Intention without action is wishful thinking.
Intention with action brings progress.
Intention with continued action creates habits.
No matter how much I intend to spend time with God, go on my three-mile walk, or write, if I don’t act upon those intentions, they don’t happen.
I typically start out “in tension” (that was my hubby’s play on words) to begin any action.
I don’t necessarily want to get up at 4:30 a.m. to read the Bible and pray with my husband, but so much peace and unity come after we are done.
When I started walking again each morning this summer, I didn’t necessarily want to the difficulty of being out in the intense heat. And, it was always easier to say that I had too much to do. I found a friend to walk with a couple times a week around 7 before it got too hot and before the business day got started. If I don’t walk on other days, my walk with her will be harder.
Writing can be stopped by all kinds of tensions—fear, procrastination, perfectionism, time, and more. I know I can’t do it alone, so I have created accountability groups and online writing classes to write with others. Promising others I’ll show up creates just enough tension that I’ll do it more often than I will find excuses
The longer I pair intention with action, the more a habit forms, and the easier the work becomes—whether getting in shape spiritually or physically, or in writing.
If you are like me, you may notice that the more you pair intention with action in one area of life, the more you fulfill your intentions in other areas of life.
So, right now, even though my plat was already full, I’m pairing intention with action to do this Instagram Challenge. Hopefully once I write in the evenings five days a week, when I go back to twice a week, it will seem easier.
How about you? Are you pairing with intention with action? What progress are you making?