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The Power of Good Intentions

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A host of new experiments show how good intentions can add to life: Food tastes better, pain hurts less, and pleasure is more pleasant when we see people as benevolent.

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Everyone seems to know that grandma's cookies taste better because they're made with love and that phone calls to the cable company are less frustrating when there's a human being on the other end of the phone. But are these things really true? A University of Maryland psychologist devised a study that put them to the test.

The result: Food tastes better, pain hurts less, and pleasure is more pleasant when they come with good intentions behind them. And it doesn't even matter if the intentions actually exist -- it's the perception that they're there that's important.

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Seeing the world and the people in it as benevolent adds to life; seeing them with a jaundiced eye can turn life into a bitter pill.

The study involved three tests of pleasure, pain , and taste . In the first test, people sat in an easy chair with an electric massage pad that was either turned on by a real human being or a computer. The massages were identical, but people consistently got more pleasure from the massages where a human flipped the switch. The massages initiated by the computer just weren't viewed as as good.

The second test looked at candy. People were given packaged candy with a note attached on Valentine's Day. One note read: "I picked this just for you. Hope it makes you happy." A second note read: "Whatever. I don't care. I just picked it randomly." According to the study subjects, the candy that came with the valentine tasted better and sweeter than the candy that came with the sulky message.

A third test looked at pain and involved three groups who received electric shocks from a "partner." Group One, the accidental group, thought they were being shocked without their partner's awareness. Group Two thought that their partner was shocking them maliciously. And Group Three, the benevolent group, thought their partner was shocking them for their own good, in an effort to help them win money.

People in Group Three, the benevolent group, reported much less pain from the shocks than people in the other groups did. Just the thought that the shocks had good intentions behind them made them hurt less.

Three simple experiments that show how good intentions can add to life.

There are a host of messages in these findings. One suggests that medical personnel should brush up on their bedside manner; their poking, probing, and injections will hurt a lot less. Another is that being good to your relationship partner isn't good enough -- they have to know that you mean it and really want them to feel good.

The general message is that being suspicious leads to a very unhappy life. Trusting in people's good intentions makes for a happier one. This doesn't mean that you should give away the house. But constantly seeing hidden agendas will take its toll. You'll be much better off giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Cynics might consider this a triumph of style over substance. And maybe they're right. But being right rarely makes life sweeter. Good intentions will.

An article on the study was published in the journal  Social Psychological and Personality Science .

This article originally appeared on TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com , an  Atlantic  partner site.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected].

Cognitive Dissonance

When Good Intentions Go Bad

Crafting effective messages

Posted November 3, 2013

Vickie, a recent college graduate, secured a coveted position at a prestigious chemical company. She completed each assigned task with passion and fervor. She kept up with new developments in the field and always sought new and more cost effective techniques to manufacature chemicals. One day, Vickie discovered an innovative method to reduce the cost of manufacturing a certain chemical. She went to her manager to report her discovery. “You’ve been doing this all wrong. I found a new and cheaper way to manufacture the chemical.” Much to her dismay, her manager dismissed her findings outright and admonished her to concentrate on her assigned work. Crushed, Vickie returned to her cubicle and vowed never to take the initiative again. Vickie’s intentions were good, but the manner in which she communicated her idea was not well thought out. Communication is more than conveying ideas just as innovation is more than the bottom line. Vickie failed to consider some basic psychological concepts of effective communication. Good communicators not only wordsmith but they also incorporate psychological components into their communications.

If I’m Right, Then You’re Wrong

People rarely consider the push-pull qualities of declarations such as: “I’m right” or “My way is better.” If you are right, then the other person is automatically assumed to be wrong. If your way is better, then the other person’s way is automatically assumed to be wrong. The I’m right your wrong paradigm forces people to assume a defensive posture to protect their egos, reputations, or for myriad other reasons. A person who takes a defensive posture is less likely to consider new ideas.

Us Against Them

Vickie used the pronouns “you” and “I.” The use of the pronouns “you” and “I” creates an adversarial environment. The “you” and “I” paradigm pits one person against another person. In Vickie’s case, she unintentionally created an oppositional atmosphere between her and her boss. Adversarial settings create winners and losers. Winners conquer; losers compromise. Adversarial relationships ignite competition , which is not contusive to effective communication.

Cognitive dissonance triggers when a person holds two or more conflicting beliefs. When people experience cognitive dissonance, they become frustrated, angry, and experience psychological disequilibrium. In Vickie’s situation, she unintentionally created cognitive dissonance in her manager. If Vickie is right, then her manager is wrong. If Vickie is right, then she is smart and her manager is not smart. People experiencing cognitive dissonance have several options to regain equilibrium. In Vickie’s case, her manager could admit that she is right and that he is wrong. He could try to convince Vickie that his method is correct and that her method is not correct, or he could outright dismiss Vickie as an immature, well-meaning employee who needs to be put in her place. Vickie’s manager chose the latter option to resolve his dissonance. Intentionally or unintentionally inducing cognitive dissonance rarely produces a positive outcome.

People are egocentric; they think the world revolves around them. Vickie demonstrated her self-focus when she used the pronouns “I” and “you.” She elevated herself above her manager, thus unintentionally attacking his ego. Her manager’s thought process is predictable. “I’ve been a manager for 15 years. Who does this inexperienced, snot nosed college graduate think she is? Get some experience under your belt before you come prancing into my office and tell me I’ve been doing things wrong for 15 years. Go back to your cubicle and do as you are told.” In this instance, the manager’s ego trumped common sense and the all-important bottom line. Egos have hurt more people and have torpedoed more good ideas than there are stars in the sky.

Houston, The Ego has Landed

Instead of saying, “You’ve been doing this all wrong. I found a new and cheaper way to manufacture the chemical,” Vickie should have integrated some psychological concepts into her communication. The following illustrates a more effective message.

“Sir, I would like your advice on something that would make our company more profitable.”

Addressing her manager as “Sir,” shows respect and demonstrates that Vickie sees her manager as a superior. The introductory phrase “I would like your advice on something…” accomplishes five objectives. First, Vickie creates an inclusionary environment. The manager feels as though he is included in the process. Second, cognitive dissonance is avoided, thus increasing the probability that the manager will be open to new ideas. Third, the manager’s illusion of self-focus is bolstered. The manager will likely think, “Of course, Vickie is seeking my advice because I am intelligent and I have 15 years of experience.” Fourth, this introductory phrase could foster a mentor-mentee relationship. If a mentor-mentee relationship is established, then Vickie’s success also becomes her manager’s success. Fifth, showing the manager respect and acknowledging his expertise, makes him feel good about himself. The Golden Rule of friendship is: If you make other people feel good about themselves, they will like you. People who like you are likely to be more open to your suggestions. The use of the words “our company” signals that Vickie has emotional equity in the company and is a team player. The phrase “…make our company more profitable,” is very appealing, especially if the manager receives credit for an increased bottom line. When the manager gives his advice, he takes partial ownership of the idea or proposed project. When people feel as though they are part owners of a good idea or project, they enthusiastically advance the idea or project.

The Glory Pie

The downside to this approach is that Vickie must share the glory pie with her manager. At first glance, this is not palatable. Vickie is likely thinking the idea was hers and hers alone. She should get all the credit. People seldom take into account that the primary ingredient of a glory pie is good will. Glory has a short expiration date; good will has a long shelf life. Besides, everyone in the office knows that it was Vickie's idea, even if it is not openly stated. A good idea produces a large glory pie that can be cut into many pieces. Freely distributing the pieces increases likeability and the likelihood of future success.

John R. "Jack" Schafer, Ph.D., is a behavioral analyst for the FBI, and is the author of The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over.

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How to set powerful intentions (and actually stick to them).

Intention setting is often misunderstood, but make no mistake: It can have a profound influence on your lived experience. After all, nothing in the universe exists in a vacuum. 

Here, we unpack what intentions are, what sets them apart from goals or affirmations , and how to harness the power of what it is you intend to do or be, with the help of experts.

What is an intention?

Put plainly, an intention is a clear plan you set for your life. "Intentions help us take deliberate action, consciously choosing our direction, like aiming an arrow at a bull’s-eye," founder of Soul School Krista-Lynn Landolfi, MCC , tells mbg. "Once we set our intention, which includes what we want to do, and how we want to feel as we do it, our next best steps become clear."

Grounded in the present, intentions are often used as both an anchor and guiding post. Spiritually speaking, with every intention set, you send a signal to the universe about what you need or want. This is exactly why authenticity is crucial for intention setting—intentions are only powerful if they are true to your values and beliefs.

Why you should set intentions.

Setting intentions encourages you to take responsibility for how you experience your life.

"Our mind believes what we tell it," says Lanolfi. So, every time we set the intention to cultivate a certain quality, we open up our minds to believing that this is a quality we really can possess. And thanks to the brain's ability to adapt to our behaviors ( hello, neuroplasticity ), setting intentions can really work in our favor toward building a better life.

Of course, life is known for its chaotic and messy moments. But the more we practice setting intentions, the more in tune with ourselves we become. From there, we're able to make our next intentions that much more authentic and trust ourselves to navigate the chaos in all areas of our lives.

Think of the anxiousness to be quelled and the energy to be saved by consciously choosing to have your own back in this way.

Goals vs. intentions.

Intentions and goals are two distinct concepts that often work together. Intentions are personal commitments rooted in the present, fluid, and more concerned with your being . Goals are future-oriented and have more to do with doing . 

"Goals seem to be very one-dimensional," says Terri Cole, LCSW . Intentions add some depth. They give us a reference point for how we'd like to spend the time in between now and when we actualize our goal or dream. Think about it this way: When you are in the driver's seat, goals are your destination. Intentions are the route you plan to take.

Whether that destination is to be a kinder person or to be a better cook is irrelevant. The ebb and flow of your intentions are really what matters. "Will you achieve all your goals in a spiral of chaos, crawling across the finish line, or will you move forward with grace, confidently completing each task, celebrating your progress, and thoroughly enjoying the journey?" asks Landolfi.

With your intentions set, you're ready to push your foot on the gas and start driving.

Examples of intentions.

Intentions for love:.

• I will allow myself to take up space and be myself.
• I will consider my needs with respect.
• I intend to deepen the connection in my relationships.
• I choose to trust my feelings.

Intentions for manifesting:

• I move my body in ways that feel good.
• I hold space for my emotions.
• I choose to say yes to things that light me up.
• I invite joy into my life.

Intentions for the full moon:

• I will release what no longer aligns with me with this full moon . 
• I choose to listen to my gut.
• I intend to hold myself with tenderness as I evaluate my life.
• I intend to give my mind and body time to rest before making big decisions.

Intentions for the new moon:

• I will be brave for this next chapter of my life.
• I intend to go with the flow as the universe provides for me.
• I choose to be open-minded toward new opportunities that come my way.
• I choose to trust myself on this new moon .

Intentions for the day:

• I intend to stay within the realm of responsibility to myself.
• I intend to listen actively before offering my opinion.
• I will give myself grace and practice gratitude .
• I choose to move through my day at a pace that feels good.

How to bring your intentions to life.

Once your intention is set, it's time to put it into practice. Here are some tips to help:

" What you think about, you bring about —in good and not-so-good ways," Cole tells mbg. Your thoughts matter and since any thought can be an intention, be mindful of the language you're using. Positivity is the way to go. Landolfi suggests crafting intentions with "I will," "I choose," or "I am" statements to add an empowering element.

"Activate" your intentions often.

"Find ways to activate your intentions throughout the day," suggests Landolfi. "This might look like pausing hourly to take a few slow, deep breaths, to fuel your intention of being calm and peaceful." There is plenty of time to chip away at that to-do list. The question is, how do you want to go about it?

Write them down.

Journaling is, hands down, one of the easiest ways to practice self-awareness and self-reflection . Every time you put pen to paper, you're channeling your innermost thoughts. If you're looking for a more visual way to revisit your intentions easily, "write your intention on a Post-it and put it on your bathroom mirror, car dashboard, your desk, refrigerator, or wherever it'll stand out," says Landolfi.

Stay true to yourself.

The best intentions are the ones that feel true to your values and beliefs. "Set intentions that excite you, feel possible, even when you know it'll take time to become reality, and that make you hopeful about the future you're creating," Landolfi tells mbg. It's much easier to stick to your intentions when you truly and authentically care about them. 

Do the deeper work.

Possibly the biggest key to bringing your intentions to life is knowing yourself and knowing what obstacles you're putting in your own way. "The intention piece is important, but it's not that helpful if the psychological piece...goes untended to," Cole tells mbg. Embarking on deeper inner exploration, like shadow work , can help you set and stick to your intentions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you move an intention to action.

The best way to move intention into action is to know yourself enough to set yourself up (in terms of support, tools, accountability, etc.) for success.

What are good intentions to set daily?

Keep the intentions you set on a day-to-day basis grounded, realistic, and true to yourself. Envision how you'd like the day to go, and set intentions that support that vision.

How do you set intentions with crystals?

Start by choosing a crystal you connect with. Then, you'll want to cleanse the crystal of any negative energy it's holding before stamping it with your intention. ( More details on working with crystals here !)

The takeaway.

There is beauty in taking ownership of our lived experiences. Intention setting is a simple way to do just that. By releasing victimhood and reclaiming responsibility for our lives, we're able to experience a more mindful and fulfilled existence .

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Science Fiction — Good Intentions Gone Wrong: the Connecting Factor of “Best Worst American”

Good Intentions Gone Wrong: The Connecting Factor of "Best Worst American"

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About this sample

Words: 1626 |

Published: Jul 17, 2018

Words: 1626 | Pages: 4 | 9 min read

Works Cited

• Martinez, Juan. Best Worst American: Stories. Small beer press, 2017. Print.
• Utt, Jamie. “Intentions Don’t Really Matter.” Everyday Feminism 13 Jul. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2017

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Two Stories of Transforming Good Intentions into Best Practices

“Be brave, be fierce, be visionary. Mend the parts of the world that are within your reach. To live this way is the most dramatic gift you can ever give to the world. Consider yourselves assigned .” – Your Assignment by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Even without reading her words, many impassioned young people have taken the poet’s assignment to heart. When these individuals are confronted with the brokenness of the world, seldom are they content to ignore it. There comes a deep desire to restore what is broken. For many, Christians in particular, this desire is manifested in a calling to care for orphans. We hear statistics that there are 132 million orphans * in the developing world. We read verses like James 1:27 and are inspired to act. The solution seems simple to some: For those children who are abandoned, abused, and unloved, we can construct an orphanage.

But what if our solution to care for orphans is actually exacerbating the orphan crisis rather than mending it? What if our perceptions of a child’s reality are incorrect? What if we, by building an orphanage, are actually creating more orphans?

Brittany Merrill Underwood and Kate van Doore are two women, one from the United States and the other from Australia, who were forced to pause and answer these questions. They each began with the best of intentions to care for orphans by opening up an orphanage. They were passionate, educated young women fueled by their Christian faith and good intentions, yet unaware of the true reality of the children they were seeking to help.

Brittany’s passion was ignited while on a trip to Uganda as a college student during a meeting with Sarah, a young Ugandan woman caring for 24 orphans in her own home.

Inspired by the young woman’s selflessness, Brittany returned to the States committed to easing the burden of women like Sarah by building an orphanage.

However, in 2007, while visiting with families living in rural villages, Brittany began to realize that many of the children she had initially thought were orphans actually had a living parent or relative who loved them, but who was unable to provide for their needs due to poverty and lack of support. As for the true orphans, many women, like Sarah, were willing to bring them into their homes, but they were also in need of support. Therefore, Brittany’s initial response began to transform into a vision that would allow children to grow up in a family, rather than an orphanage. This vision developed into Akola Project, a nonprofit enterprise that empowers women to become agents of transformation in their families and communities through economic development. Akola has since provided hundreds of Ugandan women with training and employment in creating high-end jewelry, accessories, and other products that can be purchased by individuals in the United States.

Reflecting back on her journey, Brittany realized that one of the biggest obstacles in the development of Akola was finding the courage to admit there was a better way. She had to confess that her solution to the brokenness was well intentioned, but misguided. Brittany started afresh and developed a solution that not only provided for orphans and vulnerable children, but also created economic empowerment for their families and restoration for the brokenness in their communities.

Kate’s story began in Brisbane, Australia, at the invitation of a friend who had recently returned from Nepal with a plan to build an orphanage. Their organization was registered under the name Forget Me Not in 2005, and a year later the first children moved into the Forget Me Not Children’s Home in Kathmandu.

Unlike Brittany’s experience, it would take several years for Kate and her colleagues at Forget Me Not to uncover the ineffectiveness of and corruption within many orphanages. In 2011, at a Ugandan orphanage Forget Me Not had agreed to support, fraudulent activity at the hands of an orphanage director was uncovered. Hoping to cover her tracks, the director kidnapped the children and moved them to an unknown location. Fortunately, the children were recovered. Soon after, Kate and a colleague learned that the children had been trafficked from their families into the orphanage.

Around the same time, Forget Me Not’s newly hired country director in Nepal discovered that the children living in their orphanage were not, in fact, orphans. Once gaining her trust, many of the children revealed to the director that they had families living throughout the country.

In both Uganda and Nepal, parents desperate for their children to receive an education had often paid recruiters to take their children to school in the capital city, expecting them to return home on school holidays. However, instead of attending school, the children became a means for the orphanage to raise funds through international fundraising and volunteer programs.

After their discoveries in Nepal and Uganda, Forget Me Not made the decision to transition away from supporting orphanages to working to reunify the children back with their families and to support families staying together.

“When you know better, you do better” is a phrase that has become a sort of mantra for Kate and Forget Me Not. Now that they know better, they are doing better through protecting and providing for children, keeping families together, and bringing children home.

Though their journeys are unique, Brittany and Kate each courageously acknowledged their misguided efforts and allowed their fierce commitment to their faith and calling to drive a new vision. Admitting mistakes did not mean abandoning their passions. Instead, it expanded their visions from rescuing a child to empowering a family and embracing God’s desire to restore brokenness within communities.

Brittany and Kate willingly share their stories not to dissuade the next generation of world changers from responding, but to encourage us to embrace the lessons learned, openly share experiences, and seek advice from those who have gone before us, because as the poet so wisely implores:

Mend the parts of the world that are within your reach. To live this way is the most dramatic gift you can ever give to the world.

You can learn more about Brittany’s and Kate’s stories and the work Akola and Forget Me Not are doing to strengthen families, as well as ways to get involved, by visiting their websites.

One way to begin to know better so you can do better is to take advantage of the many resources found on the Faith to Action Initiative’s website, including A Continuum of Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children . Another great place to start is From Faith to Action , which will provide an introduction to family and community-based care.

*UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents.

Jessica Johnson has lived and worked in Africa for several years, most recently in Uganda with Bright Hope International helping to implement the Orphan to Family Initiative. She is currently a fellow with HOPE International, writes for Faith to Action, and resides in Fort Worth, Texas. She holds an MA in Justice and Mission from Denver Seminary.

Good Intentions in the Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay Example

How do good intentions bring harm through actions? In The Crucible, Arthur Miller conveys this argument through witchcraft. He uses this play to show how even though people have good intentions, their actions can cause damage and distress. Miller means that trying to save people or going into a situation with a good mindset can hurt others even if that isn’t the goal. As seen in The Crucible and modern events, intentions are more significant than the actions that occur. 

John Proctor’s intentions far outweigh his actions. In Act I, Proctor says, “Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (para 198). In this line, Proctor is telling Abigail Williams that their relationship is over. He does this to better his relationship with his wife. Through his good intentions, his actions cause trouble with Abigail. Abigail states, “How do you call me child” (para 197). Through this argument, pain occurs. Abigail is hurt by John even though John didn’t mean for that. He just wanted to help his family, but instead, caused issues. It puts a hole in his relationship with Abby and pushes her to become dark and resentful. John Proctor additionally shows good intentions without thinking about his actions or what happens because of them in other ways. 

Proctor also brings suffering through his actions in court. Proctor says, “It’s a sort of testament. The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca, and my wife, and Marth Corey” (para 153). Proctor tries to save the ones accused but unintentionally puts the others in danger. He uses his good thought to help the town recollect itself, but instead he pulls the whole town down. He uses their word without even thinking of how it would be for them in court. Danforth replies, “Mr. Cheever, have warrants drawn for all of these-arrest for examination” (para 168). The people who gave Proctor their word to help save the accused, are at risk because of it. Proctor didn’t think about how his actions would cause this to happen especially with his good thoughts. Proctor’s good intentions also relate to the intentions through zoological gardens for animals. 

Good intentions are also dominant for animals as linked with other people. The author states, “When Dunda, an African elephant, was transferred from the San Diego Zoo to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, she was chained, pulled to the ground, and beaten with ax handles for two days” (para 3). Zoo’s claim to save animals and put them into a loving and caring environment, but actually that is not the case. Animals are hurt every day to do what the keepers want them to do. They are punished for just being there and it isn’t benefitting them at all. The article says, “Birds’ wings may be clipped so they cannot fly, aquatic animals often have little water, and the many animals who naturally live in large herds or family groups are often kept alone or, at most, in pairs” (para 4). Animals are also treated poorly in their exhibits. Animals aren’t given what they need and treated as they are not living animals. Animals act differently because of this treatment. They result in abnormal and self-destructive behavior. These animals are not being saved and instead are being hurt which is cruel and needs to be stopped. 

With good intentions, actions arent as important as they are thought out to be. Good intentions can lead to terrible positions for humans and animals. Your actions can cause you to do something you would never want to do. Having a positive mindset is much superior to the actions you take to show this mindset. Even if an individual feels they are doing good in the world, it can go downhill without even realizing it.

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• Overdiagnosis: when...

Overdiagnosis: when good intentions meet vested interests—an essay by Iona Heath

• Related content
• Peer review
• Iona Heath , retired general practitioner
• 1 London, UK
• iona.heath22{at}yahoo.co.uk

The pursuit of longer healthy life has led to more people being labelled as diseased. Iona Heath examines the factors behind this paradox and argues that we need to find the courage to resist overdiagnosis and instead accept the inevitabilities of ageing

Underpinned by webs of financial imperatives and conflicted interests, overdiagnosis and overtreatment have become disturbingly pervasive within contemporary medicine and are now deeply embedded within healthcare systems around the world. They have permeated and polluted the drug and medical technology industries, medical research and regulatory bodies, clinical practice, payment systems, guideline production, and national healthcare systems. They are the cause of an astonishing amount of waste and harm.

The main engine is the medical technology industry, which enables healthcare professionals to investigate more and more minutely and to measure and assign numbers to an ever increasing number of biometric parameters. These numbers are almost always normally distributed along a continuum, with one extreme representing a degree of abnormality that begins to correlate with symptoms and suffering that can be ameliorated or cured by medical treatment. So far, so good. The problem is that a toxic combination of vested interest and good intentions produces continual pressure to extend the range of abnormal, shifting the demarcation point further into the territory previously considered normal. This is encouraged by entrenched belief in such old adages as “prevention is better than cure” and “a stitch in time saves nine.” These ancient sayings are imbibed at such a young age that they seem to assume an almost mythological aura of truth, and we have neglected the popperian imperative of investigating why they might be wrong. 1

Symptomless epidemic

In pursuing the supposedly self evident truth, we have, for the first time in history, separated our notions of disease from the human experience of suffering and have created an epidemic of disease without symptoms, defined only by aberrant biometrics. An ever greater proportion of healthcare resources are directed towards reducing these numbers to some fictitious state of normality. In the process, those who are perfectly well are not only assigned labels that in themselves can be shown to compromise health but are also exposed to treatments with significant adverse effects. Yet, time and time again, politicians are unable to resist the easy attractions of preventive rhetoric; most recently, English health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, instructed general practitioners that they must do more to prevent the health of older patients deteriorating. 2 If nothing else, this serves to distract attention from the government’s failure to meet its own responsibilities for health protection through fiscal and legislative measures, 3 such as promoting greater socioeconomic equity, nurturing vulnerable families, and such policies as minimum pricing for alcohol, and plain packaging for cigarettes.

Extending the range of what is considered abnormal clearly expands markets for pharmaceutical and other interventions, and thereby the possibilities of maximising commercial profit. It also invokes the Will Rogers phenomenon first applied to medicine by Alvan Feinstein and colleagues in 1985. 4 The phenomenon occurs when the range of a diagnostic category is extended. As more and more people previously considered normal are included within the definition of, for example, hypertension, diabetes, or breast cancer, outcomes improve: rates of hypertensive stroke or diabetic foot amputation or breast cancer mortality seem to fall. In this way, extending the definitions of disease and lowering the thresholds for preventive interventions create the illusion of improved population outcomes, while there is no difference at all in the outcomes for affected individuals. Clinicians, health policy makers, and politicians have found it difficult to resist these seductive illusions of progress.

Ageing is inevitable

The preventing overdiagnosis conference, 5 held at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in the US in September, marked the most recent attempt to draw a line in the sand and to promote more public awareness of and debate about what is becoming an untenable situation, and about what can and will be done about it.

Responses will necessarily be driven by ethics and politics because these are the only real defences that humanity has ever had to confront the abuse of power and money to the detriment of the weak and vulnerable. The whole discipline of medicine has colluded in the wider societal project of seeking technical solutions to the existential problems posed by the finitude of life and the inevitability of ageing, loss, and death, and, as the Swedish writer Sven Lindqvist insists: “It is not knowledge that we lack. What is missing is the courage to understand what we know and draw conclusions.” 6

The only solutions to these profound existential challenges are to be found in courage and endurance and acceptance of the limits of life. They are to be found in thinking differently and more deeply.

At every level this is a story of unsustainable greed: the greed of those living in the richer countries of the world for ever greater longevity and, most particularly, the greed that drives the commercial imperatives of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. The 2012 World Health Organisation Global Health Expenditure Atlas reported that countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) consume more than 80% of the world’s healthcare resources but experience less than 10% of the world’s disability adjusted life years. 7 This must be untenable in terms of both global justice and the world’s capacity. The problem is that where the OECD countries lead, the rest of the world tends to try to follow. Or is pushed to follow.

Ethics and politics

Overdiagnosis and overtreatment have at least four serious ethical implications. The first is the extent of harm to individuals caused by being labelled as being at risk or as having a disease based entirely on numbers or other aberrant investigations and the unnecessary fear that this can engender, which in itself can undermine health and wellbeing. The second involves the direct relation between overtreatment and undertreatment, because whenever a diagnosis is broadened, attention and resources are inevitably redirected and shifted away from those most severely affected. The third concerns the potential of overdiagnosis and overtreatment to render healthcare systems based on social solidarity unviable because of the escalating costs involved. The fourth is the way in which biotechnical activity marginalises and obscures the socioeconomic causes of ill health.

So what of politics? Back in 1964, the German American political theorist, Herbert Marcuse wrote: “‘Totalitarian’ is not only a terroristic political coordination of society, but also a non-terroristic economic-technical coordination which operates through the manipulation of needs by vested interests.” 8

This is what large tracts of our healthcare systems have become: a non-terroristic economic-technical coordination that operates through the manipulation of needs by vested interests. It is a perfect description, and the fears of politicians, practitioners, and the public, and the enduring human craving for a predictable future, are making us all into willing participants.

Reviewing George Orwell’s 1984 in 1949, the American critic Lionel Trilling wrote:

He is saying, indeed, something no less comprehensive than this: that Russia, with its idealistic social revolution now developed into a police state, is but the image of the impending future and that the ultimate threat to human freedom may well come from a similar and even more massive development of the social idealism of our democratic culture. 9

Arguably, the current ascendancy of medical technology is just such a manifestation of social idealism. War is peace; ignorance is strength; freedom is slavery—and now we have the latest example of Orwellian doublespeak—health is disease.

Trilling continues: “The essential point of Nineteen Eighty-Four is just this, the danger of the ultimate and absolute power which the mind can develop when it frees itself from conditions, from the bondage of things and history.”

The sorts of measurement that underpin the imperatives of contemporary medicine—blood pressure, serum cholesterol, bone density, PHQ9 depression score, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, just to mention a few—are all held to be universally applicable whatever the circumstance of the individual life to which they are applied. They are in Trilling’s words “freed from conditions” and therefore dangerous.

Loss of the individual

This kind of utilitarian medicine that treats every individual as identical can easily erode the stature and autonomy of patients. More than 20 years ago, David Metcalfe warned general practitioners in the UK:

The WHO definition of health as “complete physical, social, and psychological well-being” says something that we must acknowledge: it is about a person’s potential for living, which is a matter of autonomy and “personal space,” of having room to make choices. These are the concerns of general practice because our professional objectives are wider than the diagnosis and treatment of disease, but we too need to be careful lest diagnostic or therapeutic exuberance in the individual case blind us to our patients’ needs for space and stature. 10

How much more important is that warning today. We are developing a culture of conformity which pays lip service to autonomy and choice but within which the individual is only really free to make the choice that is approved by the state. It is assumed that once the “healthy choice” 11 is pointed out, everyone will select it and no account is taken of the very differing circumstances and aspirations of different people’s lives.

It has become difficult to question the means because the end of curing and preventing disease is so obviously worthy. Nonetheless, the means are damaging not least because they are so unidimensional and propagate an intensely normative view of what it means to be healthy and indeed what human life should be.

We all need urgently to rediscover what the writer Geoff Dyer has described as “an acute sense of waste as a moral and political issue.” 12 Far too much of what health professionals do and healthcare systems provide is wasteful, futile, and harmful.

The great American thinker William James declared that “doubt and hope are sisters.” 13 In doubt lies all our hope because unless we are prepared to doubt the truth of existing explanations, we will not look for the better ones that could bring us hope. Let’s remember the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard: “It is quite true what philosophy says; that life must be understood backwards. But then one forgets the other principle: that it must be lived forwards.” 14

Life is lived forwards but understood backwards so that we are obliged to act in advance of our understanding. Doctors are taught and learn to expect benefits from their interventions. Much of the link between cause and effect remains poorly understood, 15 and perhaps we need to be much more rigorous in our expectation of foreseeable harms, and to teach our students to look always for the possibility of harm alongside that of benefit.

Much of what we regard as standard, and even excellent, practice today will eventually be consigned to what the novelist Amitav Ghosh describes as “medicine’s vast graveyard of discredited speculations.” 16 It is so easy to see the mistakes of previous generations, so much more difficult to see the errors of your own.

In a world where it has become acceptable to treat risk factors, however weak, as diseases in their own right, we must learn to resist overdiagnosis. Perhaps one of the best places to begin is remembering the words that James McCormick wrote in the Lancet nearly 20 years ago:

Health promotion . . . falls far short of meeting the ethical imperatives for screening procedures, and moreover diminishes health and wastes resource. General practitioners would do better to encourage people to lead lives of modified hedonism, so that they may enjoy, in the full, the only life they are likely to have. 17

No one was listening then—let’s make sure that we listen now.

Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6361

Competing interests: I have read and understood the BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare.

This is an edited version of an address the author gave to the preventing overdiagnosis conference in Dartmouth in September.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.

• ↵ Popper K. Conjectures and refutations (1963). Routledge Classics, 2002 .
• ↵ Campbell D. GPs must be proactive with older patients, says Jeremy Hunt. Guardian 2013 Sep 7. www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/07/gps-proactive-older-patients-jeremy-hunt .
• ↵ Ebrahim S, TaylorF, Ward K, Beswick A, Burke M, Davey Smith G. Multiple risk factor interventions for primary prevention of coronary heart disease . Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011 ; 1 : CD001561 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Feinstein AR, Sosin DM, Wells CK. The Will Rogers phenomenon. Stage migration and new diagnostic techniques as a source of misleading statistics for survival in cancer. N Engl J Med 1985 ;312:1604-8.
• ↵ Preventing overdiagnosis. www.preventingoverdiagnosis.net .
• ↵ Lindqvist S. Exterminate all the brutes. Granta Books, 1997 .
• ↵ WHO. Global health expenditure atlas. www.who.int/nha/atlas.pdf .
• ↵ Marcuse H. One dimensional man: studies in the ideology of advanced industrial society. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964.
• ↵ Trilling L. Orwell on the future. (1949) In: Hynes S, ed. Twentieth century interpretations of 1984. Prentice-Hall, 1971 .
• ↵ Metcalfe D. The crucible . J R Coll Gen Pract 1986 ; 36 : 349 -54. OpenUrl PubMed Web of Science
• ↵ Allmark P. Choosing health and the inner citadel. J Med Ethics 2006 ; 32 : 3 -6. OpenUrl Abstract / FREE Full Text
• ↵ Dyer G. The missing of the Somme . Hamish Hamilton, 1994 .
• ↵ James W. The will to believe and other essays in popular philosophy. 1897.
• ↵ Kierkegaard S. Journals, IV A 164. 1843.
• ↵ Howick J, Glasziou P, Aronson JK. Problems with using mechanisms to solve the problem of extrapolation. Theor Med Bioeth 2013 ; 34 : 275 -91. OpenUrl CrossRef PubMed
• ↵ Ghosh A. The Calcutta chromosome . Ravi Dayal, 1996 .
• ↵ McCormick J. Health promotion: the ethical dimension. Lancet 1994 ; 344 : 390 -1. OpenUrl CrossRef PubMed Web of Science

Setting Intentions Examples: 75 Life-Changing Intentions

Setting intentions examples are phrases or sentences that describe what you want to achieve or how you want to feel in a specific situation. For example, you can set an intention to be more mindful, grateful, compassionate, productive, or creative. Setting intentions can help you align your actions with your values and goals and create a positive mindset for the day.

Sanju Pradeepa

You wake up with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Today is going to be an amazing day; you can feel it. Why? Because you took a few minutes after waking to set your daily intentions. You focused your mind on the positive outcomes you wanted to achieve and the meaningful impact you wanted to have.

You visualized your day flowing smoothly and productively. Now, you’re ready to make the most of each moment.

Setting daily intentions is a simple yet powerful habit that can change your life. By declaring how you want to feel and what you want to accomplish each day, you give yourself a roadmap to guide your thoughts, actions, and reactions. You tap into the energetic power of your mind to attract more of what you desire.

Each day becomes an opportunity to live with purpose and passion. So start your day strong and stay focused on what matters to you. Set your intentions, follow your heart, and watch as your world transforms in beautiful ways. Today is going to be amazing!

Here in this article we will explore 5 types of setting intentions examples to inspire your routine.

Table of Contents

What are intentions, and why set them.

Intentions are simply the goals or outcomes you set for yourself each day. By consciously deciding how you want your day to unfold, you’re able to take control of your life and shape it in the direction you desire.

When you wake up each morning, take a few minutes to think about what you want to accomplish and the kind of day you want to have. Do you want to feel productive? Creative? Connected to others? Setting an intention helps ensure you achieve what really matters to you.

Some examples of daily intentions could be:

• I intend to complete my most important work task today with focus and efficiency .
• I intend to spread kindness and lift the spirits of everyone I interact with.
• I intend to practice self-care by exercising, meditating, and eating healthy meals.

The power of intention-setting comes from the simple act of deciding what you want. This small habit helps you avoid drifting through your day and reacting to whatever comes your way. Instead, you operate with purpose and meaning. You feel motivated and accomplished at the end of each day, knowing you achieved what you set out to do.

Give intention-setting a try for just one week. Notice how much more empowered, energized, and in control of your life you feel. See how your productivity, happiness, and relationships improve. The life-changing magic of daily intentions will soon become clear. Why not start today by setting your very first intention right now? A bright new chapter awaits!

Setting Intentions Examples

Setting intentions can help you align your actions with your values and goals, and create a positive mindset for the day. Some examples of setting intentions are:

1. Setting intentions for personal relationships and communication

Setting daily intentions for your personal relationships and communication can have a huge impact on your happiness and quality of life . When you start each day with a positive mindset focused on connecting with the special people around you, you’ll notice your interactions become more meaningful and fulfilling.

Make Time to connect.

The most important thing is making the time each day to reach out to friends and family. Don’t just send a quick text; give them a call or meet up in person. Having real conversations where you listen and show you care can strengthen your bonds in amazing ways. Ask open-ended questions to get the dialog flowing and find out what’s new in their lives. Make it a daily habit and watch your relationships blossom!

Express Appreciation

Tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them every day. Say “I love you” often. Give heartfelt compliments and express gratitude for the big and small things they do. Let your close ones know the specific ways in which they enrich your world. Your kind words and affection will make them feel amazing and bring you closer together.

Resolve Any issues.

Don’t let little arguments or frustrations fester and damage your relationships. Make it a point to address issues promptly and constructively. Have an open, honest, and compassionate conversation where you listen to their perspective, share your own experience, and work together on a resolution. Apologize sincerely when needed, and forgive easily. Keeping the lines of communication open and resolving problems as they arise will lead to healthier, happier connections.

Practice Active listening.

Make a conscious effort to be fully present when talking with your loved ones. Put away distractions like your phone and make eye contact. Listen to understand rather than just reply. Pay attention to their tone of voice and body language. Ask follow-up questions. Summarize what they said to confirm you understood them properly. Active listening shows you genuinely care about them and the conversation. It’s a skill that will enhance all of your relationships.

If you want to have better and deeper relationships with others, you can start by setting some intentions for yourself. Intentions are like goals, but they are more about how you want to be and what you value than what you want to do or have. When you set intentions for your personal relationships and communication, you are telling yourself and others what kind of person you want to be and how you want to connect with them.

One way to improve your relationships and communication with others is to set some intentions for yourself. Intentions are not just goals, but they are also about how you want to be and what you value, rather than what you want to do or have. Setting intentions for your personal relationships and communication helps you to show yourself and others what kind of person you want to be and how you want to connect with them. Here are some examples of intentions that you can try:

• Listening actively and empathetically to others without interrupting or judging them is an intention that I have when I talk to someone.
• Expressing my feelings and needs honestly and respectfully, without blaming or criticizing anyone, is an intention that I have when I have something to say.
• Respecting the boundaries and preferences of others and asking for their consent before touching or sharing anything with them is an intention that I have when I interact with someone.
• Appreciating the strengths and uniqueness of others and celebrating their achievements and successes is an intention that I have when I see someone doing well or being awesome.
• Supporting and encouraging others in their challenges and difficulties and offering help when they ask for it is an intention that I have when I see someone struggling or feeling down.
• Apologizing sincerely when I make a mistake or hurt someone, and taking responsibility for repairing the damage, is an intention that I have when I mess up or hurt someone.
• Forgiving others when they make a mistake or hurt me, and letting go of resentment and grudges, is an intention that I have when someone messes up or hurts me.
• Compromising and cooperating with others when we have different opinions or goals and seeking win-win solutions is an intention that I have when I disagree or conflict with someone.
• Respecting the diversity and differences of others and avoiding making assumptions or stereotypes about them is an intention that I have when I meet someone who is different from me.
• Being loyal and trustworthy to others and keeping my promises and commitments is an intention that I have when I make a promise or commitment to someone.
• Having fun, enjoying the company of others, and sharing laughter and joy with them is an intention that I have when I hang out with someone.
• Learning from others, growing with them, and welcoming feedback and suggestions from them is an intention that I have when I learn something from or with someone.
• Being present and attentive to others and avoiding distractions or multitasking when I’m with them is an intention that I have when I’m with someone.
• Being compassionate and kind to others and treating them as I would like to be treated is an intention that I have when I encounter someone who needs kindness or compassion.
• Loving myself and others unconditionally and accepting them as they are is an intention that I have when I love myself or someone else.

Following these daily practices for your close relationships and communication will fill your life with meaningful interactions and a sense of real connection. The effort you put in will come back to you tenfold in the form of loving, supportive people by your side.

2. Setting intentions for career and professional growth

Setting daily intentions is one of the most powerful habits you can develop to achieve your career and professional goals . By spending just a few minutes each morning focusing your mind on the outcomes you desire, you are priming yourself for success and guiding your subconscious to work toward those outcomes throughout the day.

Start with your why.”

Why do you want to advance in your career or develop new skills? Connecting your daily intentions to your deeper motivations and purposes will give them more power. Maybe you want to earn a promotion to provide financial security for your family. Or perhaps you aspire to switch to a new field that aligns with your passions. Identify your why and use it as fuel for your intentions.

Be specific

Don’t just set a vague intention like “I want to grow in my career.” Get specific about what that means to you. Do you want to take on more responsibility, earn a raise, change jobs, or develop expertise in a new area? The more detailed and concrete your intentions, the more effective they will be. Some examples could be: “I will ask my boss for a stretch assignment to gain new experience,” or “I will learn a new technical skill by taking an online course.”

Frame positively

Express your intentions affirmatively and optimistically. Say “I will…” rather than “I won’t…” or “I’m not…” For example, frame it as “I will speak up confidently in meetings” rather than “I won’t be afraid to share my ideas.” Positive language is powerful!

Review and renew

Revisit your intentions throughout the day and week to keep them fresh in your mind. You might start each meeting or work period by reviewing your intentions. Then renew or revise them as needed to keep making progress. Daily intentions, combined with consistent action and follow-through, can be life-changing when it comes to your career and professional growth . What will you focus your mind on today?

Setting intentions for career and professional growth is a powerful way to clarify your goals, align your actions, and manifest your desired outcomes. Intentions are not just wishes or hopes, but statements of purpose that guide your decisions and behaviors. Here are 15 examples of intentions you can set for your career and professional growth:

• Pursue my passion and purpose in my work.
• Develop my skills and talents to the best of my ability.
• Seek feedback and learn from my mistakes.
• Communicate effectively and respectfully with my colleagues and clients.
• create value and positive impact through my work
• Embrace challenges and opportunities for growth.
• balance my work and personal life
• Cultivate a network of supportive and inspiring mentors and peers.
• Celebrate my achievements and appreciate my contributions.
• Be authentic and confident in expressing myself.
• Be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.
• Be proactive and take initiative in pursuing my goals.
• Be innovative and creative in solving problems.
• Be a leader and a team player in my organization.
• Be grateful and optimistic about my career and professional growth.

3. Setting intentions for health and well-being

Setting daily intentions for your health and well-being is one of the best ways to build momentum toward a happier, healthier you. When you declare what you want for yourself each day, you’re telling the universe what you aim to achieve. And the universe loves to help those who help themselves!

Start each morning by thinking of one area you want to focus on that day. Do you want more energy? Less stress? Better sleep? Pick just one intention to set. Write it down or say it out loud to make it official. Some examples could be:

• Today I will take a 30-minute walk during my lunch break.
• I will limit checking my email to three times today and avoid it completely after dinner.
• I will do some deep breathing for 5 minutes before bed to unwind from the day.

As you go about your day, refer back to your intention from time to time. Make choices and take opportunities that align with achieving your goal. At the end of the day, do a quick review to see how well you upheld your intention. Don’t beat yourself up over any slip-ups; just use them as motivation for tomorrow’s intention!

Setting small, concrete intentions each day builds into big life changes over time. Staying focused and consistent is key. Start with just one area, like nutrition, relationships, or stress management. Once that intention becomes second nature, pick another area to work on. Celebrate each win, no matter how small. Reward yourself for milestones achieved to stay motivated for continued progress.

How do you want to live your life? What are your values and goals? These are some of the questions that can help you set intentions for your health and well-being. Intentions are different from resolutions or goals, which can make you feel pressured or stressed. Intentions are more about your inner state and your motivation. They are flexible and adaptable, and they can inspire you to take action. Here are some examples of intentions that can help you improve your health and well-being:

• Eating and drinking things that make me feel good and healthy is my intention.
• Moving my body in ways that I enjoy and that give me energy is my intention.
• Appreciating all the good things in my life and saying thank you more often is my intention.
• Thinking positively and not letting negative thoughts bring me down is my intention.
• Sharing my feelings in healthy and helpful ways is my intention.
• Spending time in nature and feeling its beauty and healing power is my intention.
• Meditating every day and being more mindful and aware are my intentions.
• Sleeping well and resting when I need to is my intention.
• Learning new things every day and keeping my mind curious and creative is my intention.
• Having fun and laughing a lot is my intention.
• Being kind and compassionate to myself and others is my intention.
• Forgiving myself and others for any mistakes or hurt is my intention.
• Respecting my needs and preferences and saying no when I need to is my intention.
• Asking for help and support when I need it is my intention.
• Celebrating my successes and growth, no matter how small, is my intention.

These are just some ideas for intentions you can set for your health and well-being. You can also make up your own intentions based on what is important to you. Remember, intentions are not meant to be fixed or stressful, but rather motivating and empowering. You can check in with them regularly and change them as needed. The most important thing is to make sure your intentions match your values and goals, and then act accordingly. By setting intentions, you can create more meaning, purpose, and joy in your life.

Developing this habit of daily intentions will transform your health, both in body and mind. You’ll gain clarity and control over your choices, build confidence from achieving your goals, and form new habits to last a lifetime. The life-changing magic is real, so start setting those powerful intentions today! Success is just around the corner. You’ve got this!

How to Set Daily Intentions: An Effective Guide with 9 Steps

4. setting intentions for personal development and self-improvement.

Setting daily intentions is one of the most powerful things you can do each day to improve your life. By taking just a few minutes each morning to focus your mind on what you want to accomplish and who you want to be, you’ll find that your days become more meaningful and impactful.

Start with gratitude.

Begin your daily intention-setting with gratitude. Appreciate the big things you have in your life, like your health, family, and shelter, as well as the little things, like a delicious cup of coffee or the sunshine outside. Feeling grateful primes your mind for positivity and abundance.

Choose your focus.

Next, choose 1-3 things you want to focus on that day, like being productive at work, spending quality time with loved ones, exercising, or practicing self-care. Don’t overload yourself with too many intentions, or you won’t achieve any of them. Select what’s most important for that day.

State your intentions.

Clearly state how you intend to achieve each focus. For example, if your focus is being productive at work, your intention could be: “I will complete the Johnson account proposal today and schedule meetings with three key clients.” For spending quality time with loved ones, it could be: “I will put away my phone and be fully present when talking with my kids after school today. We will cook dinner together and enjoy each other’s company.”

One of the best ways to improve yourself and achieve your goals is to set intentions for personal development and self-improvement. Intentions are not mere wishes or hopes, but declarations of what you want to do and how you want to be. They shape your thoughts and actions and help you stay focused and motivated. Here are some examples of intentions you can set for yourself:

• Practicing gratitude every day and appreciating what I have is my intention.
• My intention is to cultivate a positive attitude and focus on the solutions, not the problems.
• I want to challenge myself and learn new skills that will help me grow, and that is my intention.
• Taking care of my physical and mental health by eating well, exercising, and meditating is my intention.
• My intention is to be kind and compassionate to myself and others and to forgive myself for my mistakes.
• I want to express myself authentically and creatively and share my gifts with the world, and that is my intention.
• Connecting with nature and appreciating its beauty and wisdom is my intention.
• I want to be mindful and present in each moment and avoid distractions that take me away from my purpose.
• I need to set realistic and achievable goals and celebrate my progress and achievements, and that is my intention.
• Seeking feedback and guidance from others who can help me improve and grow is my intention.
• I try to be open-minded and curious and to explore new perspectives and opportunities.
• I want to have fun, enjoy life, and find joy in the simple things, and that is my intention.
• Being generous and contributing to the well-being of others and the planet is my intention.
• My intention is to honor my values and principles and act with integrity and honesty.
• I will to embrace change and uncertainty and see them as opportunities for growth and learning, and that is my intention.

At the end of the day, review how you did with your intentions. Don’t judge yourself harshly if you don’t achieve everything. Simply reset for the next day. Setting daily intentions is a practice, and you will get better over time. Stay consistent and patient with yourself. With regular practice, you’ll find that setting intentions becomes second nature and a vital part of your daily self-improvement routine. Your life will transform as your days become more meaningful and impactful. The power is within you! You’ve got this.

5. Setting intentions for financial goals and abundance

Setting daily intentions around your financial goals is one of the most powerful things you can do to manifest more abundance in your life. When you declare what you want every day, you’re sending a clear message to the Universe about what you desire. And the Universe will respond!

Start each day by grabbing your journal and writing down your top financial goals and dreams. Do you want to pay off debt? Save for a down payment on a house? Fund your child’s college education? Be specific about the amounts and timelines. For example, “I intend to pay off $10,000 of credit card debt in the next 6 months” or “I will save $500 each month towards a down payment on my dream home.”

Review your intentions each morning and evening. Speak them aloud with passion and enthusiasm. Visualize what it will feel like when you’ve achieved each goal. Feel the joy and satisfaction as if your intentions have already come to fruition.

Gratitude is key.

Express gratitude each day for the financial abundance you already have. Be grateful for the money in your bank account, your steady income, your home, and any other blessings. Gratitude attracts more of what you appreciate into your life.

Gratitude Mindset: The Habit That Will Change Your Life

Maintain an optimistic mindset..

Tell yourself that you are financially free and abundant. Speak words of affirmation like “Money flows to me easily and frequently” or “I am open and willing to receive financial abundance from expected and unexpected sources.” Your thoughts and words have power, so make sure they align with your goals and intentions.

Setting intentions for financial goals is a powerful way to align your actions with your desired outcomes. Intentions are not just wishes or hopes, but clear and specific statements of what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. By setting intentions , you can create a positive mindset, focus your energy, and attract the right opportunities and resources to help you reach your goals.

Some examples of financial intentions are:

• My goal is to save 10% of my income every month for my retirement fund.
• By the end of this year, I will pay off my credit card debt.
• To increase my income by 20%, I will develop new skills and expand my network.
• Every month, I will donate 5% of my income to a charity of my choice.
• I will create a budget and stick to it every week.
• I will invest in a diversified portfolio that matches my risk tolerance and time horizon.
• Within the next six months, I will negotiate a raise or a promotion at my current job.
• I will start a side hustle or a passive income stream that generates extra cash flow for me.
• I will reduce my expenses by 10% by cutting out unnecessary spending and finding ways to save money.
• I will build an emergency fund that covers at least six months of living expenses.
• Within the next three years, I will buy a home that fits my needs and budget.
• Every year, I will travel to at least one new destination using my travel rewards points.
• I will pay for my children’s education without taking on any debt.
• I will retire early and comfortably, with enough income to support my lifestyle.
• I will leave a legacy for my family and the causes that I care about.

To set effective financial intentions, you need to follow some guidelines:

• Make them realistic and attainable, but also challenging and inspiring.
• Write them down and review them regularly, preferably every morning and evening.
• Use positive and affirmative language, such as “I am”, “I have”, or “I can”.
• Visualize yourself achieving your intentions and feeling the emotions associated with them.
• Take action steps that are aligned with your intentions and track your progress.

Setting daily financial intentions, expressing gratitude, and keeping a positive mindset are simple but profoundly powerful habits. Make them a part of your daily routine, and watch as financial abundance starts flowing into your life! You have the power to achieve your biggest dreams and wildest financial goals, one intention at a time.

How to Develop a Strong Intention

To develop a strong intention, start by getting clear on what you want. Think big: what meaningful goals or dreams do you have for your life? Once you determine your vision , break it down into smaller milestones. Focus on one intention at a time.

For your intention to be powerful, make it positive and specific . Say what you want, not what you don’t want. Be precise in your wording. “I want to make more money” is vague. “I intend to earn an extra $500 per month through my side business” is specific.

Write your intention down and review it often . This activates your mind and the universe to make it happen! Speak your intention aloud with passion and enthusiasm. Our words have power, so express your intention with conviction and confidence .

Take action and follow through . Don’t just set it and forget it. Take steps every day that align with your intention. Even small progress builds momentum. If you intend to run a half marathon, start by running one mile three times a week. Build up from there.

Stay focused and determined. Don’t get distracted or discouraged easily. There will be obstacles and setbacks, so persistence and resilience are key. Your intention may not happen overnight, so patience and commitment to the process will serve you well.

Celebrate small wins and milestones along the way. This keeps you motivated to continue progressing toward your ultimate goal. Reward yourself for accomplishments and stay positive; you’ve got this!

With deliberate thought and consistent action, you absolutely have the power to achieve whatever intention you set for yourself. Now get to it; your best life is waiting!

Wake up each morning with purpose and direction. Set your daily intentions to manifest the life you desire and deserve. Start small by choosing one area of your life to focus on, then expand from there. Whether it’s relationships, health, career, or finances, setting intentions provides the roadmap to guide your day.

The magic happens when you commit to the practice every day. Suddenly, you’ll realize weeks have gone by and you’ve achieved more than you ever thought possible. You’ll develop unstoppable optimism and belief in yourself.

Setting daily intentions is life-changing. Why not give it a try? You have the power to create the life you want. Get started today and see where this simple yet powerful practice can take you! The possibilities are endless when you choose to live each day with intention.

• The Power of Intention Setting – Video
• Why Setting Daily Intentions Matters… Even More Than Your Goals By Lumia published in Lumia

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The Consequences of Good Intentions

Western involvement in Ukraine has quickly gone from a euphoric cause célèbre to a catastrophe.

Between the ongoing war in Gaza and Houthi attacks on Western shipping in the Red Sea, the media has had plenty of gruesome foreign policy fodder for the content mill. However, this coverage has come at the expense of the ongoing grinding conflict in Ukraine, which has quickly gone from a euphoric cause célèbre to a now embarrassing catastrophe that is best shoved in the closet and forgotten like all the rest of America’s decades of costly foreign policy disasters.

In recent weeks and months, the tone of coverage around the ongoing war in Ukraine has changed. At one point, any Russian advance was treated as a fluke and any Ukrainian success was seen as the precursor to an inevitable victory. The tone has now decidedly shifted, however, toward a more pessimistic view of Ukraine’s prospects and the fulfillment of NATO/Western goals. We wrote in a previous piece that time was not on Ukraine’s side. Now it appears that the mainstream press is starting to come around to the same conclusion. 

Whereas before any suggestion that Ukraine would achieve anything short of total victory against Russia was met with howls of protest and vitriolic accusations of being a Kremlin stooge, mainstream outlets have begun to openly acknowledge the writing that has been on the wall for quite some time.

Near the beginning of the war, the Russian troop columns had taken almost the whole of Novaya Rossiya and were putting pressure on Kiev . Amid this offensive, a delegation from Ukraine met with Russian counterparts in Turkey to discuss a possible end to the conflict . The US assumption seems to have hedged on the idea that the Russian government would not survive a sustained conflict against the might of NATO supplies and Ukrainian strength of arms. The question remains how likely it was that Russia would cave under the sanctions pressure it was under.

From the actions of the Russian government at the beginning of the war it has been convincingly argued that Russia did not intend to invade and conquer Ukraine for annexation , let alone continue on a rampage into the rest of Eastern Europe. Rather, the invasion’s goal was to have a show of strength and rapidly coerce Ukraine away from joining NATO and to secure the interests of Russian people living in Ukraine. It is arguable that when negotiations broke down in March of 2022 they moved forward with a more direct goal of annexing key regions of strategic interest that contain more Russian speakers and ethnics. For much of Ukraine’s history, these southern and eastern regions formed the backbone of pro-Russian sentiments in the Ukrainian government. However, the war has changed these attitudes in a myriad of ways. It was argued that in the leadup to the fighting the nearly 130,000 troops that Russia allocated in the first months of the war were not enough to pacify the whole country even if it was the goal.

However, as has now become unmistakably clear, the US and UK quashed these negotiations , and Ukraine, quite disastrously in hindsight, complied and declared nothing short of total victory, including the reclamation of Crimea , would be acceptable. In response, Russia realized that to win the war, Ukraine would have to be effectively neutralized by force and began to annex oblasts and incorporate them into Russia proper, effectively burning the ships behind them and ensuring that it was going to be invested in the conflict for the long haul.

At the beginning of the war, Ukraine was able to achieve success against overstretched Russian forces who were not prepared at the time to fight a drawn-out war of attrition. This in turn induced visions of further Ukrainian breakthroughs that would cause the Russian military to collapse and even potentially Putin’s government. However, these Ukrainian victories were never against well-prepared and fortified Russian positions. As the failed counter-offensive has demonstrated, Ukraine has thus far been unable to make gains against the Russian army when at parity.

In the year since that counter-offensive, the situation has turned against Ukraine in ways that were not difficult to foresee. The US and the West scraped the bottom of the barrel to outfit Ukrainian forces for the counter-offensive that in the end achieved nothing other than depleting manpower. To quote a former US official , “We built up this mountain of steel for the counteroffensive. We can’t do that again. It doesn’t exist.” Or in the words of NATO’s most senior military official, Admiral Rob Bauer, “The bottom of the barrel is now visible.” As the authors previously noted, the West is woefully unprepared to wage a modern war of attrition in Ukraine.

Western stocks were already facing shortages and production shortfalls, but thanks to the outbreak of the war in Gaza there is additional pressure that has seen ammunition earmarked for Ukraine rerouted to Israel instead. Furthermore, at the time of writing, Congress has not passed supplemental funding for Ukraine, even after returning from Christmas break. This means that not only is Ukraine not receiving what little American military aid it might hope to get, but it is also rapidly running out of funding to continue the functions of the rest of its state apparatus . Everything from firemen to pensions has been paid for by American aid that has now dried up.

The war in Gaza is hardly the only conflict competing for limited American resources. Numerous other potential crises loom on the horizon, ranging from further escalation in the Middle East due to attacks by Iranian proxy groups, pirate-style terrorist attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Yemeni Houthis, growing military escalation on the Korean Peninsula , and the potential Venezuelan invasion of Guyana in America’s backyard. Not to mention, America’s growing great power rivalry with China and the potentially devastating conflict over Taiwan that conflict entails. With so much chaos, Twitter activists are running out of room for flag emojis in their bios.

Commentators and scholars have long warned that the West would end up leaving Ukraine out to dry and were ignored for years, but increasingly such warnings appear prescient.

Internal Fractures

Meanwhile, European goodwill towards Ukraine has been collapsing. Perhaps even more notable than the stalled American aid package has been the collapse in relations between Poland and Ukraine , with the President of Poland comparing Ukraine to a drowning person who risks pulling its rescuer down with it. Polish truckers have even taken to protesting at the border to stop Ukrainian grain exports from undercutting their businesses. Additionally, recent European elections have seen a rise in support for parties and leaders that are on the record as opposing further aid to Ukraine, notably the election of Robert Fico as Prime Minister in Slovakia , and the unexpected electoral success of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands .

Ukraine’s increasingly dire situation has not been lost on its leadership, which has now begun to openly feud amongst itself. According to Time Magazine , one of Zelensky’s closest aids stated that “he deludes himself” with talk of retaking the pre-2014 borders, and another states that corruption has continued unabated and that “people are stealing like there’s no tomorrow.”

At the beginning of December, former Ukrainian president, and Zelensky rival, Petro Poroshenko’s papers were canceled, and he was prevented from leaving the country to meet with foreign leaders. Another rival, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, has accused Zelensky of turning into an authoritarian and of centralizing power in the country to such an extent that “at some point, we will no longer be any different from Russia, where everything depends on the whim of one man.”

Also concerning is the rumored rift that has now found its way into the public eye between Zelensky and the (now former) commander of the AFU General Zaluzhny. This has come about seemingly over their differing assessments of the state of the war. In an interview published by The Economist on November 1, 2023, Zaluzhny stated that the war had turned into a stalemate. Zelensky was quick to insist that this was not true, despite the abject failure of the summer counter-offensive to achieve anything.

Days later, on November 7, 2023, one of Zaluzhny’s aides was killed under unusual circumstances when he was opening birthday presents with his son and somehow set off a grenade. There are multiple accounts of what transpired, but as the BBC notes , “The official cause of the explosion has been questioned by Ukrainian commentators, some of whom have speculated whether it was an attack targeting Gen Zaluzhny himself, on the assumption that he might have attended his aide’s birthday celebrations.”

Speculation aside, Ukrainian media reports that Zelensky is suspicious of Zaluzhny’s potential political aspirations and that in addition to making political appointments to the military, he is also circumventing Zaluzhny in the chain of command to avoid his loyalists and instead deal with those loyal to Zelensky. This pessimism within the government also seems to have reached Zelensky himself who has been quoted by the critical Russian media agency, The Moscow Times , that he “no longer sees an end in sight” and is turning down requests from the army to mobilize as many as 500,000 men which will surely make his already precarious position even harder to maintain. At the time of writing, the long-standing feud between Zelensky and Zaluzhny has resulted in the firing of the latter. Time will tell how this will affect the Zelensky government as Zaluzhny ranks as one of Ukraine’s most trusted public officials.

No Foreseeable Future

On June 8, 2016, John Mearsheimer was on a panel at the Atlantic Council on the subject of NATO enlargement and Russia where he warned that “these policies [NATO expansion and integration] are leading the Ukrainians and the Georgians down the primrose path, because on one hand, we are provoking the Russians, causing all sorts of problems, giving them the incentive to do damage in Georgia and Ukraine and the idea the West is going to come to their rescue, you believe much too much in the United States.”

Negotiations that were scotched in early March of 2022 offered the possibility that Ukraine might have been able to survive with some semblance of sovereignty intact. Now Russia is likely unwilling to accept a Minsk III deal. With their annexation of the Novaya Rossiya region, they are signaling that this struggle will be one of total victory. Russian government ministers like Sergei Shoigu have stated that the war has been planned out at least until 2025 . Furthermore, with the recent Russian victories around the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka , there is growing doubt amongst observers that Ukraine can successfully resist Russian advances even at some of the most heavily fortified cities along the contact line.

Commentators and scholars like Mearsheimer have long warned that the West would end up leaving Ukraine out to dry and were ignored for years, but increasingly such warnings appear prescient. Some Ukrainians have woken up to this grim reality. As former Ukrainian presidential advisor, and now Zelensky rival, Oleksii Arestovych recently remarked , “In the conflict of globalists and realists, we made a bet on the wrong side. We shed blood to end up in the losing camp.” Hopefully, it is not too late to salvage an acceptable compromise and forge some semblance of peace, but that means accepting the reality of Ukraine’s untenable position.

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Word Choice: Intension vs. Intention

3-minute read

• 2nd December 2021

The words “intention” and “intension” are pronounced the same way, but they have different meanings. Your readers could get confused if you use the wrong one in your writing , so, in this post, we’ll explain how to use these words correctly.

Intention (Something You Plan to Do)

“Intention” is a noun that means “what someone wants to achieve”:

She studied medicine with the intention of becoming a doctor.

He had no intention of going to the party.

Despite my good intentions , I didn’t finish the essay.

The word “intent” has the same meaning, so they are often used interchangeably. However, “intent” may imply a greater determination to do something. It is therefore often used in more formal contexts, such as legal writing.

Moreover, “intention” gives us the adjective “intentional,” which is used to describe something done deliberately. For instance:

Was your absence from class intentional ?

And we have the adverb “intentionally,” which means “done on purpose”:

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He intentionally lost the invitation.

All of these words, though, are spelled with a “t” after the “n” in the middle.

Intension (Internal Content of a Concept)

A much rarer word, “intension” with an “s” is a technical term used in linguistics and logic. It refers to the properties inherent to a concept or word.

For example, the intension of “cat” includes being furry, having whiskers, going “miaow,” etc., as these are all things we associate with being a cat.

In other words, the “intension” of a word is the collection of properties we use to identify something as an example of that word. This contrasts with the “extension” of a word , which refers to everything that could be named by the word in question.

However, “intension” is a very rare term. So unless you’re studying language or logic, you’re unlikely to need this word in your day-to-day life.

Summary: Intention or Intension?

When you need to choose between these words, remember the following:

• An intention is an aim or outcome that someone sets out to achieve.
• Intension is a specialist word used in logic and linguistics.

If you’re referring to what somebody wants to do, the word you need will be “intention.” And the fact that it has a similar meaning to the word “inten t ” should remind you to spell it with a “t” rather than an “s.”

We hope you now feel confident about using these homophones . To make sure your writing is always error free, though, send us a free trial document for proofreading today and find out what our expert editors can do.

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Procrastination Essay for Students and Children

500+ words on procrastination essay.

Have you ever put off your homework till the last minute? Or perhaps studied for the test only a day before? Maybe delayed writing an essay till the last possible hour? All of us are guilty of delaying tasks and putting off important work until a later date.  This is essentially procrastinating. It is the action of purposefully delaying any task or activity. In this procrastination essay, we will see the reasons and the solutions to this problem.

As we will see in this procrastination essay, this is not a rare phenomenon. Almost everyone is guilty of it at some point in their lives. So we ask ourselves this question – why do people procrastinate even when they are so busy most of the time? We live in the 21st century, where time is our most precious commodity. And yet, we waste this precious resource procrastinating our time away.

Why do we Procrastinate?

The reasons for a person procrastinating can be varied. It depends on person-to-person and situation-to-situation. However, there are some universal reasons that cause people to delay their tasks and actions. One of the most important ones is the fear of failure. When a person delays doing an important task or is disinterested in finishing it, the cause could be a deep-rooted fear of failure. It is in human nature to avoid and fear failure. So by choosing to never finish the task, we can avoid the consequences as well.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Another reason is the lack of focus and determination. Feeling directionless and unfocused can often cause people to lose their wills to do their jobs. This leads to procrastination. Sometimes the lack of goals and objectives is also the reason a person loses their focus. Since they do not have an end-goal in mind, they end up wasting energy in other useless tasks.

There are other reasons a person may procrastinate. Sometimes, a person may be too much of a perfectionist. This distracts them from other tasks. And then there are other reasons like laziness, low energy levels, easy distractions, etc.

Read 10 Ways to Stop Procrastinating here.

How to Stop Procrastinating?

While procrastinating is a very natural fault we all share, if it gets out of hand it can get quite troublesome. Excessive procrastination can disrupt your life and cause you to lose control of your schedules and deadlines. So when the procrastination gets out of hand, you need to reign it in and get back in control.

One way to stop procrastinating is to break down the dreaded task into little steps. If the work or the task is too overwhelming, we tend to procrastinate about it. But if the job is broken down, then we can tackle one step at a time without being overwhelmed. You can also create a detailed timetable or a timeline of some sort to help you with the steps.

At other times changing your work environment may be beneficial. It can provide you with the boost necessary to stop procrastinating and finish the task. If possible get a friend or a parent to keep a check on your progress. It helps keep the motivation levels up and encourages you to finish the task on time.

The main concern is not to over-focus or blame yourself for procrastinating sometimes. We are all a victim to procrastination from time-to-time. As long as it does not derail your entire schedule, give yourself a break and just get back to work!

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