The more you know what you are aiming for, the more intentional you become, that makes great things possible. There are times when things do come together by accident, but these are rare situations. Kind of like the lottery, where many who play the lottery are hoping of winning big money. That the little work involved for a big reward is enticing enough to get people involved, but obviously there is there is a 1 in 292 million chance of winning it.
What gives us a greater probability of achieving what we want is to consistently work towards it. If you look at vibrant communities, thriving organizations, high achieving teams, or high performing individuals, they are made possible because they planned on it. They identify specific things that they want to achieve and find ways to make it happen. Whether it is the company Apple, the football team New England Patriots, or founder and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk.
The commonality that they all shared is being clear on what they are working towards and outlining the daily actions needed to achieve what they want. Their relentlessness fuels them to give their best each day and this leads to them getting better that produces tremendous results. While things do not always play out how they planned it, their ability to adapt along the way is what makes their goals achievable. If their achievements are seen only in moments in time, they can seem so complex that can make us wonder how did things come together.
To help us better understand the complex, it all starts with the basics. Having the basics squared away, which includes doing everything with excellence, can then be combined and built upon. If this is thought of as a brick house, where the individual bricks are simple yet strong, are put together and stacked on each other with cement to bind them that makes a big unit that can leave us in awe. But if there are a few bricks that have cracks or do not hold up well it can affect the structure of the house and too many of them will affect the quality of the house.
If we apply this to what we do daily, we ensure that the things we do are with excellence that adds up over time. The results are great things happening on purpose. It may take trying repeatedly but eventually we will get better at it, getting us closer to the target that we are aiming for. When we know clearly what we want, we have a better chance of outlining clear actions that need to be taken to get us there. Half of the battle is figuring out how to make things happen. When the daily actions are understood it gives us the ability to be more purposeful and being more purposeful leaves an indent such footprints in the mud where we left our mark that serves as evidence that the road was traveled.
Purpose resonates
In being purposeful, the follow through of what you do becomes greater, that carries more weight, produces more power, and can tip the scale in your favor. It adds that extra UMPH that resonates further why you do what you do. The way you do everything from how you see things that affects your attitude, how you talk, to how you walk, to how you execute the simplest of things becomes elevated. With that greater sense of purpose in what you do the way you see things becomes about understanding the big picture and focusing on the details that align with it.
Your attitude will follow it because it is the catalyst for what makes you do anything. The way you speak exodus confidence that carries a strong tone that signals you are steering the ship how you see fit and not merely along for the ride. The pace at which you walk becomes quicker because your strides become longer and this signals the efficiency in your time, wanting to get things in a timely manner. And your actions become about doing things shiftily and with excellence. From how you get ready in the morning, to how well you focus on what is in front of you. Doing things with intent will have a massive impact on your life.
Instead of waiting to feel like you are ready for the day or ready for the task at hand you make yourself ready to take on what you will encounter. These behaviors that become elevated will have a tremendous impact on the things you come across. People will respond accordingly where you attract the people you need and dispel those that do not contribute to your purpose. The work that you do becomes that much better that speaks for itself.
No more spending time wondering what needs to be done or tiptoeing your way through things as it now becomes about being more direct, operating with a greater amount of urgency. It's about being in a controlled state but not rushing through things merely to get them done. That doing things well even if it takes a little longer is fine if it means doing it right or to the best of your abilities. Where perfection is eliminated, and it is all about progress. This helps to let go of being so worried about possible mistakes so you can focus your effort on getting better each time so when mistakes happen they are not felt so intensely but reminders on what to improve on.
Operating with a purpose gives you fuel to move past the obstacles and challenges that you come across because you’ll tell yourself that the want of getting to what you are striving for is so much greater than the temporary disappointment or pain that you are currently experiencing. Having this sense of intensity empowers you to make things happen where it just becomes a matter of time before things that you set for yourself materialize because of that belief you built. It can be incredibly difficult to pursue goals or targets without a state of intent because there is the feeling that your all is being held back as that self-doubt hangs around when uncertainty is evident in how you operate. While there is no certainty on how things play out, there is certainty in how we choose to come at life.
Emphasize the simple
A few things to start doing to be more intent is by doing the simple things with a greater emphasizes such as the way you tie your shoes, the way you greet people, the way you organize your space, the way you get out of bed or up from sitting down, or the way you walk towards something. By doing this it will rollover into everything else so when things get rough you approach it with greater emphasis. Think about if your mood to is to wait for things to happen, it will be a more cautious approach because the focus is to slow down and watch.
This will likely carry over if it relates to a problem such as mold occurring in the house from a small water leak. It can appear minor at first glance but if not taken care of right away the mold will spread and the leak can get bigger. The wait and see approach can turn out to be very costly. With a more purposeful approach you are more likely to get it fixed before it becomes a big issue. Staring small helps build momentum so you can take your intensity to a higher level. This accumulates you at a moderate level so the change, the growth becomes more manageable.
Sometimes with a greater enthusiasm we bite off more than we can chew and it discourages us from going forward with the lofty expectations we might put on ourselves. Where we start off on level 1 and we immediately want to reach level 9. Allowing ourselves to settle into the changes we’ve adopted increases our chance of it sticking. Now if the changes seem like there is very little resistance, then it may be a good idea to turn it up some. Just like working out, if it provides very little challenge then the results will be very minimal.
Cultivate ambition
Getting into the rhythm of doing everything or at least some things with a greater emphasis you can build on it by being ambitious. Throw out telling yourself that what you want or plan on working towards is impossible. It only appears that way because enough thought has not yet been given to it. The more that you can think, comprehend it, and find ways to make it happen the more real and attainable it becomes. You start to pull back the curtain to see what is behind those great ideas that you come up and the more you are able to investigate, search and find answers, the more comfortable you become in pursuing them.
If you initially think that the ideas are crazy, then you are on the right track. It means you’re letting your creative side come about and this is exactly what is needed to go beyond what is physically seen that will transcend you. If you look at many common things today, they were a big breakthrough when they occurred and are still spectacular today. Things like electricity, cars, airplanes, refrigeration, growing food on a mass scale, the internet, these are all things that people had initial ideas of wanting to do but it required time to rationalize how to make it happen. Yes, in many of these cases it took a long time for them to come into use, but it got going and eventually was adopted as a commonality.
Many people back then would not embrace ideas like this because it was something they needed to be imagined. And this still holds true today and will continue to be present because many people do not share the vision of those that pioneer a new or different way of doing things. That is why there will be many doubters because of the unique perspective that is carried by those visionaries. Having a strong desire for something more that requires determination and hard work is a magnificent thing to embrace. It expands us past our limits where we think we are unable to go any further only to find out significant growth has occurred. Experiencing this only deepens that belief that we can do what we set out for ourselves.
The starting point is not when this comes about but when we are facing those tough times, when we are most vulnerable, and self-doubt is ready to pounce. That is when our ambition will be tested to see how much we're willing to endure and find ways to pursue it. Think of when you were a kid or if you look at all the kids around you, they have a unique way of viewing the world and they just let things happen where their creativity and their energy really takes over. Were that freedom of what's possible just comes about that lets them color outside the lines, create imaginary games, and just let them be.
But over time what ends up happening is life tends to beat out at that enthusiasm that we once had because of the disappointment, disillusion, the heartache that has been experienced. Where those times we’ve been bitten makes us think twice about not going for it and this keeps us in what is comfortable because it means a level of safety right now, in the short-term. But this comprise means we are willing to settle for less than what we really want that weakens the belief within ourselves. Where it becomes about avoiding the risk of getting hurt only to risk missing out on incredible opportunities.
Know what you want
For great things to happen on purpose make sure to know what it is that you're working towards. The more specific you are in identifying what that is, the better chance you have at outlining a plan so you can meet those expectations. You don’t need to know exactly the details of what you what, but a specific idea helps to clear up where you should focus your attention on. If what you are striving for is vague it can be difficult to know what to do daily to get where you want. You might not be sure if what you are doing is getting you closer or not.
A very loose thing to say is I want to have a better life or a better way of making a living. This is a great staring point as you are identifying the general direction you want to go. The next step would be to refine what specifically you want such as to have a better life, it’s by enjoying what you do daily and then you can identify what that is. Maybe what you enjoy daily is working with animals and you can narrow it down to becoming a veterinarian, a zoo keeper, a dog trainer, horse trainer, animal breeder.
By taking the time to narrow these options down you're thinking through what path you would enjoy most. Obviously, all the good things come to mind when we're thinking about what we enjoy but take it a step further and look at some of the not so glamorous things that might be overlooked such as it might be really long hours in a specific direction that you take it in or it might take a very long time to get to that end goal. Whatever it is, at least you're working your way through the difficult parts that you can expect and working through this helps you find out if this is something you're willing to do.
There are times where all the glitz and glamour gets our attention and we forget to see what's behind all that it takes and this can surprise us and makes us retreat or at least reconsider, where we say, why did I go through with this. Being able to evaluate the not so fun parts you want to pursue helps you reset those expectations, so you are prepared to go through it. But if you realize that is something that is not for you, this saves you time so you can find the right fit.
If we forget to ask ourselves these types of questions, we might just go through it halfway, not giving our full effort that will show up the results or the lack of what we want because our reasoning for doing it has not yet been answered. When it is left unanswered the conviction in which we do things is dull. This can affect your confidence if you want to try something else, where you look at the past and say, ‘I didn’t even do well before so why am I going to take on something else’. The effort in which you do things is the difference in the results that you get, the less effort the less quality results will be.
Even when you know what it is you are working towards, many unknowns and surprises will come about that can rattle you, just know that’s okay. It might throw you off where feel if you’re really cut out for this and this is the time to gather yourself to regroup and refocus. If your reason is strong enough for why you are in your pursuit, you’ll find a way. These are those times where you are tested to see how much you’re willing to overcome the struggles that you’re facing. Embrace these times as opportunities to be better for it because it means that resourcefulness will be strengthened.
The natural feeling that we all experience is that of dreading the situation, where the worry rears its head at the forefront of our thinking. When this happens find a way to get back to a level head because those big waves of emotions will be crucial to handle so the decisions that are made are based on desire to thrive and not merely to survive. Many times, for us to thrive it involves going through difficult moments because that is a chance to experience growth. If we decide not to handle these times well and are only concerned about feeling good, then we become stagnant and are more prone to put fault in everything outside of our control. We want to avoid falling into the victim mentality and instead hold ourselves accountable.
Final thoughts
In whatever it is that we choose to do whether it's the task at hand or making those big goals or dreams a reality, it all starts with a purposeful effort. You may or may not get to what you're striving for but that consistent effort will eventually lead to great results. Sometimes what we achieve is not exactly what we were expecting but it might even be greater. Many things were discovered or accomplished in some ways without the exact plan to but through the purposeful action of making something great is what came about.
If you look at many of the things we eat today like chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, or corn flakes, they were all made possible by trying to make a specific thing only to get something else that was a nice surprise. Chocolate chip cookies were intended to be chocolate cookies but ran out of baker’s chocolate, potato chips were cut thin out of spite with a customer who said the chips he got was to soggy, corn flakes were intended to be granola and was left out for several days and then was toasted which created the cereal many people eat. All of these things were made possible because the people had a purpose of one thing and got something even better.
Let’s not let the short-term results or lack of them deter us from continuously giving our best. Many of the things that we are doing and working towards should be done with intent because we never know how close we are to breaking through to something great that will unleash the floodgates of what is possible. The results will probably not show up tomorrow or next week, but eventually they will if we have prepared and tried enough. In the meantime, do everything you can with a purpose. Talk with a purpose, walk with a purpose and act with a purpose because they will make all the difference in what you are doing.
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