The Hub Capricorn Coast - September Edition Issue 15

Intentions vs Goals

By Katie Crews Coastal Kinesiology

Today there is a coach on every corner, someone offering to assist you navigate through any aspect of your life. At the gym, cleaning out your cupboards, weight loss, spiritual awakening and even parasite cleansing. One aspect they all have in common is being goal focused (mostly, an extreme generalisation here).

We are all taught from an early age to set a goal and stay focused. There are many different goal-setting strategies from the KISS analogy (keep it simple stupid) to SMART Goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound). Yet, in all the years we have spent goal setting, so many of us struggle to stay on track and reach the endpoint.

Why? Here are my thoughts. Goals to me feel quite masculine. They are very structured, outcome-driven and require lots of determination, drive, and action. You rely heavily on the coach for accountability, structure and the secret ingredient that will get you over the line and to the desired outcome.

Compare this now to an intention. Intentions for me feel more feminine, they are feelings based. Intentions are less structured and rely instead on surrendering and trust. There is no set achievement date, but a general time frame that feels more flexible

On Friday night I spoke to around 20 members of the incredible F45 Cap Coast Gym. They are all currently participating in a 6-week fitness challenge. I was super excited to share my thoughts and knowledge on human behaviour, self-sabotage and finding a balanced foundation I had each of the participants close their eyes, think about the goal they had set at the start of the challenge and then observe how that felt in their body.

Then for comparison, I explained my thoughts on intentions and had them create an intention rather than a goal. Again, they closed their eyes and observed how that felt in their body When asked to compare if the intention felt better than the goal, roughly 75% agreed.

We can see here that everyone is different. However, most felt better with the intention. So, what does this mean for you? If you have worked with me, you will always hear me talk about setting the intention. What I observe with myself and my clients, is the use of an intention is more likely to lead to the desired outcome. It feels safer in the body as there is less worry about failure and more flexibility to explore the emotions and feelings that arise.

I also believe that the journey is more important than the outcome It is during the journey that you will learn the most about yourself just by being present, aware, and willing to explore your feelings, beliefs, and thoughts.

Only through identifying the underlying cause of our subconscious blocks can we truly understand what we want from life and why we struggle to achieve certain things.

I prefer my clients to focus on today, the moment in front of them, rather than the end date Yes, you need to have structure, time frames and accountability, but the focus needs to be on your feelings as you are doing that thing.

What feelings come up and what are you doing with them?

It’s not about ignoring them, pushing past them and hoping tomorrow you will have more self-worth and drive It is about honouring them They will determine your outcome, not your drive or your level of motivation Do you believe you can or not?

You cannot punish or shame yourself into a better result. Bypassing your feelings and limiting beliefs is like carrying buckets of rocks along the journey It will feel harder. There will be more stopping and starting, and you’ll be constantly wondering why it is so freaking hard!

When you hire a coach, ask them questions about goal setting Ask them how they manage clients with setbacks, emotional distress and limiting beliefs At various stages we will all have them, especially if we are challenging ourselves in a new way How you address them and move through them makes all the difference Using the masculine energy of push and drive, or the softer feminine ways of surrendering and trust Both are required at different times.

It’s all about duality. I feel that an intention with its softer approach creates more room for feedback (not failure) and self-exploration Give it a go, try the softer approach and let me know how you go.