Add Another Layer to Your Intentions

In his book The Noticer, Andy Andrews offers this riddle:

Five seagulls are sitting on a dock. One of them decides to fly away. How many seagulls are left?

Answer: Five. Deciding to fly away and actually flying away are two very different things.

I don’t know who decided that the road to hell needed paving, but whoever it was picked some pretty good material. There will always be plenty of good intentions for people to talk about, and even satisfy themselves that having the intention is enough work for today. The problem is, they never get around to actually doing anything about the intention.

They were very sincere. But a lack of action made them sincerely wrong.

Andrews adds this comment on his seagull illustration:

Despite popular belief to the contrary, there is absolutely no power in intention. The seagull may intend to fly away, may decide to do so, may talk with the other seagulls about how wonderful it is to fly, but until the seagull flaps his wings and takes to the air, he is still on the dock. There’s no difference between that gull and all the others. Likewise, there is no difference in the person who intends to do things differently and the one who never thinks about it in the first place.

How many times have you read something in your Bible or some inspirational story and stirred up a few new intentions?

How many times have you made a resolution, set a goal, mouthed off a “commitment,” or even made a promise to God?

How did that work out?

Now I know you really mean it this time. But like many times before, you may well have underestimated the power of the world around you to push back – to make meaningful change well-nigh impossible. For life to be filled with so much change it sure seems to resist the changes you want to make, doesn’t it?

What missing?

The pathway from here to there. And that nearly always involve a series of action steps. And yes, the operative word here is action. Road-to-hell pavers need not apply.

Andy Andrews again…

Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions? Yet intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.

Whatever intentions you may be nursing, try adding another layer.

Don’t just talk about your goals – have a plan to move you toward those goals.

Don’t just intend to do something one day – do something (anything!) today.

What is the first or next action step that will take you in the direction of those goals or changes?

And when will you do it?

Tagged as: Action, Goals, Intentions