Set Intentions Not Goals
Why setting intentions might move you further than setting goals ever will
I know you’ve set goals before. And I also know that you’ve felt like a failure when you haven’t reached them.
Me too.
Since starting my business, I loved setting monthly goals. I thought writing them down, tracking their achievement and planning my to-do list to a tee was how I’d become a success.
These goals came from a place of pure vanity.
How much money I wanted to make that month
How many subscribers I wanted on my YouTube channel
How many digital products I wanted to create
I would hustle my butt off only to come up short on my goals at the end of the month. Instead of feeling proud of all the things I learnt, the connections I made or the steps outside of my comfort zone I traversed, I never felt like enough. I never felt like a success.
The problem with goals, they’re all or nothing. You hit them or you don’t. You pass or fail.
But intention? Intention makes space for growth.
It celebrates movement, even if it’s slower than you hoped.
It invites you to align your energy with where you want to go, not just an arbitrary metric you want to hit.
The difference between goals and intentions
Goals are destination-driven. They ask, What do I want to achieve?
Intentions are energy-driven. They ask, How do I want to feel when I do this?
And when you’re running a one-woman show juggling ambition with naps, negotiations with tiny humans and late-night creative bursts, it’s your intention that will keep you going. Not the spreadsheet. Not the metrics. The why underneath it all.
5 Ways to Set Intentions That Stick
Here are five ways to weave intention into your work week, your projects or your next season in life.
1. Create a digital vision board
Let it be visual, messy, aspirational. Skip the “monthly income” screenshots and go for mood. What do you want life to feel like?
Set it as your desktop wallpaper. Glance at it often.
2. Schedule a monthly intention-setting session
It doesn’t have to be fancy. Grab a coffee, a notebook, a sweet treat and an uninterrupted 30mins somewhere quiet. Ask yourself:
What’s important to me this month?
What kind of energy do I want to bring into my work/project?
What do I need to get done?
Write it down. Revisit it mid-month if you start to drift.
3. Outline your ideal week
This isn’t about perfection. It’s about rhythm.
Ask yourself, What would my dream week look like?
When would you work? When would you rest? When would you fit in time to look after your body and mind? When would you organise your life? What would you let go of?
Even if you can’t live it daily, setting that intention gives your reality a shape to move toward.
If you don’t define your days, the world will do it for you.
4. Choose a word of the day
Each morning, pick one word.
Focus. Gentle. Bravery. Rest. Kindness. Presence.
Let it anchor your actions and attitude like an internal compass.
5. Visualise five years ahead
Close your eyes. See the version of you five years from now.
Where are you working? Who’s around you? What fills your day?
If you’re craving to do more, but you’re the primary carer to little ones, I feel you. Doing this will allow you the space to realise this season of dependency will not last forever. You will have your space back. You will be able to do more. But for now, you will be taking smaller steps toward reaching your vision.
Practicing intention setting will give you direction
Intention doesn’t always show up in metrics. But it does show up in how you feel while you create.
It shows up in decisions made with clarity. In boundaries you’re proud to hold. In ideas that come not from pressure, but from alignment.
So next time you feel a calling to write down your goals, instead ask yourself, What’s the intention underneath them?
Until next time,
With a messy kitchen and creative mind,
🩷 Kate
Loved that! Thanks for sharing. I will put into practice these learnings to be more intentional.