Intention Setting

As someone who’s continuously growing, changing, evolving, I know what it’s like to keep my eye on the prize. This drive to pursue these objectives and goals has served me well. It’s taken me to many places that my anxiety and fear would never have dreamed of. But does this drive help us to live peacefully & presently? Not quite.

Hear me out…

It’s important to have direction, in order to know where you’re aiming. But, the more important factor is the intention behind your direction. The “why” behind what you do.

This!

This right here is what makes your goals more attainable, your dreams more heartfelt, your life more fulfilling. Yes, your intention.

Let your intention lead your action.

Goal setting gives you a direction to aim towards, intention setting guides you along the way.

Goal setting sharpens the bigger picture, intention setting brings the picture to life, in a daily way.

Right before my divorce I was very focused on losing weight. I didn’t look too deeply into the “why” behind this goal, aside from knowing I wanted to lose some of baby weight I’d been carrying for about a year. I did high intensity workouts that left me sore, depleted, hurting for days after.

Then, when I got divorced, I struggled to get back into my workout routine. It took me a while to realize my hesitation was because I didn’t want to be in pain anymore. Yes, I loved working out, but the thought of being physically, emotionally & mentally in pain was terrifying. And every time I tried, after a week or so, I'd quit because the pain throughout every aspect of my life was just too much to deal with.

Knowing this, I realized I needed to uncover my “why” for working out - a truth that I was hiding from myself.

After a bit of self reflection I realized the intensity behind these early on workouts was because I wanted to change. Yes, that’s a pretty typical desire to lose weight. But why did I want to change…

The heartbreaking reality was because I didn’t love myself. My negative self-talk had gotten really loud the years preceding and following my divorce.

The unsettling reality is that we cannot hate or shame ourselves into a version we will love. And no matter how much weight we lose, that negative self-talk will be loud until we can love our bodies as they are, every phase of life.

This has become my new intention towards the same direction.

Figuring out how to eat well without shame or depletion.

Working out in a way that feels more helpful than hurtful.

Loving my body as it is in this phase of life, while holding the desire to feel healthier. Externally, yes, I’m not exempt to vanity. But this goal needed to align with my daily intention of balance, peace, and love (of both self and other.)

Sometimes, I still push myself to workout in a way that does not serve me. This happens when I compare my body to others, and when I focus solely on the goal not the intention. Then for days after, I can barely walk, feel depleted, and when my body is in pain like this my anxiety gets triggered. Because the truth is our body’s nervous system does not understand the difference between physical and emotional pain. Any threat is a threat to our brains just the same.

Now, I'm not saying these intense workouts are bad? Because they're not. Our bodies need stress to adapt. We simply need to find what works for us in our unique bodies in this phase of our lives.

This has taken me years to figure out and I’m on my way.

Let me help you along yours.

What does “healthy” look like to you?

What does it feel like in your body?

What are your goals?

And what intentions will get you there?

As you know, my schedule is pretty booked up. I’m looking to move some things around to allow for more group interactions. In order to do so, some things need to shift. One of them is our Online Studio. It’s about to go through a remodel. For the next couple months you will still have access to these videos. You can rent or buy and download them. Amongst them you can see my evolution of learning the world of technology. Thankfully, I have it pretty well figured out now.

Enjoy these videos, I’ll share more information when it’s time.

And be sure to check out our upcoming workshops.

I’m here if you have any questions.

Rest in Your Radiance,

Nicole Starr