This article discusses the difference between motivation and intention. Intention is a deliberate, conscious goal, like what we set as resolutions for the new year. Intention requires some sort of motivation to carry out. Motivation is an unconscious force, one that people seek to fulfill in their everyday lives. If we have a set intention, how do we find our motivation?
The author supplies a somewhat unsatisfactory answer. He states that, by following meditative exercises, it is possible to eventually align your motivations and intentions. This is a long-term, unreliable solution. It won't help us gain motivation for a New Year's resolution, much less anything we hope to accomplish within the next few months. It is not an active answer, nor does it provide anything other than increased self-awareness. It is more effective to find an alternative way to consciously motivate yourself, to be self-aware enough to pick out individual motivators. It could be money, fame, sex, praise, service, thrill, justice, or whatever gets you going. When pursuing a specific intention, such as exercising as a New Year's Resolution, add an element of motivation. Perhaps, if a motivator is money, make a bet on who can workout everyday the longest with someone who is pursuing the same intention. If a motivator is belonging, join a group fitness activity, such as crossfit or a running club. If a motivator is accountability and pride, it may be beneficial to tell many people about the set intention, and provide frequent updates.
It is undeniably beneficial to align intention with motivation over time to allow these things to occur organically in the future. However, pertaining to the present, spinning your intention to include an element of motivation may be the most actively effective solution.
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