How are those New Years resolutions doing? I personally didn’t bother this year as I didn’t want to keep adding to my list of failures. Ha!
I know that doesn’t sound politically correct, but instead I wanted to know that I was making commitments and setting goals I would accomplish. Don’t get me wrong. I love the way the year starts, fresh, and full of promises but getting caught up in the excitement of the new and making a long list of things we want to change doesn’t seem to cut it for most people. And I am no exception.
A few weeks ago I was studying some of Jose Silva’s work when I came across a part where he described an experiment by a man named Backster. In his experiment Backster had connected a polygraph (a.k.a. lie detector) to a plant. There were readings of the plant’s energy on the equipment which registered changes as he did different things to plant, i.e. water it.
At one point Backster went to the kitchen to get a match, as he wanted to see what effect burning a leaf might have. When he came back he noticed the plant’s readings were jumping all over the place. He realized the plant had sensed the energy from his thoughts.
There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being BEING ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish.
– Napoleon Hill
This experiment was reproduced successfully by others, however one scientist contacted Backster telling him that he couldn’t get the same results when he was thinking of burning the leaf. Backster then asked if he had intended to burn the leaf. This seemed to make all the difference as the plants responded to the intention not just the mere thought.
The moment I read this, I realized this was a key to what has kept me back in many areas of my life, and why those New Year resolutions didn’t seem to go anywhere. I’ve wanted to play guitar, exercise regularly, make more money, even kick some bad personal habits, and the list goes on.
One area in particular that came to mind was in regards to my getting physically fit and losing my beer belly, as some had called it. It’s never really bothered me, and somehow I knew I could lose it if I wanted to.
In fact I had worked on it before. At one point I was pretty regular with my workout routines and careful with what I ate for about two years. It seems that should have done trick but no. Since then it’s been a hit and miss for some time. I never lost hope, but, as I’ve come to realize, I never really intended to do it either.
When I read those words about “intention” something completely changed in my perspective and I learned to sense the difference in my heart and mind, as to whether I actually intended to do something or I was simply trying to do it, or thinking about it, or even doing it but without any intention of seeing it through.
This small key seems to make all the difference in the world as to whether we will actually see something through. Whether it’s a small personal goal or a bigger business plan, true intention set’s certain powers into motion, which go to work for us. The biggest impact seems to be on our own minds and the consequent action we take.
Of course, if I left it at intention it would do me no good. There is a need to take action, massive action as Tony Robins puts it, consistently and with persistence.
It’s been two months now and I’m amazed at the impact my workouts and eating habits adjustments are having on my beer belly. I still have a way to go but I am seeing physical changes in a way I have not experienced in the past and the biggest change is, I truly know I’m doing it, I clearly intend to and I am.
I’m turning 40 this year. I look forward to the new, as I enter this decade of my life with a practical awareness of how to use true intention in all I set out to do and a six-pack to boot.
Question: What ideas or tips do you have to for taking action and moving toward you goals? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
