Emotions or Intent?

I have not really taken the time to understand what it means to be intentional in your dealings/daily activities; until this morning as I lay in bed and I was haunted by the promises I made to get up and pursue my dreams of having a healthier lifestyle. Weirdly, I recalled a few encounters with the word and after like 12 minutes, (yes because I looked at my watch from when I woke up to when I eventually sat up) I knew what ‘intentional’ should mean to me.

People who get up and have a routine are not aliens nor is it amusing to them but they have results they intend to achieve; the same with people who have and stick to their weekly or monthly budgets or a musician who practises that routine everyday without fail; it almost made me cringe in shame when in the Nike commercial I heard Serena say practicing everyday for 30 years isn’t fun, meaning she did it and would continue to.

Occasionally I allow my activities to be dictated or influenced by emotion; while that in itself is not a totally bad thing, I realise I need to learn to act even when I am not in the mood and this is what I imagine to be ‘integrity to self’. I know the right thing to do but sometimes I do not do it, causing me to lose a moment; miss an opportunity to share a very vital message or gain something I need.

To me being intentional is being disciplined; having a clear picture of what you would like to attain and then taking diligent calculated steps to it, even seemingly vain or intangible steps. I know someone who chooses her social gatherings and when she is there, doesn’t make too much noise or appear loud and aggressive, doesn’t speak vernacular and always has a small smile hanging on her lips; she never misses the opportunity to appear beautiful, friendly and approachable and also is never afraid to say hello to who she needs to say hello to; let us just say her personal and professional market is selling!

It is easy to be jealous of people and compare ourselves to others, especially those whom we have watched grow to become a certain level of successful but we do not know their ‘behind the scenes’ so rather than dull ourselves, please let’s get up and begin to do things with intent.