Attention and Intention

What am I giving my attention to? Are my intentions clear and strong? These are very good questions for me at this time in my life. There are plans and goals I’ve declared for myself for the coming year. Plans and goals I’ll need to keep in mind and work my ass off to accomplish. Before I get to that, though, let’s look at the meaning of those two words in the topic.

The definition of attention is the act or state of applying the mind to something. It’s a condition of readiness involving a selective narrowing or focusing of consciousness and receptivity

The definition of intention is a goal, purpose, or aim. It’s something you mean to do, whether you pull it off or not.

My intention for the coming year is to complete a yoga teacher certification program, to work and gain experience as a yoga teacher, to expand my writing professionally beyond this blog, and finally to travel to Bali at the end of the year to do advanced yoga teacher training at an international yoga school. Big plans… Huge goals! I’d say those are clear and strong intentions, wouldn’t you? 

Lately, my attention has been all over the place! Worrying about upcoming events, stressing out about my job and trying to figure out Christmas presents. I’ve come to realize that if I am to “pull off” what I mean to do, I’d better start paying attention to HOW I’m going to make it all happen. It’s so amazing the way my God and the Universe works for me when I recognize how it manifests. Case in point… My girl from way back, Noreen called me this week to catch up and make a dinner date for the end of the week. We do this every four or five months and have been friends for over 25 years now. One of the things Noreen is exceedingly good at is handling her money! So I ran down for her what my goals were for the coming year and the COST for all of it. First she broke down roughly how much I’d need to save each month. Then she helped me run down my finances off the top of her head and showed me where I can cut back on some bills, save money in other areas, and gave me some ideas on side hustles. It was a little daunting, getting it down in black and white, but there was progress made. After dinner on the long drive back to my town, I was thinking of other ways to fundraise throughout the year to help with my “Bali” fund and decided to stop at my old Friday AA meeting for a little spiritual uplift and connection. I made it for the last 30 minutes and heard a lot of experience, strength, and hope in that short time. Afterward, I was talking with another friend who works for a property management company. She mentioned she would be busy for a few hours Saturday with a side job, cleaning for one of the owners of a property that needed it ready for a new tenant. I asked her to keep me in mind if she needed help for any future cleaning jobs and she said that was perfect because it’s hard for her to find anyone that wants to do that kind of thing. She also mentioned there may be some move-out cleaning jobs coming up after the first of the year! Just like that, a possible side income to help build by “Bali” fund!  I also reached out to someone in my company from another department this week on my upcoming yoga teacher certification because I overheard her talking to someone months ago about teaching yoga. She brought me her teacher training notebook today at work so I can use it as another reference for my training!

So to answer my original questions, I am giving my attention to how I can accomplish my intentions for the coming year and I’m grateful for that. The financial part is but one aspect. I’m also reaching out to people that can encourage and help me along the way. I hope as my friends and family you will remind me to keep my focus and my intentions clear for the coming year.