Intention.
Did you know it’s a trainable skill?
Neuroscience tells us that what we think, do, and pay attention to changes the function and structure of our brain through a process called neuroplasticity. We talk a lot about this in my 30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge and in Search Inside Yourself programs.
Because of neuroplasticity, what we practice we get better at by creating new neural pathways. As Dr. Rick Hanson describes it, “neurons that fire together wire together.”
Understanding the science has been great motivation for me to stick with my meditation practice, which research suggests leads to better attention management, emotion control, and self-awareness, among other benefits.
But before you even sit down to meditate, you’ve got to set the intention!
Intention, in fact, is the first step of the meditation process. Before gathering your attention on the breath, ask yourself why you are showing up for the practice. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Maybe it’s to reduce stress, or improve your focus, relationships, brain health, or any number of other motivations. There’s no right or wrong answer. Whatever your motivation is, clarifying your intention increases the likelihood that you’ll come back to the practice tomorrow. Intention itself gets the neurons firing that you want to wire.
Moving Up the Intention Learning Curve
Over my past ten years of dedicated mindfulness practice, I’ve witnessed my capacity to set and follow through with intentions dramatically increase.
A repeat client in my 30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge program once said, “What I love about this program is that by showing up for the conference call each morning, I’m starting my day with intention. It sets the tone going forward and improves my ability to respond more intentionally to whatever the day brings.”
When I was recovering from my mastectomy a decade ago, I set the intention to make the most of whatever life I had left. And yes, if you haven’t read Blooming into Mindfulness, breast cancer was what dumped me seemingly by accident into present moment awareness and mindfulness practice.
Living the rest of my life fully and in alignment with my purpose was the first intention. Over the years my intention muscles have become more and more refined.
I realized the progress I had made after a recent Mindfulness at Work program I facilitated at a local non-profit. Prior to the training, I journaled my intentions: “stay grounded, embody the content, smile.” After the event, the program coordinator sent me the photograph above.
“Hey,” I thought to myself when I saw the image, “that’s the intention I set!” It felt good to see my authentic smile and presence in front of the audience. I allowed myself a few seconds to sense in to that good feeling in my body, firing the neurons that would allow me to access that good feeling more easily in the future. Rick Hanson calls this “taking in the good.” Paying attention to good feelings helps to off-set our natural tendency to focus on the negative. One more thing we can get better at with practice!
My Favorite Intention Power Tool
Intention is the first step to adopting any new healthy habit. The intention to cultivate a daily meditation practice, though, is the real power tool in your toolbox. Meditation strengthens our intention muscles each time we practice because it is with intention that we redirect attention back to our chosen anchor of focus.
So how about it? Could you use some intention strengthening in your life? My next 30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge begins this Wednesday, May 1, at 6:45 am EST. It’s not too late to join us!
To learn more, read client testimonials, and register, click here.
I’d love to connect and support you as a member of our conference call meditation circle. And no, there is no video – not at 6:45 in the morning!
Another Intention Exercise in May – New Photo Challenge!
Thanks to a reader’s suggestion, I am setting the intention to take a photo every single day of May and post it on my Facebook business page and Instagram stories.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a photo challenge, but I’m feeling the pull to refresh this arm of my mindfulness practice and to redirect attention to my creative work after what has been a heavy speaking and training schedule the past few months.
Would you like to join me? I love having accountability buddies during a challenge! Whether you’re just following my project or creating one of your own as well, I’d love to have you along for the ride.
Post your photos using the hashtag #MarthasMayPhotoChallenge and I’ll look for them! Email works as well. Be aware, though, that I may not respond immediately to your shares. Managing my social media time mindfully is an ongoing challenge and practice for me. Thanks for your patience (a mindfulness practice in itself)!
