Lesson 1: Your Intentions and Goals

Your actions today:

1: Identify your most precious values

2: Write your intention for your cleanse

3: Create some S.M.A.R.T. goals for your 21-day journey

To reap great rewards from your 21 day cleansing process, it's helpful to articulate your intention, based upon your strongest values, and then identifying some goals.

Intentions precede and weave through successful endevours.

Intention works in the background, driving us to achieve our desired goals. A clear intention supports purposeful, ongoing actions and a way of living that easily manifests your desired outcomes. When intention is based on your true values, your energy is funneled to realise set goals.

"Energy flows where attention goes." - Ancient Hawaiian wisdom

Undertaking behaviour change requires an ongoing driving force to maintain momentum, provide direction and fuel commitment to the change. This force can be kindled by your intention.

Your intention

Your intention is the 'vibe' behind your actions. Intentions originate beyond the logical, literal, day-to-day mind, and come from your wisdom, or 'greater' self. 'Good intentions' that come from the 'small self' or ego self, whilst helpful, can lack the potency and follow through of those that come from a deeper and more meaningful place.

In the traditional language of yoga, Sanskrit, a positive intention statement is called a sankalpa. San means connection with truth, and kalpa means the rule to be followed above all other rules. The yogis suggested, the 'greater self' is informed by our higher wisdom, and this is where intention (sankalpa) is determined. The yogis say that your intention arises spontaneously from your heart into your mind.

A sankalpa can be repeated internally three times at the beginning and end of a practice. Yogis understood that words are powerful things. When used with awareness, words of intention have profound effect on the body-mind. The effect translates as changes in our outer world too. Your intention will include that which is true and valuable for you.

This begs the question: what do you value most?

Your values

To identify some of your primary values - the ones that make you feel happy and vital - ask yourself "What triggers a loving feeling inside me?" What aspects of life inspire and light you up? What is happening when you lose yourself to the moment? What are the values ingrained within these experiences? There are no wrong answers here. Your values can be what ever you love, admire, deeply desire, consider to be precious and dearly cherish.

People have said they values things like; Family, Love, Community, Freedom, Service, Learning, Friends, Earth, Exploration, Creativity, Personal power, Career, Money, Pleasure, Ecstasy, Intellect, and Justice.

You might value all of the above values! However, there will be some that carry more importance for you. Identify those. What is important to you will motivate you more than any good notion or politically correct ideal ever will! Let your values drive you.

Getting clear on your values can be revolutionary for your life and stop you from wasting energy on things that aren't aligned with them. Take some time right now to identify and articulate what is really special and important to you. Can you identify three of your highest values? Write them down. By tuning into what is important to you, you can more easily release cross purposes and self sabotaguing actions. Knowing your values helps bring to light habits that are not in alignment with what is important to you.

We can become aware of how we might be unconsciously doing things that are opposite to what we want. From this awareness, we can make choices that change and shift our behaviours to align with our true values. Now write down your intention.

Consider what your intention will be for your 21-day process. What is the 'why' behind choosing to cleanse your body and mind. Do this now. Even if you don't clarify it all at once, don't wait.

Start right now.

"That which is sacred holds the power. Tend to what is sacred to you." - Starhawk

Your intention statement is:

1. In the present tense (like it's already happening)
2. Stated in the positive only (words such as 'not' or 'don't' are excluded)
3. Expansive (of benefit to everyone, not just to you)
4. Clear and concise, short and sweet
5. Something that reflects your values, and makes you feel good when you bring it to mind

Still stuck? Here are some questions to help:

Why are you doing this course? What do you want to achieve? Then ask yourself "Why is that important to me?" or "What is driving that?" Keep asking and answering, until you touch the values that ignite your passion. And then put that in an intention statement.

Holding a clear intention for your detox will enable you to bring your strengths to your process. Your intention is like the rudder steering your ship. Having an intention means your energy will be more directed and you will overcome difficulties more easily.

Use your intention daily and you will achieve your goals with more ease and grace. Repeat your intention to your self every day -- or even numerous times a day. Write it on a note and stick it somewhere you look regularly to help remind you. Examples of powerful intentions:

• I am aware and open to life's offerings
• I am grounded, focused and relaxed
• I am compassion
• Love is my truth
• I am in service to love
• I am living my human potential

Intentions help us to keep important things in our attention range. Goals are ways we can manifest our intention.

Your goals

Set some goals you want to achieve in the next 21 days. Follow the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting model. What are your goals? Why are you doing the course? What do you want to get out of it? Maybe your goals are around sleeping better, clearing your skin, increasing your energy levels, or perhaps it's getting rid of an addiction to sugar, caffeine, alcohol or social media!

Set some goals:

S - Specific -- Be detailed with what you want to achieve. For example: Feel 25% more energised, easeful and happy in myself, or clear up my facial acne.

M- Measurable -- You want to be able to prove you've achieved it. Numbers are good for this. For example: Rate how you feel in each of these areas at the moment. Then you can reassess at the end of your cleanse.

1. Energy /10
2. Inner ease /10
3. Happiness /10

A - Achievable -- Ensure it is possible to achieve the goal you want to achieve in the 21 day period. How much can actually be achieved within the time period? Aim for that. It is possible to change a habit or pattern in 21 days. Also your body is continually replacing itself but different tissues take different amounts of times to rejuvenate. Skin cells only live 2-3 weeks, so in 21 days skin improvements could certainly be improved. Achievable improvement in how you feel generally increases between 20-30% (2 to 3 points out of 10). Example of an achievable aim: "To improve my energy, inner ease and happiness by at least 2 points out of 10."

R -Rewarding -- Find rewards that encourage ongoing positive change. For example, if you have decided to stop an addictive substance, like sugar, give yourself a sweet reward, like a massage, after three days of maintaining sugar-free diet. Or, if your strategy to enhance energy is to increase sleep, you could buy some natural fibre bed linen to reward yourself for going to bed early five nights in a row. Sometimes achieving your aims are reward enough. In this case, acknowledge your efforts and their outcomes in affirming ways to reward yourself. Saying something like, "Well done me for taking actions that have improved my energy and freshness."

T - Timed -- In this case 21 days is the time limit. However you might also create mini time check-ins each week. This can help with your commitment to and progress of each goal.

Have clear attainable goals.

This is your focus for today. You can return to these goals and aspirations throughout the course, and refine and review them to trigger a drive inside of you.

It's time for you to take the steering wheel of your life!

How wonderful!!