Life is busy, isn’t it? There are interesting distractions everywhere. How can you stay on track at work or in any other part of life, when media, interruptions, co-workers, family, errands, phone calls, and eh emmm Facebook and tablets or smart phones beckon us constantly? So, just how can you stay focused at work to finish that project, or at home to spend quality time with your family and friends?
Use Segment Intending.
Intention, second only to faith, is senior in the Universe. Remember, we have been discussing how what we think and believe creates our life experience. Thought is a powerful part of this mix. Distracting thought is also powerful. Only, that creates chaos and frustration. In addition, it creates things we don’t want, by default. The mastery of segment intending is one of those great, powerful, possibly even passionate, positive ways to think that brings you more of what you want and less of what you don’t in your life experience.
So, what is it and how do you use it to stay on track?
Segment intending is the art of taking a breath and in that moment choosing what you INTEND to be, do, have, or happen next. It is deliberate creation of a brief but powerful “pregnant pause” –whenever you change activities– to choose, set, or review your intention for that next activity. This results in deliberate action in alignment with your intention. You will make better decisions and choices. And it will help you stay on track. And as a Master Intender, you will be seen by others to be in charge of your life and “having it all together.”
Though it may seem awkward at first, as anything new always is, you will find this brief pause and in this moment now choice of intention will set you up to have significantly more mastery or even command of your day. And, with practice, it will not take you a lot of time—just a breath or two between activities. These few breaths of time compared to the difference it will make in your world are worth every bit of effort it may take you to master this useful tool. Some of my clients tell me this is one of the most powerful tools they learned in my Thought Mastery Class series, crediting it with job promotions and happier relationships.
OK, so what does it look like to actually do this?
First, it is important to begin noticing whenever your current activity changes. Then break your day up into, at least, the major important activity changes of your day. These look something like this:
You wake up and get ready for work
You travel to work
You arrive at work and greet others
You review your day’s activities
You start your activities or projects
You are interrupted by phone calls, or co-workers dropping in
You go to a meeting.
You have lunch
You get the gist here.
Even if you intend just when you start work and then again after lunch, you’ll see a big difference in your accomplishments.
Then when you begin to notice these breaks in activity, you deliberately take that “pregnant (with potential) pause” breath and use those brief moments to decide, “What do I want HERE?” And then intend THAT. It is just a little tool, but oh so powerful.
Here is an impossibly HUGE list of possible segment intention examples. It is not required to go to this extreme to make a big positive difference in your day. Just pick out the important segments and start there to intend those two or three things that you want. This lengthy list is not the goal here, it is INTENDED only to provide you with tons of options to choose from plus, hopefully, and better yet, they will spark your own personally important intentions. Use as much or as little of this as you choose.
When going to sleep
I intend:
- To go to sleep easily
- To sleep soundly and through the night
- To rest, heal, and rejuvenate my body
- To wake up rested, refreshed, joy filled, and ready for this new day
- To bound out of bed excited about _____________
Upon waking
I intend:
- To feel good
- To remember that the most important thing for me today is to feel good
- To work on feeling good, no matter what else is happening around me
- To notice what I don’t like in a way that uses it as data and information only to help me know what I do desire & prefer and otherwise ignore it
- To look for what I do desire & prefer and for what’s positive, and what I can learn in every, event, thing, and person I encounter.
- To recognize I create my own life experience, and utilize any experiences I don’t like for learning how to do it better next time, and otherwise focus only on what I desire & prefer instead
- To be efficient and effective in everything I choose to do today
- To notice each new segment and do my segment intending throughout this entire day
- To make and take time for myself, to treat myself well and first, taking time to ——- (do my affirmations, eat well, exercise, meditate………..)
- To schedule my day so I have plenty of time to care for myself well, complete those priorities I choose, and be on or in plenty of time for those scheduled appointments or meetings I have arranged.
- To allow others whatever, knowing I create my own life experience, and they cannot impact my experience unless I allow it by deliberate intention or by default
Preparing for the day
I intend:
- To feel good and enjoy this time with myself, treating myself well
- To be efficient and effective in my process of self-preparation
- To prepare myself in such a way that I like how I look and feel and I am ready for anything this day brings my way. (Or for the important _________)
Breakfast
I intend
- To utilize this breakfast time to care for myself well
- To fix and eat a nutritious healthy meal that tastes wonderful
- To feed my body what it wants to eat
- To eat in a relaxed and healthy way
- To feel good and enjoy myself
- To be efficient as to complete this process in time to ____________ (go to work on time, to catch the plane, to _________)
Driving to work or anywhere
I intend
- Safety
- Smooth, free flowing traffic
- To be in the lane that continues to move at the best/optimal pace in any given circumstances
- To listen to and heed my Guidance
- Arrival at my destination, rested, relaxed, refreshed, and in plenty of time
- To feel good and enjoy this trip
If your trip includes companions
I further intend
- Good communication
- To enjoy the company
- To uplift the other/s
- To easily move conversations on to topics that allow all of us to feel good, be uplifted, and speak in ways that are positive and supportive
- To allow others whatever, while maintaining my own feel good
Arrival at work
I intend
- To feel good
- To greet others in ways that are uplifting of them
- To let my face, countenance, body and posture broadcast the fact that I feel good
- To efficiently and effectively get ready to start work
Begin work
I intend
- To review my values, priorities, and schedule, list my highest priorities for this day now and after lunch to ensure I stay on track
- To work on my highest priorities, and easily return to them if interrupted
- To make it to every scheduled meeting in plenty of time, fully prepared
- To complete xyz step on my ___________project
- To be efficient and effective
- To be up lifter in every human transaction
- To stick with win win
- To recognize each new segment and remember to segment intend
- To remain calm, positive, professional in manner no matter what I may be facing
- To feel good, to remember to feel good, no matter what
- To look for what I want or can learn in all interactions
- To ignore and easily release anything I recognize that I don’t want, and use it only as data and information
- To care for myself first, eat a healthy lunch when I get hungry, and leave work on time to ensure I have plenty of time for my exercise and planned fun ________, or time with family and friends
Begin project xyz
I intend:
- To feel good
- To recognize and heed my Guidance
- To be efficient and effective
- To complete steps abc, xyz etc.
- To spend x amount of time now, and schedule when to work on the next piece
- To easily keep my concentration and focus
- To easily return to my place and train of thought if interrupted
- To handle any interruptions quickly and easily and return quickly to this project
- To put off all distractions until xx time, (ignore phone calls, close door, etc.)
- To be complete by x time, or finish this step by, or stop by x time, knowing I’ll get back to it _____
Telephone rings and you choose to answer it
I intend:
To quickly and easily determine and evaluate the importance of this call and act accordingly, while uplifting the other person.
Upon discovering identity of caller
Excuse yourself for one moment, or do while greeting the other
(I recommend excusing yourself so you are not distracted while talking/listening to the other, as they can tell—example: “Can you hold for just a moment, please?” intend then, “Hi Suzy, what may I do for you?”)
I intend:
- Good communication
- To be up lifter
- To remain in win win, regardless of the others point of view
- To remain positive no matter what
- To feel good no matter what
- To _________________(what you want from them if you know it)
- To remain alert to requests and easily say no or at least say I’ll get back to them if I am not 100% sure it is something I want to commit to or fits my priorities or workload etc. (It is easier to say no first and yes later, if appropriate—than it is to say yes, without deliberation, and wished you’d said no, or then try to say no later.)
- To honor the caller regardless of whether my response is what they want
If this was an interruption
I intend:
- To handle this efficiently, effectively, and return to my project as quickly as possible
Going into a meeting
I intend
- To feel good no matter what
- To utilize anything that I recognize as a don’t want as data and information
- Good communication
- To be up lifter, and honor others no matter what I am communicating
- To focus on and hear and understand the others in a way that they feel heard and understood
- Then I intend to communicate in a way that facilitates being heard and understood
- Stay focused on the purpose of the meeting at hand (and facilitate the group has a focus/purpose if it is not immediately evident)
- To reserve decision/judgment if necessary
- To say no appropriately, or that I’ll get back to them if necessary
- To stand up for myself if necessary
- To accomplish _____________
- To be in harmony
- To facilitate win win
- To end on time so as to get quickly back to _________
- To stay in integrity with myself no matter what
Whenever changing activities
Recognize it is a new segment
Re-intend based on new activity
Lunch and dinner, see breakfast
Leaving work, see driving etc.
May want to include
I intend
- To feel good
- To do xyz exercise plan
- To do abc fun activity
- To enjoy my evening
- To feel good
Upon arrival home
If home includes others
I intend
- To arrive relaxed and interested in _____(significant other)
- Good communication
- To be up lifter
- To (what do you want here???)
If alone
I intend
- To feel good
- To make a lovely meal for myself
- To exercise first
- To do xyz fun plan
- To read, relax???
- To be in bed to be ready for tomorrow by x hour
- To what do you want here??? Call a friend; watch TV, video, work on my wants journal????
If you find yourself in a conflict or know one is likely
I intend
- To feel good,
- Harmony
- To recognize my guidance and heed it
- To remain in win win
- To seek first to hear and understand, and only then to be heard and understood
- To be up lifter, regardless of the other person’s position, tactics, emotion, or mood
- To achieve _______________ via win win or no deal
- To agree to disagree if necessary
- To facilitate the conversation to look for a positive win win solution
- To ignore blame directed at me, and not use any blame or negatives towards others or in response to others
- To keep myself safe, and to leave if necessary
- To not participate in negative, instead facilitate shifting to positive or postponement until all concerned can work together in cooler mood.
- To intend love, understanding, and compassion for the other regardless of whether I agree with their point of view.
- To remain in feel good no matter what, by allowing the other to be, say, and do whatever, knowing they cannot create within my life experience without my allowing it.
When about to do something intended to be fun/enjoyment
I intend
- To feel good
- To enjoy this fully and immensely
- To focus only on this good time and leave all my other projects and problems to another time that is just for them
- To revitalize myself
- Look for only what I want and ignore don’t want behaviors in others
- To facilitate positive feel good and up lift any others accompanying me
- Good communication and harmony (if with others)
- To utilize this time to pump up my feel good vibration
- To ____________ (what do you want here?)
Generally upon discovering a new segment
Intend to
- Feel good
- To be safe-if appropriate
- To remain positive and honoring of the other person—if appropriate
- And to focus on, ” What do I want here?!!”
Try this and leave your comments below. I’d especially love to hear what happens when you use this tool.
Now that you are complete reading this– What do you intend next? J
