Why Intentions are Better Than Goals

How to take meaningful steps without banking on future success

We like goals because they give us something clear to reach for. But often, they do the opposite.

This can happen for two reasons. First, most goals rely on external rather than internal motivation. Second, goals focus on future outcomes which are not in our control.

External motivation means that you are driven to act because of factors outside of your inner self. For example, a deadline is an extrinsic motivation. So is trying to impress someone. Or working out because you feel guilty. External motivations are driven by fear and other emotions - something happens in the outside world, triggers an internal emotion, and you use that emotion to drive your actions. But the outside world constantly shifts, so our emotions do too - and that makes it hard to stay on track. Especially when those motivations start pulling you in different directions.

The bigger problem? Goals are future-facing. And the future isn’t in our control. Goals fixate you on where you want to be - and pull you out of the present moment. They transport you to an imaginary future where things are right and better. As if something about where you are now isn’t enough. And since you can’t predict the future, you have less control. So a goal can make you feel out of control and insufficient at the same time.

A more grounded approach is to focus on intentions rather than goals. An intention is internally motivated. The drive to act comes from within, rather than from an external pull. More importantly, intention grounds you in where you are now and focuses on the direction you want to move in. Not the destination itself. You start by accepting where you are - fully - and taking action in the direction that feels true.

From this place of intention, you can exercise more control over your actions, and make progress with conviction. You’re not driven by external forces, but by noticing who you want to be now and how you want to act now.

This might sound like a lowering of the bar, but it’s not. It’s a deeper kind of discipline that doesn’t rely on hype or future fantasies, but something more stable: a willingness to meet the moment sincerely. A simple shift in mindset can move you away from goals, and towards intentions. Stop asking what you’re supposed to achieve, and start asking what do I intend to do - from here, as I am?

Finding your inner drivers isn’t always easy. But the best way I know to find them is this: silence. When you sit in silence you will begin to notice how many external drivers sway your actions. But you’ll also begin to notice something else - a quiet voice you may have forgotten.

That’s the voice of your intention.

Vitis champini, illustrated by William Henry Prestele. Undated.