I have my goal, it's a good goal, a S.M.A.R.T. goal, and I am off and running to achieve it! However, at some point in the execution phase, I find myself stuck and not making any progress. It's possible I have crossed over from intention to expectation. When I am in intention, I am focused on the outcome I want to create; when I am in expectation, I am more focused on the process I am employing, a strategy that may not be helpful.
Here's an example: Let's say that my intention is to go to New York and view the Statue of Liberty. Sort of a priori I think the way I would go would be to drive to Manhattan and then go all the way to the southern tip of the island, to Battery Park, whence I can look out across New York Harbor and see the Statue.
So I get out my trusty Google Maps and create my route. My plan is to drive north out of the Phoenix area, where I live, to Flagstaff where I pick up Interstate 40. I follow I40 east to Oklahoma City, where I transition to I44; I take I44 to St. Louis, where I pick up Interstate 70. I stay on I70 through Indianapolis and Columbus, all the way to Harrisburg, where I78 is my new route. I stay on I78 all the way into New Jersey and, indeed, I78 ends in Jersey City just a few blocks from the Holland Tunnel. I cross under the Hudson River to Manhattan Island via the Holland Tunnel, turn right and run on down to Battery Park. There's the Statue, out there in the harbor. That's my plan and that's the way I expect to go.
However, as I am cruising through St. Louis, approaching the Mississippi River, I notice a sign that informs me that the I44 bridge across the Mississippi River is closed for some indeterminate period of time.
If I am in expectation thinking, that is, my journey has to go the way I expect it to go, I will be stuck at that point until the bridge reopens. On the other hand, if I am in intention thinking, that is, keeping foremost in my mind that my intention is to get to New York and view the Statue of Liberty, I won't care which bridge I cross the river on. I will juke north or south to find an open bridge and I will keep on moving east in my quest for my goal!
Thus, intention thinking keeps me focused on the outcome I want to create without getting bogged down with the process having to look a certain way. I can adjust the process as I need to en route to compensate for unexpected changes. If my mindset is that the process or mechanism has to look a certain way, it's likely that I will get stuck as soon as life deviates from my plan.
Notice also that as I am in New Jersey cruising north on I78, which in this neck of the woods is called the New Jersey Turnpike, I can see Liberty Island off to my right out in the harbor. If I get off at Liberty State Park I can go right to the water's edge and see the Statue from a whole lot closer vantage point than Battery Park. So even the outcome doesn't have to look like I expected it to!
Here's an example: Let's say that my intention is to go to New York and view the Statue of Liberty. Sort of a priori I think the way I would go would be to drive to Manhattan and then go all the way to the southern tip of the island, to Battery Park, whence I can look out across New York Harbor and see the Statue.
So I get out my trusty Google Maps and create my route. My plan is to drive north out of the Phoenix area, where I live, to Flagstaff where I pick up Interstate 40. I follow I40 east to Oklahoma City, where I transition to I44; I take I44 to St. Louis, where I pick up Interstate 70. I stay on I70 through Indianapolis and Columbus, all the way to Harrisburg, where I78 is my new route. I stay on I78 all the way into New Jersey and, indeed, I78 ends in Jersey City just a few blocks from the Holland Tunnel. I cross under the Hudson River to Manhattan Island via the Holland Tunnel, turn right and run on down to Battery Park. There's the Statue, out there in the harbor. That's my plan and that's the way I expect to go.
However, as I am cruising through St. Louis, approaching the Mississippi River, I notice a sign that informs me that the I44 bridge across the Mississippi River is closed for some indeterminate period of time.
If I am in expectation thinking, that is, my journey has to go the way I expect it to go, I will be stuck at that point until the bridge reopens. On the other hand, if I am in intention thinking, that is, keeping foremost in my mind that my intention is to get to New York and view the Statue of Liberty, I won't care which bridge I cross the river on. I will juke north or south to find an open bridge and I will keep on moving east in my quest for my goal!
Thus, intention thinking keeps me focused on the outcome I want to create without getting bogged down with the process having to look a certain way. I can adjust the process as I need to en route to compensate for unexpected changes. If my mindset is that the process or mechanism has to look a certain way, it's likely that I will get stuck as soon as life deviates from my plan.
Notice also that as I am in New Jersey cruising north on I78, which in this neck of the woods is called the New Jersey Turnpike, I can see Liberty Island off to my right out in the harbor. If I get off at Liberty State Park I can go right to the water's edge and see the Statue from a whole lot closer vantage point than Battery Park. So even the outcome doesn't have to look like I expected it to!
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