Thawing out the River of Intention: The Flamingo’s Guide to Flying

It’s January 6 today. The temperature is -34 degrees Celsius here in the land under the sun.  Getting out of bed is hard on days like today because of the cold alone.  Once I do tear myself away from my bed, it’s off to the closet to figure what to wear for another sub-arctic day.  How many layers can I possibly manage today, I wonder.

I opt for bamboo harem pants and top, a long knit sweater and mukluks, which were a Christmas gift in 2006 when my husband worked up North.  The mukluks are handmade by a woman in Northern Saskatchewan. They are made from moose hide and beaver.  I never wear them outside because the salt will destroy them, and they are too beautiful to destroy.

My phones are ringing.  Emails are dinging.  People want to meet with me. They want to know ‘the plan’, as if plans just miraculously appear upon the asking.  But plans take time. I should know. I am a planner.

In the corporate world where I worked as a strategic planner for some 20 years before starting my own consulting practice in 2011, January was always the time of year when I would build the annual planning calendar, which laid out the specific details of the planning cycle, how it would be implemented, when, where and who would be involved in each cycle.

First there was the intention setting process, followed by the goals and initiatives, balanced scorecard targets, operational planning, budget development, business plan writing, and finally the approval.

The planning calendar also included an quarterly review of the current plan, which required a myriad of steps to gather the information, draft the report, have the executive review and approve the report, present the report to the board and roll it out to the employees after board approval.

Large organizations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on understanding where they are going and planning to get there.  Executives are supposed to spend 80% of their time in strategy, and 20% of their time on operations.

In my experience, organizations that plan well succeed well.  They are good companies and employers because the people who work for them always know their part in bringing the plan to life. These kinds are organizations are aware of their environment and able to adjust accordingly.

People are not organizations, and so we tend not to pay attention to our own paths.  Most of us are worried about jobs, family and other day to day stresses.  I always wonder what would happen if we paid attention to our intentions and lived accordingly.  What would our world look like?

The 'Kick in the Face' Intention 

The word ‘Intention’ means to intend to do something.  It is a statement of action.  It is not a wish or a dream.  Intentions are specific, but not tactical. They are about the end game, the outcome, the grand finale.  I believe that when one truly sets an intention at the core of their being, acting on the intention is a natural income.  Some say the universe is listening and responding. I say the universe within begins to organize itself to realize our intentions.   

Living with intention is something that requires mindfulness and purpose.  It requires patience to discover. In a perfect world, we would take the time to discover our intentions and live consciously and mindfully toward it. We often visualize intentions coming to us as we stand on a mountain top gazing upon the horizon, but unless we are intrinsically introspective, that’s not very likely. 

For the rest of us who live day to day, chasing pay cheques, paying bills and driving our children around, intentions are often discovered more often when change is thrust upon us. I like to call that a ‘kick in the face’ intention. 

Imagine everything you take for granted no longer exists.  Pick up a pen and paper, now.  

1. Vision
What do you see when you look out on your life?  Who is in it?  What are you doing?  How does it feel?  Why are you doing what you are doing? Why is this important to you?

2.  Intention
What does the world look like in 5 years as you move toward this vision?

3. Guiding Principles
These describe what matters to you the most in the fulfillment of your vision.  These are the means that guide you toward the end.

4. Balanced Goals
In order to achieve your vision some day, describe between 3 and 5 areas of your life that need to be balanced in order to be successful.

5. Strategies
Within each goal, what do you need to do to bring balance over the next one to three years.

6. Tactics
Within each strategy, what steps will be taken by when in the next year.  How much much money will it cost?  Who will need be involved? Who is affected?

7.  Check back.
Revisit your plan every month to see how you are doing and reaffirm your commitment to yourself.

Happy planning.  Caution: This could take a while. If you find it boring, it’s just your life.  Don’t worry.  It will pass.