3 Reasons You’re Setting Daily Intentions Wrong

Tell me if this sounds familiar…

Your favorite personal development author or podcast host said that setting daily intentions would help you live a more fulfilling life.

You liked the sound of that idea and decided to start setting your own intentions for the day.

But, if you’re like a lot of people, you probably realized something pretty quickly…

While it may have felt good to set intentions each day, the way you lived your life and the results you got didn’t change very much.

Other than a temporary boost of motivation you got from this morning ritual, you still felt the same way, had the same habits, and fell asleep with the same longings.

What’s going on here? Was the advice to write your intention for the day just bad advice? Or is there something about the way you’re doing it that stops this practice from leading to personal growth?

The answer is simple: the way most people go about setting daily intentions goes against the very spirit of the endeavor.

Luckily, once you know what these flaws are (and why they’re holding you back) you can take actionable steps that create the results you had hoped for. 

Below, let’s examine 3 reasons you’re setting daily intentions wrong and what to do instead so that they will actually work!

Mistake #1: You’re confusing daily intentions with daily tasks

First things first:

A lot of people fundamentally misunderstand what intentions for the day are.

When you set an intention (be it for a day, a year, or a lifetime), you are not setting out to complete a task. 

Nor, as many of us mistakenly assume, are you using intentions as a way to control how your day unfolds. 

A daily intention is about deciding what kind of person you are going to be that day in order to live into your vision for a life you would love. 

Where you might fall down in using these powerful tools to achieve your goals is to misinterpret the meaning of the word “intention.”

You could write down “I intend to write three marketing emails for my business today”, but that isn’t a declaration of intent about the kind of person you want to be.

It’s actually a way of you trying to dictate the flow of a day that, for reasons beyond your control, may not go the way you hoped. You might earnestly mean to write three marketing emails today, only to find that it never happens. 

(This could be because you get distracted and sidetracked, but it could also end up being for the best. Maybe the reason you don’t end up writing three marketing emails is because you meet someone who can be a fantastic collaborator for your business. And you strike a big new partnership with them in the time you had set aside to write!)

In any case: the reason to make intention setting a meaningful part of your daily routines isn’t to try to control how each day goes. 

It’s actually to create a positive mindset of agency around who you want to be that day in the service of a bigger dream, or vision.

What To Do Instead: If you want to fulfill your vision and create a life you love, turning daily intentions into a glorified task list isn’t the way to go. 

Give yourself permission to get out of the weeds of task completion and stay focused on what kind of PERSON you need to be on a day-to-day basis to get there.

For instance, if part of your vision is to grow your business and achieve financial independence, you might write down on a sticky note: “Today, I will be expansive, open minded, and aware of new opportunities to grow my business.”

This isn’t a one-time action. You don’t do it once or twice and cross it off a list. This intention is about you consciously deciding who you are going to be every single day to continually advance in the direction of your dream.

There are many different ways that an intention like this could manifest in our daily lives, and that’s exactly the point. This is a life direction that can shape your thoughts and actions in countless ways as circumstances around you unfold. 

Mistake #2: Your intentions aren’t actually “yours” 

Some people do understand that intentions for the day are about the kind of person you want to be, but they make a different mistake.

Which is that they set their intentions based on popular ideas they’ve heard or what other people have told them they “should be.” 

In other words: their daily intentions don’t come from their heart, their true selves. 

This happens a lot more often than you might think, and while it may be well-intended, it often backfires. 

We’ve all read personal development advice that admonishes us to “practice gratitude” or “stay present” or “get out of your comfort zone” (to give just a few examples.)

Don’t misunderstand: all of these are true at their core, and ultimately make sense to incorporate in your life.

The pitfall is that all of us internalize these truths at our own pace, and if you turn your intentions for the day into ideals to live up to, you’re working against yourself. 

You may write down “Today, I will live in the present moment no matter what life brings” while inwardly desiring other things altogether.

What To Do Instead: Tune in with your heart and be honest about what truly speaks to you in life right now.

If it’s gratitude or presence, great! But if it’s actually financial success or improving your appearance or something that isn’t widely praised as spiritual, proper, healthy, or evolved, that’s totally fine too!

Think about the kind of person you would love to embody more and more of on an everyday basis. What you would most want to channel if nobody else had a say.

Achieving this level of self-honesty is often the greatest challenge with making intentions an empowering part of daily life. Without it, though, there’s no point in bothering. 

Mistake #3: Your intentions are rooted in what you DON’T want

If you somehow manage to avoid the first two hurdles, this third one can be even more insidious.

A lot of us feel so boxed in by circumstances and conditions that we don’t like about our lives that even our dreams and intentions become mere reactions to this.

A classic example comes from the dating world. You might ask a friend what type of partner she’s looking for and get an answer back that is nothing but a list of disqualifications. 

“Well, I don’t want anyone who works in finance. They’re too busy. No short guys. No lame Tinder lines, obviously no players. Oh, and if he wears Crocs, forget about it.” 

It’s not that feelings of discontent should be ignored––these are often great clues that point toward the kind of life you would love.

But if you steer your daily intention setting solely by avoiding what you don’t want, you are putting those very things in the driver’s seat. Just in reverse!

Remember: daily intentions are about the kind of person you are going to be that day in order to live into your vision.

And when I say “your vision”, that means a vision for a life you LOVE, not simply the absence of dislikes!

What To Do Instead: Temporarily set aside the things you don’t like, and allow yourself to dream of what you would love to create or experience.

Instead of writing down a daily intention like “I will not get stuck in pointless meetings today”, you could dig deeper for what you love, that those kinds of meetings stop you from experiencing.

For example: “Today I am receptive to opportunities to do work that is deep, lasting, and transformational.”

See the difference? This intention gets beneath the surface-level annoyances of your work, and shines the light on what you would love more of!

Want to go deeper on creating daily intentions that transform your life? Our new and free Building The Vision Of Your Dreams meditation will give you a great head start!