Dear Friends,
One of my big tasks at work this month will be working with my team to our articulate goals for 2016. Goal setting is something many people do. Intentions are different than goals.
I found a good description of the distinction between goals and intentions, by Phillip Moffitt:
Goal making is a valuable skill; it involves envisioning a future outcome …, then planning, applying discipline, and working hard to achieve it. … Committing to and visualizing those goals may assist you in your efforts, but … . They both involve living in an imagined future and are not concerned with what is happening to you in the present moment. With goals, the future is always the focus: Are you going to reach the goal? Will you be happy when you do? What’s next?
Setting intention, at least according to Buddhist teachings, is quite different than goal making. It is not oriented toward a future outcome. Instead, it is a path or practice that is focused on how you are “being” in the present moment. Your attention is on the everpresent “now” in the constantly changing flow of life. You set your intentions based on understanding what matters most to you and make a commitment to align your worldly actions with your inner values.
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Goals help you make your place in the world and be an effective person. But being grounded in intention is what provides integrity and unity in your life. Through the skillful cultivation of intention, you learn to make wise goals and then to work hard toward achieving them without getting caught in attachment to outcome.
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There are only two things you are responsible for in this practice: Throughout each day, ask yourself if you are being true to your deepest intentions. If you’re not, start doing so immediately, as best as you’re able. The outcome of your inquiry and effort may seem modest at first. But be assured, each time you start over by reconnecting to your intention, you are taking one more step toward finding your own authenticity and freedom. In that moment, you are remembering yourself and grounding your life in your heart’s intention. You are living the noble life of the Buddha’s teachings.
Here’s a dharma talk about intention from Gil Fronsdal (~34 minutes):
https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/5697.html
Based on Gil’s instruction, you might want to reflect on the intention that you identified yesterday. If it feels more like a goal, allow yourself to dig a little deeper – what’s the intention behind that goal? That’s going to be my reflection for today.
With best wishes,
Andrea G