Healthy Life Tip: Start your day by setting an intention

By Sarah Hodges

Tip: Start your day by setting an intention

Reflect on how you start your day. What mentality do you awake to? Are you stumbling along some mental default, or captaining the great ship of your mind?

Give your morning routine a new spin. Set yourself up with a clear intention, with a definitive choice. I will not leave my destiny up to the winds, to fly in any which direction. Chart the course of your day, and thus your life, by creating intention and routine in your mornings.

Every day is a fresh start. Recently I’ve been starting my day with a mindful action – either some free sketching, journaling, or breathwork. While I do any of these, I’m tuning in to the day’s rhythm. I notice where my mind is at. Some mornings I feel lightness and ease, others start with a mental battle for all that’s good in the world. No matter the starting point of my day, I know I can set an intention. Which is synonymous with living in alignment with my values.

For me, an intention sometimes looks like a written statement, a visualization, or something like a mantra. I might envision radiant, warm hearts filling the world. I might write down a mantra for myself: With each exhale I give thanks to the Creator, with each inhale I receive the blessing of being alive for this day.

As I move through the day and all the various activities and situations arise, my intention provides a reminder of my guiding values. In the moments I might get reactive or thrown off, I have a guide to pull me back toward my center much more quickly than I might have without the fortification of an intention.

Try it out, let it be a joyful act, let it be an exploration to deepen your values.

Let’s get conscious of our intentions, and live a vibrant, intentional life.