There is tremendous power behind setting a goal or intention. Not only do you give yourself purpose to fulfill what you’ve set to achieve, but by setting an intended way of being or a goal to accomplish, you also engage the energy of your environment, everyone around you and the broader cosmic Universe and your Higher Power. Simply acknowledging what you want to do or how you want to show up, you energetically put those in motion, declaring you are ready and calling forward the support you need to see it through. It can be easy to dismiss the significance of this, sometimes ignoring the hints which are pushing you in the right direction, and even misunderstanding the powerful weight of acting from a place of purpose. ‘Where this is a will, there is a way,’ has not been used lightly, because Albert Einstein understood the magnitude of stepping into the energy which supports bringing a dream or goal to reality.
When you set an intention or cast a goal for yourself, you may not know how you will achieve it. And yet, you set it anyway, either determined to make it happen (through planned actions or willpower) or trusting that what you need will fall into place (faith), and maybe sometimes it’s a bit of both. Whether through specific tasks or actions, or by opening space in your heart and mind, goals and intentions begin to take shape over time. With incremental steps and shifts of mindset, the energy to continue on the path to achievement remains fueled and the gap between the present and the desired outcome narrows.
Sometimes, though, it can be frustrating to accomplish your goals. It can feel like there are obstacles or impasses preventing you from your success. This is a natural part of growth and change, and it can also lead to abandoning the goal, to ‘giving up,’ or ‘surrendering.’ When this happens, there can be a sense of failure, of derailment and self-criticism. However, if using a lens of curiosity, there is opportunity to re-evaluate and re-focus.
If a goal or intention feels off-track, there is incredible value in taking the time to get clear on what might be underlying this feeling. Perhaps you need to bring forth more active energy to see the goal come to fruition? Or maybe as you embarked down the path towards the goal, you came to realize that a different goal was more relevant? Or could there be missing or insufficient resources, such as time, assistance, materials, knowledge, skills? For any of these scenarios, having an honest conversation with yourself about what you need in order to move forward can help you reframe the goal and adjust your timeline or the goal itself so that it makes more sense. Take stock of what you’ve learned through the experience, evaluating what is most supportive to move forward, and making a quick gut check on the importance of the intention or goal – what is still true about what you desire? What may have changed? Gaining clarity about the relevance, urgency and practicality of your goals aids you to move forward.
Another reason for feeling disconnected from a goal may be because you have an expectation of how the process, or the outcome should look. By doing this, it can almost set up the goal for failure by holding tightly to how things should be, rather than allowing space for things to unfold in a supportive and natural course. It can be helpful to think about achieving a stagnated goal against the world of a flower: its purpose is to grow, bloom, produce pollen, set seeds, and then die and give life to many more things. Through this process, the flower doesn’t question whether it’s beautiful, admired or its most perfect version of itself, it simply exists within its purpose, giving its energy to fulfill its life goal. Perfectionism can be an internally driven barrier to success and achieving one’s goals. In taking a broader view, like that of the flower, and releasing what something ‘needs’ to look like and leaving space for what will naturally evolve and grow, there is more flexibility and space for a broad range of outcomes. Sometimes what you accomplish can be so much more rewarding than what you believed it should be.
Coming up this week, there is a full moon on April 6th. During this time, there is amplified energy available. This is an excellent time to ask those questions about any intentions or goals you are pursuing. Is there more energy you need to pull forward to see your goals come to fruition – and maybe it’s some of the same, or a different type of energy to use? Or perhaps it's a time to call on energy to help you release an expectation for the outcome, or to let go of the goal altogether because something else has surfaced as more important? Know that where you put your energy is where you will see impact. Einstein had it right, and whether through physical, emotional or mental energy, where you focus becomes your reality.
By Jen Rizza, founder of Newtown Wellness Collective, Reiki Master, Integrative Wellness Coach, Yoga Teacher
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