Intention is the Framework of Momentum

SUMMARY

Do you feel like everything is going to plan? Is your career fitting in with every other part of your life? Or does it feel a little bit like Groundhog Day, where you are just doing the same thing over and over again and have forgotten why you were doing it?

That is the experience for most people I speak to. They are scattered. They are just all over the place, living on the edge, by the seat of their pants, just going from one situation to the next (one crisis to another), rather than feeling like they are in control, like they are the conductor of their own life. And life can get like that sometimes. I want to show you how you can shift that by shifting some mindsets and adding in some new behaviours.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, Transformational Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today I want to help you understand that intention is the framework of momentum.

This month, I want to unpack the third shift in those nine crucial shifts that I talk about, and that is the shift of intention. Intention is about going from a scattered, seat-of-the-pants mentality, just doing what is in front of you and reacting when things come up, to being planned, to knowing exactly where you are going and why.

It contains three key elements that I want to unpack this month.

The first one is your values.

The second thing is your vision.

The third element is your mission.

So intention, intentionality, and purpose are vitally important for every single leader. And remember, everyone is a leader, even if you are just leading yourself.

Stick with me this week. I am going to do three more reels that will help you unpack small elements of what we are doing and help you to understand those three: vision, values, and mission a little bit more. And then, over the coming weeks, we will pull each one of those apart and go deeper, and I will help you to reset those for yourself.

It is going to be a great month, and I look forward to having you on the journey with me.

If you have not got a copy of my book yet, Professional Services Leadership, you can grab that on Amazon. All the things I am talking about go deeper in that book, and there is an opportunity for you to do some work and get those things back in place.

Stick with me, because this month, you have the ability to get your life back on mission if you join with me and join the conversation.

I look forward to seeing you there.
 

TRANSCRIPT

Do you feel like everything is going to plan? Is your career fitting in with every other part of your life? Or does it feel a little bit like Groundhog Day, where you are just doing the same thing over and over again and have forgotten why you were doing it?

That is the experience for most people I speak to. They are scattered. They are just all over the place, living on the edge, by the seat of their pants, just going from one situation to the next (one crisis to another), rather than feeling like they are in control, like they are the conductor of their own life. And life can get like that sometimes. I want to show you how you can shift that by shifting some mindsets and adding in some new behaviours.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, Transformational Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today I want to help you understand that intention is the framework of momentum.

Every single day, you get up and do things, and you believe you are heading where you want to go (or so you think). The challenge is that because of that day-to-day grind, everything happening, plans changing, and so much needing to get done, you tend to forget why you got involved in this thing called your career in the first place.

The only thing you can see is what is in front of you, just getting through another day. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, and for a lot of people, it is. However, for most people I speak to, that is exactly how they feel. They ask themselves the question, “Why am I continuing to do this? I am not going anywhere.” They feel like a hamster on a treadmill, going round and round in circles, not actually moving.

The reason for this is that there is no framework in place. There is nothing driving you. As a human being, you are either moving away from something that hurts or moving towards something that you want. And a lot of the time, you lose sight of what it is that you want.

At a higher level, every single one of us is doing what we are doing for a different reason: a higher purpose. That goes beyond getting a paycheck. It is part of your original plan. However, most people today spend more time planning a weekend away than they do planning their entire life.

Now, you do understand that in this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world that we live in, planning is not like it used to be. You are not able to see the way out in front and plan for that. You have to bring it in a little bit tighter. However, you still need to have a plan.

This month, I want to unpack the third shift in those nine crucial shifts that I talk about, and that is the shift of intention. Intention is about going from a scattered, seat-of-the-pants mentality, just doing what is in front of you and reacting when things come up, to being planned, to knowing exactly where you are going and why.

It contains three key elements that I want to unpack this month.

The first one is your values.

What drives you?
What are your internal beliefs?
What matters the most to you?

These values are a filter that you use for every decision that you make. Without those values being in place, that is why you feel like you are going against the flow of what it is that you are trying to achieve.

The second thing is a vision. That is a picture of what is yet to come. It is being able to clearly see in your mind’s eye what the end result looks like.

One of the things I love to do when I am working with clients in coaching is to help them to see that future version of themselves that they want to get back and to help them see the end result in real time so that they can then understand why they are putting in the work that they are putting in. So, vision is really important.

I am not talking about someone else’s vision. I am talking about YOUR vision.

The third element is your mission. I also like to call that your purpose (your calling).

Why are you here? How does this thing called your career fit into your overall mission in life?

People often say that there are two things you can guarantee in life: death and taxes. But I want you to look above that. I want you to have a little bit more of a colourful view of what you are doing here on this earth. That is what your mission is all about.

I have a personal belief that every single one of us, seven billion people or thereabouts on the planet, needs to have their own mission, their own calling, their own purpose, their own reason for being, and therefore, their own reason for doing.

When all those missions are aligned, we can come together and have the type of world that we want. Anyway, that is another conversation for another time.

But what is your mission? Why are you doing this?

Your career is only part of your life. Your career is a vehicle, a resource, if you like, to help you to fulfil your mission.

My mission is not to travel around the world and work with people in professional services and other corporations. That is what I do. That is part of the vehicle that gets me where I want to go. But my mission is a lot higher than that. My mission is not just about work. Indeed, my work is very much down the list of priorities.

So having a mission, knowing what it is, being the director of that mission, and being able to fit in what you do on a daily basis, and asking yourself the question: “Is this getting me where I want to go? Is the way I am doing it true to my values? Is it helping me to arrive at that vision that I see? And ultimately, is it helping me to fulfil my calling?”

So intention, intentionality, and purpose are vitally important for every single leader. And remember, everyone is a leader, even if you are just leading yourself.

Stick with me this week. I am going to do three more reels that will help you unpack small elements of what we are doing and help you to understand those three: vision, values, and mission a little bit more. And then, over the coming weeks, we will pull each one of those apart and go deeper, and I will help you to reset those for yourself.

It is going to be a great month, and I look forward to having you on the journey with me.

If you have not got a copy of my book yet, Professional Services Leadership, you can grab that on Amazon. All the things I am talking about go deeper in that book, and there is an opportunity for you to do some work and get those things back in place.

Stick with me, because this month, you have the ability to get your life back on mission if you join with me and join the conversation.

I look forward to seeing you there.