How to Set Daily Intentions and Why They Help You Reach Your Goals

Being intentional about how you spend your time can help you live with purpose while making productive choices. Setting daily intentions will get you to focus on what you consider the most important to you that day.

Whether it’s a task, idea, or prayer, this guiding statement will orient you towards making the choices you need to make to stay true to your current goals. Taking one step every day towards your long-term goals helps you make sustainable progress over time. Daily intentions can help you make that progress.

Let’s take a look at what setting an intention can do for you and examples of what intentions might look like.

What Are Intentions?

Setting daily intentions doesn’t take more than 5 minutes but can have a profound impact on your day and your long-term happiness.

Intentions are guiding statements that will remind you of where to focus your energy on any given day. You spend a bit of time thinking about the tone or vibe you want to bring to your day. Then you write a statement that will remind you to stick to that attitude and goal. There are no set rules on what an intention has to look like, because it can be whatever you need it to be. When you set an intention for the day, you’re just telling yourself “this is where I will focus my energy. This is the vibe I want to bring to my day.”

Whether you want to focus on getting a specific task at work done or you just want to choose happiness, your intention can guide you on that journey. All it takes is a few minutes of preparation to set yourself on the path to success.

Intention Examples

It’s hard to pin down exactly what an intention looks like. That’s because an intention can be anything you need to tell yourself to help you achieve your goals. It could be an inspirational statement, a guiding mantra, or a specific goal you’re working towards. Whatever you want to work towards in the long term, think about what small step you can take today to walk towards it. That can take its form as an inspiring thought or a category of tasks. No matter what you choose, know that these small steps will lead to substantial long term progress.

Here are some examples of each type of daily intention.

Inspirational Statement

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
“Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.” – Hafez
It is well with my soul.
“Impossible is for the unwilling.” – John Keats
“Change the world by being yourself.” – Amy Poehler
“Determine your priorities and focus on them.” – Eileen McDargh

Guiding Mantra

I choose happiness.
I focus on setting aside time for self-care.
I am worthy of self-love.
My needs deserve to be met.
I am in charge of my own destiny.
My strength comes from within.
I choose to live authentically.

Specific Goal

Today, I will focus on growing my small business.
Today, I choose to devote time to developing my social media presence.
I want to take steps towards improving my work life balance.
Today, I will make myself less available online so I can focus on the present.
I am going to focus on learning from others so I can earn more professional skills.

How to Set Intentions

When you sit down to make your intention for the day, you engage in a bit of soul searching. You’re getting in touch with how you’re feeling and what you want to achieve. It’s part checking in on your mental state and part goal setting. It’s fine to think about all the things you want to accomplish, but if you set an intention without checking in on how you’re feeling, you could be setting an intention you don’t have the power to achieve that day.

Daily intentions take into account your long-term goals and where you are in the now. What can you do in your present state to take one step closer to the life you dream of?

Once you decide on a daily intention, write it down. You can use the 369 manifestation method or you could set alarms on your phone with the intention as the note. Try different tactics to see how you can incorporate the intention into your day.

Daily Intentions Make a Long Term Impact

If you take just a bit of time each morning, you can guide yourself towards your long-term goals. Choosing a positive attitude can help you take the small steps that add up to a lot of progress.

Sure, one day of intention setting may not change the world, but starting the practice of daily intentions could help you focus on making your dreams come true.

Sarah Margaret Henry

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Author, Artist, Photographer.

Sarah Margaret is an artist who expresses her love for feminism, equality, and justice through a variety of mediums: photography, filmmaking, poetry, illustration, song, acting, and of course, writing.

She owns Still Poetry Photography, a company that showcases her passion for capturing poetic moments in time. Instead of poetry in motion, she captures visual poetry in fractions of a second, making cherished keepsakes of unforgettable moments.

She is the artist behind the Still Poetry Etsy shop, which houses her illustrations and bespoke, handmade items. She is the author of intricacies are just cracks in the wall, a narrative poetry anthology that follows a young woman discovering herself as she emerges from an abusive relationship.