Image courtesy of: http://www.j6design.com.au/setting-smart-goals/ Set your goals and stick to them! That's what we've been told about how to get stuff done in this world. You decide what you want, and then put a systematic plan in place to get it done by the prescribed deadline. Although you may not be across the 5 Golden Rules of goal setting, if you asked, most people could tell you a goal must be S.M.A.R.T. to be successful. S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable R = Relevant T = Time based I have a BIG ISSUE with this. Don't get me wrong... goals are an important element of making something happen in your life. But perhaps goal setting is not really so SMART as we think... In fact... it's only HALF OF THE REAL STORY of how to successfully manifest your desired outcomes. I put it to you that without INTENTION, goals are limited, flawed and slightly impotent... Before I go into that though... what is the nature of a goal? Where does it come from? Goal Setting is Masculine and Mental We firstly determine what it is we want. Then we set about deciding on a set of steps to get us to that outcome. We agree on an acceptable or desired deadline for that goal to be realised. This process is applied to all people in all circumstances. It is a 'mass produced', or at least 'mass-adopted' consciousness. It is also very much a HEAD BASED, MENTAL PROCESS. More than that, it is inherently masculine. By that I mean egoic (based in personality opposed to heart/soul), external, thinking, linear, logical, left-brained, action oriented (doing), human-created construct. Of course, there's nothing wrong with this. It has it's virtues. The issue I have with it, is that we have been told this is the best and ONLY way to get things done...we have been taught this in our schools, our businesses, our entire life... Goals, in the traditional sense, have no roots or connection with the natural order of the Universe or with our inner consciousness. We set our goal and then lust after it, striving and forcing ourselves to 'progress' until we have it in our grasp. The thing we're wanting to achieve is external to us. It is something outside of ourselves that we do not yet have, and that which is currently outside of our control. We attempt to take control, and control an outcome, by setting a goal. For this reason, goals are a LIMITED and INEFFICIENT method of achievement as long as they stand alone... they are only one half of the whole picture and the mechanism of an aged paternal paradigm. Using goals alone to get where we want to go, means we are constantly operating outside of ourselves and will therefore always effect a forced outcome... we push and push until we hit our goal and we do not allow for flexibility or adaptability.... often times we make ourselves sick in the process of completing our goals. True you may achieve what you set out to do, but at what cost? Time, money, family, health? However, when you subscribe to a holistic approach to life and a belief that we are sovereign souls, energetic extensions of our environment, and all connected via an unseen but highly powerful field, a goal's success will only be successful to the extent that it is in alignment (or not), with our soul/heart's directive which is what gives rise to our core value systems. And often, we're not even the person that set's the goal in the firstplace! So what about INTENTION then? Why is it essential to have intention as well as goals? When goals and intention come together in a harmonic convergence, our goals not only become possible, but rather exalted and expanded. Rather than detract from a part of our life or require sacrifice to achieve them, an embedding effect occurs and we find our successes and achievements are elevated and increased, exponentially! What's the catch? For intention to be an integral part of achievement, we must first find our way from head to heart. Intention is Feminine & Feeling Intention is A HEART BASED mode and all about being rather than doing, it's person-centred, feeling, right-brained, spatial, feminine, spherical and receptive. When we 'set an intention', we are in a receiptive mode, allowing the field of possibilities to open and bloom in our hearts. This requires FAITH and TRUST: Faith in our connection to spirit or the Universe, God, Nature, Force, Source (whatever you want to call it) and trust - we trust our intuition and instincts and the overarching idea that the Universe is all loving and all powerful and has 'got our back', so to speak. We must have faith and trust that when we receive a vision for our future, it is in alighnment with our soul, and is the most elevated direction our life can take for the purpose of our highest good and soul's expansion. If we try to employ a vision that we conjure from our heads as something we desire, and then go about setting a SMART goal to 'make it happen', without engaging our intention for it to unfold in our world, we are always going to be in a position of grasping and striving and forcing the timing and the conditions of that vision to happen... many times against the will and at odds with the universe and our own soul's alignment/core values... eventually illness and/or disharmony will ensue in our lives. However if it is S.M.A.R.T. to set GOALS, then what if it were C.L.E.V.E.R. to set INTENTIONS?! How do we set an intention? I figure being both SMART AND CLEVER is better than one or the other... having both would round out the experience of achieving our visions... let's make it: C = Clear. We take time to get clear on our core values and consciously align ourselves with those. L = Leveraged. We leverage our energy by aligning with our heart and inner vision, letting the power of the Universe work for us, rather than pushing against it. E = Expanded. Our vision for the future achievement is an expanded one... it allows for growth, sustainability and a ripple effect that extends beyond our immediate sphere of influence V = Variable. We allow for flux and flow within the structure of our intention, letting the creative forces assist us to our desired outcome. E = Expressed. Our heart and soul's desire is expressive and delivered into the world through 'feeling as the fuel' which guides and invites the outcome to us. We express our outcome by writing, drawing, painting, moving, visioning, building and creatively 'putting it out there' into the Universe for the resonance to return it to us in reality. R = Revisited. For the most clout, we return over and over to the intention; feeling it, revisiting it's benefits, realigning with our core values, reminding ourselves of the heart-based reasons we intend for the outcome. Using goals, or intentions may get us to our outcome... but what would happen if we employed both?!! Faster manifestation, more complete and intelligent solutions, win/win achievements that benefit humanity? Goals are yang as Intention is yin! Copyright Notice: the C.L.E.V.E.R. acronym and process are the developed concept, intellectual material and copyright of Kristy L Rackham 2016. Reproduction or adaptation requires the author's permission and credit given for the work. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this topic... it's been bothering me for quite some time so I was pleased to develop a solution to ease my mind! Is there something you can add? Do you use Goals, Intentions... or both?
2 Comments
Megan Willis
4/1/2017 11:00:10 pm
I think your blog is both smart and clever! Lol
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6/1/2017 09:55:41 pm
Megan Willis, thank you for your kind words... I'm so glad this post makes sense to you and look forward to hearing about your expanded mindset!!
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