We live in a force field reality in which we are bombarded by forces both large and small from many different directions. How powerful we are in the force field reality we live in depends on the strength of our intentions. A strong intention finds a path through the force field we live in despite some forces being very strong. Wisdom literature often tells us act as though what we intend is already so and it will happen. This idea is very confusing until we see that our priorities are usually reversed. We typically have a goal, then do what the goal calls for so we can be wealthy, respected, knowledgeable or whatever else the goal is intended to give us. The process is, HAVE (a goal) then DO (what the goal calls for) and then BE (what the goal gives us). What wisdom literature anticipates is that we will BE (what we intend) DO (what our intention calls for) and then HAVE (what our intention guided actions produce) This process is BE (our intention) then DO (what our intention calls for) then HAVE (the fruits of our intention). An intention is a matter of BEING and is not the same as a GOAL. A GOAL is out there, an INTENTION is in here.
In a practical sense, I can have a goal to be a dancer. I buy dancing shoes, take dancing lessons and then expect to be a dancer. I could also already be a dancer (who I am) and then do what dancers do (buy dancing shoes and take dancing lessons) and then have what dancers have. As a specific example, Ted, a childhood friend, intended to be a doctor when he was eight years old, so he did what eight year old doctors do. He hung out with his friends, went to school like everyone else and played sports. He kept his intention alive (being a doctor) and eventually had what doctors have, diplomas, certifications and a medical practice.
Major confusion arises when successful people tell us that the secret to success is having goals and plans. What’s often missed is that many of these people don’t merely have goals, they are their goals. What they call their goals are really their intentions , the being they are, and they don’t notice they are living a BE-DO-HAVE process at the same time they are telling others to live a HAVE-DO-BE process.
Inability to commit at the level of who we are leaves us stuck in the have-do-be process. While the have-do-be process can and often does produce valuable results, it is far less powerful than the be-do-have process. It is startling to many to discover that intentions (ways of being) happen by choice and are not the product of a process that is learned. They happen in an instant or not at all. The downfall for most of us is not recognizing that a choice with reservations is not a choice at all. At best it’s a goal subject to being abandoned when times get tough.
