Intention Matters

Plant a seed. Create a future.

Where Attention goes Energy flows; Where Intention goes Energy flows! - James Redfield

It's January in Australia. That means it's high Summer. Holidaymakers are enjoying our local beaches in droves, but in Melbourne, fans are flocking to the Australian Open tennis. It is front and centre on our TV as we watch the giants of tennis slug it out to be crowned Champion.

Everything about it fascinates me - the carnival atmosphere, the four seasons in one day Melbourne weather, and especially the players.

I look past their prowess, grit, determination, and court antics. I look into their soul to understand what drives them. What gets them up early every morning to face another gruelling day of drills, discipline and denial?

What moves them from enthusiasm for a sport to passion and obsession?

What does this have to do with aging?

Retirement can be a time when we stop being directed and have to create a life for ourselves. Some people already have passions they pour themselves into with verve. On the other hand, some stop to smell the roses and never quite get going again.

I can relate.

Early retirement was my goal and I did it. There was nothing I HAD to do anymore except cook a meal, make a bed, sweep a floor and read books! I was in heaven.

At some point, though, I looked up from my book and spare time abounded. I didn't feel accomplished just reading books. I couldn't do that for another 40+ years.

I took on projects just for something to do but not with any sense of purpose. Even that starts to feel a bit empty after a while - like my working life but in shorter bursts.

Who am I, and who do I want to be for the coming decades kept niggling.

I couldn't see a grand future self beating my chest and saving the planet. On the other hand, I couldn't see settling for mediocrity by consuming literature and not accomplishing anything meaningful, either.

Around this time, hubby was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. As a passionate researcher, I was all over the literature. I needed to know everything. I discovered HRV (Heart Rate Variability), bought a chest strap and downloaded an app to measure my HRV to understand how hearts work.

Last week, I hit a 1700-day streak of 5-minute HRV morning readings. I also have a 4-year Apple watch streak of daily ‘ring-closing’. Onto that foundation, I built a Peloton daily workout streak of nearly 400 days.

A simple little 5 min daily habit grew into a fitness passion. Some would say an obsession.

I will never let those streaks go now. An identity crept up on me, emerging from simple habits and fitness tech streaks.

I am now a fit and strong person. So what? I feel fantastic. What now?

What else is possible?

I would never have set a goal for 1700 days of HRV, but there is it. So, instead of long-term goals, I decided to take on new simple habits around what matters to me, lock in and savour small wins or streaks and see where it leads.

Where to start?

Let's go back to the tennis for a minute. They might aim to be the best in the world, but they don't get ahead of themselves. They develop daily habits to build identity, which in turn builds confidence. They lock in as they go. Daily habits dictate who they become. Identity and mindset move them to their goals. Their confidence builds every day they do things that great tennis players do. Some make it; some don't.

Take Djokovic. What you see is years of steady forward movement with intense daily deliberateness. I can't imagine an off day. An active recovery day would still be intentional.

I can't imagine him relaxing in front of the TV or scrolling social media, consuming rather than creating that life. His dopamine comes from creating tournament win after tournament win; not scrolling social media.

He is a creator investing every moment of every day into an identity. Even eating would be a carefully thought-out proactive creator decision rather than a consumption decision.

What can I learn from these champions?

Intention is a muscle that needs exercise.

Could I grow a more intentional, deliberate creator mindset? Could I be a writer? Could I define my desired identity as a writer who impacts thousands of readers? That feels worth exploring.

What simple habits could I adopt and nurture that would deliver the same satisfaction with writing that my fitness accomplishments have provided so far?

Instead of setting overwhelming goals, I set some broad intentions.

Do something that matters.

• Inspire others to see what's possible. We all need heroes like Super-Agers. I love seeing them in action. I want to be like them. I want to showcase them. I want people my age to see examples of what's possible.

Read - a lot.

• a book a week is my GoodReads commitment in 2023. Aim high, I say!

Write - a lot

• Journal daily. One sentence a day, according to Mr Atomic Habits, James Clear, is how you start. I hear it's life-changing.

• Write a Substack newsletter.

Build an audience

• Publish a sentence on the internet every day

• Publish something every week, good or not. It will improve.

Within those intentions, I crafted some 'Daily Deliberates'; actions that focus or re-focus my attention on proactively creating vs consuming.

• Take my morning HRV reading.

• Exercise

  • Walk, cycle, lift weights, do pilates, stretch.

  • Move every hour to feed my Apple watch!

• Journal

• Write a story about a simple event from my day

• Write my weekly article

• Take a photo every day

• Engage positively with someone I know as well as someone I don’t know:

  • Post a positive comment on social media

  • Say good morning to people on my morning walk

  • Talk to people at the supermarket checkout

  • Put some loveliness out into the world

• Do a de-clutter task

• Read 30 pages

• Record daily wins, gratitudes and serendipities

• Practise yoga and meditation

• Pre-bed sleep routine to ensure quality sleep

I may not get everything done but my Daily Deliberates list immediately focuses my attention to creator mode as I unconsciously reach for my phone to consume or be entertained.

As I see it, life is made intentionally one day at a time. Decide who you want to become. Start moving. Take baby steps. Look back often. Smile with satisfaction.

Be more intentional about who you want to become. Have vision beyond your current circumstances. Imagine your best future self, and start acting like that person today - Brendon Bouchard