tense. Detach from any outcomes and trust God with the details. Use this intention-setting exercise to communicate honestly and clearly with yourself and with God. Pray over your intentions and invite God into each day.

Be flexible and know that your intentions will evolve over time. Don’t place any expectations on how long this intention will last. It could be altered a bit when you bump up against similar but new intentions as your shorter-termed goals are reached, carry you through the entire new year,  or change completely as often as daily!

He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 

~ Psalm 18:33 (NET)

Which of the questions helped you dig deeper and gain the most clarity? Share below and inspire others (including me!).

Be blessed!