When I boarded my first flight to Bali, from Vancouver to Taipeii, I sat in my seat with my empty notebook. My mind was racing around with the possibilities for the next month to come in Bali. I was having a difficult time quieting my mind, so I decided to write down a list of intentions for my trip. It surprised me the ease at which these statements came out of me and on to the paper. I think that subconsciously, I knew exactly what I wanted to get out of this trip. For me, even before the trip, it had a general air of reflection; on my life, my values, and a desire to embrace the uncertain. This physical action of writing down my intentions ended up shaping my trip into what it was.
If you're curious, these are the intentions that I wrote (direct from my notebook):
Things I want to do
Embrace the unexpected
The best things that can happen to you are not planned
Be grateful
Immerse yourself in a new culture and truly learn
Be peaceful, calm, and radiate love
Don't be scared
Trust the universe
Stay in the moment
Disconnect from social media
Take in every memory
Before I left on my trip, I was really heavy into listening to the audiobook of Jen Sincero's You are a Badass. I'm pretty positive that this next section of my notebook is a collection of direct quotes from the book that resonated with me and she was speaking them. I really reccomend Jen's book- it inspired me to try out this intention setting business in the first place!
If your presence doesn't work, neither will your word
Your power is in your energy, not your words
In order to be fully present, you must release your fear
Stop sweating the small stuff- this is resistance to love and the universe
As my trip unraveled, I had my intentions and these mantras saved in my subconsious (thanks Jen!). It's difficult to describe, but the act of writing them down kept me grounded. I felt better equipped than I ever have on previous solo adventures. When problems happened (which, oh man, they sure did) I felt calmer, and I remembered that my energy could play a huge role in the outcome.
The questions to ask for setting intentions
Why am I doing _______, and what do I expect to get out of it?
What do I intend to learn from ________, and what does doing this say about me as a person?
What are my goals for doing _________?
What kind of attitude to I intend to have while doing _________?
Physically putting pen to paper, (or fingers to keyboard) will make a world of a difference, I promise. It's like creating a contract with yourself that you can refer back to in the future.
This guide for setting intentions is not exclusive to travel. It can be applied to any life venture, or even any day. Asking yourself these questions either in the morning or before any personal change or venture can help you get the most out of it- even if it's just your Monday.
Kill it,
C
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