I first met Madison at lululemon 4 years ago. She worked on my team and stood out instantly with her energy and honesty. This being a few years ago, she was fresh out of high school and deciding what she wanted to do with her life; a tough place we all have been at least once in our lifetime.
Madison has blossomed into a confident and driven person who is inspired by her ability to make a difference in other's lives. I met up with her on the weekend and after a beautiful conversation sharing our hopes and dreams, I asked her to contribute to this project on my blog. I wanted to hear what she has learned over the past few years. I wanted to hear what she thinks of when she reflects on how Living with Intention has shaped her life. I am thrilled with what she has put together and I think you will enjoy it too.
Live Your Intention, by Madison English
Intention. A simple word with unlimited power. What is my intention? To love? To support? To inspire? To create? What about my action, do they align with my intentions?
The power of intention became huge for me when I started to play with it and observe how it occurred in my life. Questions similar to those above very quickly became pivotal in my journey towards creating my future.
I had reached a point in my life where all of my actions were random and completely based on in-the-moment emotions. My actions lacked thought and intention. I felt as though I had lost total control. I had no sense of purpose. I was going to school because “I was supposed to.” I was desperately trying to find someone to heal all of my wounds after a messy breakup because “if I could only find someone else then I would be happy.” Coming into work was exhausting because I was trapped in the story that “I only needed to be there for the money.” No joke, I was crying myself to sleep on a regular basis.
Clearly, what I was doing was not working. It was time to make a change. Through reflection I was led to discover that the only reason nothing was working for me was because I had failed to align my actions with any sort of intention. I was reacting to everything with the first thought of judgement, resentment, or self-doubt that came rushing into my mind. I was telling everyone that I was committed to being loving, but any time a potential partner came into my life I would become needy and dependent, focused on my selfish motives. I was telling everyone I wanted to be a supportive friend, but when my friends needed my support I was less than present. I was saying I needed to save money, but continued to spend an absurd amount on food, alcohol, and clothes. I was blaming the world for my problems and taking no responsibility for any of it.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that I was doing was aligned with what I said my intentions were!
So now what? My life is a mess and everything is out of alignment… Great…
The biggest thing is that I could now see it. I could see and understand exactly where I was tripping over myself. From here it was up to me to clean up the extravagant drama that had become my life.
Step 1 was taking responsibility for everything that I was frustrated with.
Step 2 was setting clear intentions.
Step 3 was aligning my actions to support my intentions.
Step 4 has been watching all of the beautiful things that have become my world.
When I established that my intention was to have love in a romantic relationship, I dug into what that looked and felt like. Having freedom and independence in my own life. Being excited to support whatever goals my partner wants to pursue. Trusting each other. Being a safe space. Having Fun. Laughing. When the situation arose with the possibility of a romantic relationship, the actions I took, the way I showed up, and what I sought in the other, were in line with my new intentions. What happened was a miracle, the relationship grew into what I had envisioned and created. I actually experienced love in my relationship! NO WAY! By being love I received love!
The same thing occurred when I got clear on my deep rooted desire to learn about topics I was truly interested in. I was able to find the strength to stop working towards a post-secondary degree in a field I had no interest in pursuing as a career. My intention was to learn. I dug into what that looked and felt like. For now, it means working hands on. Figuring out problems. Being with people and building off their ideas. Reading books I’m interested in. Collaborating and exploring. What has been interesting is that I have learned more about people, business, health and wellness than I ever did in school because I am clear on my intention and aligned in how I am making it happen. NO WAY! By pursuing my own way of learning I actually learned!
In regards to my current job, I got clear that I had an opportunity to serve and better the lives of others just by showing up to work. My intention was to serve, I dug into what that looked and felt like. Getting to make people smile and laugh. Creating systems that make business flow smoother. Teaching teammates so they can flourish. Seeing an impact. Success. When I got aligned with my intention to serve at work, all of a sudden work became fulfilling and enjoyable. NO WAY! By serving others, I get fulfilment!
Each day has become a new opportunity to see how I can challenge myself to live my intention. Each day is a new opportunity to grow. Choices become more clear when I check in with myself to see if the decision I am about to make aligns with my intention.
When you live your intention everything falls into place.
Live love. Live support. Live inspiration. Live Creation. Live your intention. Out of that, everything becomes possible.
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