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Last month we relaxed into the concept of "starting our new year in February" and of not setting up expectations for ourselves for miraculous new changes to begin in the coldest, dreariest month of the year. Instead, in January, we focused on Reflection and in considering what we might want our overall "THEME" to be in 2009.
As we consider building our year,keeping in mind our theme (last month's homework!) we need to first, pay ATTENTION. What is going on right now? Here/today? What are we feeling? What are we thinking? We need to get in touch with our intuition - to the messages and wisdom we are receiving continuously. We need to stop and listen AND trust the messages we hear. We need to be PRESENT, staying HERE, in the moment and LISTENING to and TRUSTING our gut. When we do, all sorts of unexpected things can happen. How to pay Attention:
1/ Stop - Yes, I mean that. Just stop. Whether it is for 5 min. or a full day, give yourself the gift of stopping. Stop multi-tasking. Stop the schedule and the pressured time "grid". Stop the running around. Pull your car over to the side of the road. Close your office door. Close your eyes. Breathe.
2/ Listen - When you are stopped...listen. Listen to what your body is saying, your mind, your heart and your gut. Become aware of the energy within you and around you. Listen to your intuition; listen to the sounds around you. Just notice, be aware...just BE.
3/ And then ...ACT ...and when you do, act with INTENTION
Considering and then adding an "intention" to an action creates a different level of consciousness and consequent energy around the action.
For example - I can go through my days marking things off my TO DO list - OR, I can pick an item and deliberately consider an intention behind that item. Lets say I have "Workout" on my list for today. I can sandwich the gym as a "to do" task between my 2 afternoon appointments, rush there and sweat, and then rush off to the next appointment OR I can hold "workout" as a single task and choose an intention for it that I carry with me during my workout. "Today I am going to be aware of giving my body the best workout possible and notice how fabulous the workings of my body are". Consciously I have shifted and made that workout more powerful simply by holding a specific intention for it.
Leaders/Bosses: Try this one at the workplace one day if you have been experiencing some tense or stressful times at work. "Today I am going to work to spread joy" . Write your intention out, put it in your wallet, and say it aloud ten times. Refer back to it during the day. It doesn't matter what the specific activities of your day are , you will be approaching them with a different underlying Intention. It is incredible how that one simple thing focuses your energy and makes things shift.
Experiment with intention in a staff meeting that you are leading: eg/ Your intention for the staff meeting might be "I want to make all of my team to feel respected and valued". How will you show up at the meeting when that is your underlying "intention"?
Experiment with intention when you have that age-old conversation with your teenager about forgetting to call when they were going to be late coming home from the party. What if your intention is to make sure your teen knows how much you love and respect him or her? You don't need to think about changing what you are going to say. Your words and your tone automatically will change if you change your intention. Imagine how differently your teen might hear "Johnny I need you to call me if you are going to be late" if your intention for the conversation is to show how much you love and respect him.
You can use the Power of Intention for a small action, or a big one. You can think about this concept in the morning and create an intention for an entire day. Notice what happens when you switch from the "Doing" or "Making something happen" to just "Being".
Have fun with this concept! I would love to hear about any shifts/or moments acting with "Intention" gives you. email me at: jan@creativecoachinggroup.com | 
