I’m sure you know by now that I’m a huge proponent of having a morning practice. Much like taking a shower or brushing my teeth, I give myself anywhere from 10-30 minutes for dedicated self-time every day. 

I practice in the same place every day. I’ve found when I go to the same special place every morning, the energy builds, and just entering this space creates a sense of sacred calm and focus. 

It’s become a ritual, and when I miss my practice for any reason, I notice how different I feel. 

Part of this morning practice is to set a daily intention. My daily intention isn’t a goal, instead, it’s a desired state of being. My daily intention is a reminder to myself of how I want to show up throughout the day and usually, I anchor it to a larger intention that I’ve set during my lunar intention ritual. 

I’ve found the best time for me to set my daily intention is after I’ve meditated. I’m in a state of calm and am open and receptive, so tuning into the frequency of my daily intention feels natural and unforced. 

The intention I set is usually related to how I might amplify the best version of myself this day. What intended actions might move me one more step closer to my best? Somedays, it might be staying hydrated, other days, it could be practicing forgiveness. Keeping it focused on becoming my best keeps me in the happy, joyful place of living my vibrant, successful life. 

I focus on the feeling of living the intention. I do my best to stay out of my thinking brain and move into how it will feel as I move through my day as the embodiment of my intention. In my mind’s eye, I see myself being the way I intend. I use my senses to feel what it will be like to live this intention. What do I smell in the air around me? How do my clothes feel on my skin? How does my body feel? What am I doing? Who am I with? How am I showing up? This gives me a preview of how I want to experience my day and helps to set the flow of energy in the direction of my dreams. 

Once I’ve finished my morning practice, I let the vision go. I release it and let the day begin without forcing or controlling anything. Whenever I try to micro-manage my intention, I find that I can get tripped up. When I let go and let the universe support me, I find life falling into place in ways that support my intention in even greater ways than I could have imagined. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but letting go of the exact vision allows things to work out even better than I could have created if I had orchestrated it myself.  

Here are the 5 things I do in my morning practice to set my daily intention. 

1. Practice in the same space every day.

2. Make this time a mini-ritual.

3. Set an intention that inspires your best.

4. Feel it as if your embodying it.

5. Release it and let it go.

Intention setting has put me on the path to what I want in my life. In my past, I had felt dissatisfied with parts of my life, and maybe that’s the situation you’re in right now. 

Setting intention has given me a way to see the best version of myself. And I’ll be honest, the result is that my life has never been sweeter. I’d love for you to experience this, too. 

Learn more about intention setting during my live and interactive June New Moon Intention Ritual on Monday, June 3rd. I’ll take you through all 7 steps I use to personally set my own intentions that manifest. It’s a great opportunity to interact directly with me and for your dreams and intentions to be held in a positive, supportive container.  I hope to see you there. Register at https://www.lynbishop.com/ritual. 

Ask yourself, what would a morning intention practice look like for you? I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them. 

Infinite ∞ Love,

Lyn

Here’s a question I’m asked a lot: “What’s the difference between setting a goal and setting an intention?” The answer can be a real game-changer when it comes to personal and professional effectiveness.

I like to look at goals as the final destination, as that specific achievement that we desire. Goals tend to be future-focused, external and outside of ourselves. 

Setting a goal is a mental process, one where we analyze, plan and reason with ourselves. Goals, by themselves, can trigger an all-or-nothing mentality within us. 

We like to think we’re in control of the goal, and all the steps it will take to achieve it, however, so often life gets in the way of our grand plan. Sometimes it’s just hard to stay on track with all of the daily distractions. 

Intentions, on the other hand, are based in the present moment, independent of the final goal. They promote a sense of discovery and expansion and allow us to celebrate the little wins along the way. Intention aligns us with our inner creative intelligence.

In the words of Dr. Wayne Dyer — “Intentions are not necessarily something that you do but something that you connect to.“

Intentions are the energy we hold inside of ourselves as we move towards that which we want. They are created from a place of love, and by releasing the fear of not accomplishing that big goal we’ve set for ourselves. 

Here are 3 distinct differences between a goal and an intention:

• Goal = future focused vs. Intention = present moment
• Goal = destination vs. Intention = daily actions
• Goal = external achievements vs. Intention = relationship with yourself

I’ve been hosting lunar inspired intention rituals every month for over a year now, and find them to be a potent practice in staying focused on the present moment while I’m striving for a bigger end result. Join this month’s Live and Interactive Full Moon Intention Ritual on Saturday, May 18th at 6 pm Eastern

Together with a morning practice where I set forth a daily intention, focusing on the energetics of how I want to feel and what I want to experience as I take steps towards that larger goal creates greater momentum and more joy in my life. 

On Sunday, I’m kicking off the 7 DAY INTENTION CHALLENGE. I’ve recorded a series of 7 meditations that I’m sharing free during the week-long challenge. Join me every day from May 19-25. All you need to do to join in is to take a moment to register now and get ready to activate your intentions into exquisite manifestation. 

One of the reasons that intentions are so powerful is that research is proving that our brains can’t distinguish between what we imagine is happening and what is actually happening. Fascinating. 

Deepak Chopra, in The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, says this about intention: “Intention operates outside the boundaries of normal space and time; it is the great organizing and unifying force of the universe; infinite in scope and duration. It allows us to imagine beyond the boundaries of what the local mind sees as “possible, to think” outside the box and to believe in miracles.”

I am passionate about helping people set intentions that MANIFEST. And in that spirit, I’ll be offering daily inspiration all month, so stay tuned to my social media throughout the month.

How do you use intention in your daily life? Share your thoughts as I always love to hear from you. 

Infinite ∞ Love,

Lyn

“Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working or grinding in order to be successful. Embrace the concept that rest, recovery, and reflection are essential parts of the progress towards a successful and ultimately happy life.” — unknown

This quote came across my desk today, sent to me from a dear friend. I took a pause as I read it because it is in direct alignment with my overarching intention for 2019, which is to remove the word “hard” from my vocabulary as it relates to work.

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know that I believe that words hold potent energy. When I caught myself saying “I’m working hard” one day, I called myself out.

Was I creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? As I continued to “work hard” and use these words, was I only creating an environment of more hard work? Did I truly believe that “hard work” was the path to success? Maybe in the past, I did, but then I got to thinking, are these outdated beliefs?

So at the beginning of the year, I choose to reframe how I described my work life. I decided to strike the word “hard” from my lexicon, and replace it with other words like alignment, flow, or progress.

“I’m working in alignment with my intentions and goals.”
“My work is in flow with what I am envisioning.”
“I’m making good progress on the work at hand.”

And then the most amazing thing happened. I stopped working hard. I began to have more wiggle room. I made time for more of the things I enjoy. I cleared my calendar and went to the beach. My work didn’t fall apart because I wasn’t “working hard”, instead it continued to flow in alignment with my intentions and goals. Wow!

So today I wanted to share 5 Reasons Why Hard Work Doesn’t Guarantee Success.

1. FEAR: Ask yourself what you fear will happen if you don’t work hard. Do you use the words “work hard” as a way to stay in procrastination, afraid that if you loosen the reins you might actually be successful? As silly as that sounds, the fear of success is one of the biggest reasons my clients spin in the procrastination that appears to be “hard work”.

2. FAILURE: Ask yourself if you associate working hard with success, and in contrast, not working hard with failure. If you said yes, you wouldn’t be alone in thinking so. However, limitations are a part of being human and failure can actually help us succeed. Embracing both rest and reflection together with inspired action is one way to step away from the worry of failure.

3. BURNOUT: It’s been proven that performance and success decline when you reach the tipping point of burnout. Your health suffers, you become emotionally exhausted, and your relationships suffer. If you burn out, it’s unlikely that you find the success you seek.

4. SACRIFICE: Have you ever thought you have to sacrifice something in order to be successful? Here’s the thing about sacrifice, it only leads to resentment and frustration. So even if you do achieve success after you’ve sacrificed the things you love, chances are you’ll be miserable.

5. ANXIETY: When you push yourself hard, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. The common misconception goes like this… “If I only work harder then I’ll be successful.” But usually, this only leads to anxiety and disappointment. At the end of the day, your happiness matters. If “working hard” is causing overwhelm, worry, or irritation, it’s hard to feel happy.

In 2018 I was this person I’m describing here. I was working hard to grow my business. I became overwhelmed by all the doing, and I sacrificed my wellbeing as a result. Now, 4 months into 2019 I’ve retired the phrase “hard work” and as a result, I’m witnessing significant, positive shifts in my life. And best of all, I’m in alignment and flow with those things that matter most to me, including my work.

I hope the next time you say your “working hard” you’ll take pause and give yourself a break. How could you shift those words to something else? I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them.

Infinite ∞ Love,
Lyn