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The Crucial Difference Between Intentions and Goals
One is the destination, while the other is the roadmap
“Intention” is a word we hear a lot. At the beginning of yoga classes, we’re prodded to “set an intention.” Oprah has said of her people-pleasing tendencies, “intention cured me.” In her studio album When I Get Home, Solange sings: “Nothing without intention. Do nothing without intention.”
But what does it mean to have intention, anyway?
Deepak Chopra writes, “Intention is the starting point of every dream. It is the creative power that fulfills all of our needs, whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening, or love.” To me, intention is about moving to the driver’s seat of my own life. So often, it seems, we’re half-aware passengers, complaining when the road gets bumpy and impatiently asking, “Are we there yet?” when we feel we should have already reached a certain destination, even though we have no idea what that destination looks like.
But what I hear from a lot of people is that while they would like to set intentions for themselves, they’re unsure what those intentions should be.
Intentions versus goals
Our confusion is often tied to the confusion over whether intentions are synonymous with goals. The answer…
