In terms of getting tasks done and building new behaviours, the word du jour has become intent. I like intent. I intend a lot of things but it has never got me to where I wanted to be and I suspect that is because I think of the word as a noun rather than an adjective.
When used as an adjective it is usually descriptive and future-focused Often used in affirmations. “I will write a blog post daily with intent” just doesn’t work for me but it’s a lot better than “I intend to write a blog post daily”.
“The road is paved with good intentions”, as the proverb goes.
I always thought that you needed to be committed to get things done. That commitment was the key to successful change of behaviours. If you were committed you were determined and would not let distractions or obstacles in your way. Commitment sounded good.
Mind you, I had challenges staying committed to a new way of being.
This past month I’ve been committed to writing blog posts daily. It’s been great for my habituation and for getting me focussed although it has taken me off my plan, but I did need the connection for doing something productive daily which builds my business.
This past week I’ve managed to be completely resolved in my eating habits. I have not eaten ANYTHING that I should not have. Any food or liquid I have consumed has been purely healthy and I have not had a desire for chocolate, biscuits or any of my other once-staple foods!
This last week I’ve learned that you need more than commitment or intent.
You need RESOLVE.
Resolve is aligned with discipline – a behaviour I’ve always decried as missing from my DNA although I found it in abundance for one night 4 years ago! (Not what you think..I was on nil by mouth and at a Christmas cocktail function).
Resolve is NOW focused. “I am resolved to writing daily on my blog” has more oomph to it imho.
Resolve is well resolute. It’s purposeful, determined and unwavering. No decisions need be made: it is already carved in stone.
I have been happy with my persistence in blog posting this last eight weeks or so. I have been amazed at my capacity to stay on course this past week in my eating program.
I have no idea where this resolve came from. I do know it needs a powerful motivation for it to kick in and operate effectively. For me, it was a subconscious choice. I literally woke up one morning and overnight seem to have decided on my course of action.
Now I have to work out how to apply that same resolve to some other areas of my life and work!
How do you build resolve? Where do you need it most?
Thanks for sharing Mel as I thought commitment was the strongest word, only to learn from you that ‘resolve’ is even stronger. I resolve to find work that is meaningful and fulfilling for me, especially so I don’t have to “fill” myself up with other things that aren’t good for me, like too much chocolate! 😉 <3
Good on you, Elly and best of skill for your quest. I resolved a long time ago that life was too short for cheap chocolate 😉
Intent,commitment and resolve. You seemed to have found the right formula for business and life. And that’s amazing that you can put your mind to it and stick to it. The eating is hardest for me to stick to.
Oh no – only for these two tasks so far, Salma. Yet to apply it to my hoarding!! 🙂
It all depends on the task you set for yourself. I was resolved to drink no tea for this month and to blog and publish a video daily. So far so good.
I was also resolved to exercise each day too. Oops – that one went out the window fairly quickly. – Why???
In that case you were not resolved to do it. When you’re resolute you do it unwaveringly. You didn’t have a big enough ‘why’ or reason to overcome the avoidance of pain that exercise holds for you perhaps 🙂 Appreciate you being here.
Commitment and resolve tie in with each other!
To a degree. It’s like a continuum line: intend, commit, resolve. Thanks for popping in.
Nice post, especially how you talk about that transition from ‘intent’ (the happy hope of maybe accomplishing soemthing) to ‘resolve’ (pushed by will and discipline). Perhaps ‘intent’ is in the mind, as is ‘resolve’, but action brings changed behaviors. A friend once told me that it did not matter what I wanted to accomplish long term, just begin. For example, each time that we avoid the foods we would rather not eat, our actions ‘feed in’ to positive future behaviors. ‘Just do it’ is more than a slogan, for it is our positive actions that bring change. So, congratulations! May you continue to achieve your goals! With resolve.
Thanks Beth 🙂 Yes, that Just Do It slogan was a powerful blend of words. I agree that just starting is great without overanalysing but you need more to keep at it: that’s resolve 🙂 Thanks for coming by.
Hi Mel,
As always you are very insightful. And I agree that having intent doesn’t always make things happen. Sometimes I get sidetracked and other times life just happens when I have to re-align my time on any given day.
Now, I can see where resolve is aligned with discipline because once you resolve to do something, there’s more of a determination to accomplish it.
So how do I build resolve? I think it comes from my past experiences and even failures where I’ve learned lessons. The place I need resolve the most is not being over-critical of myself and work and trying to make things more perfect or over-analyze.
You’re not alone on that one, Denise 🙂 I find those tendencies relate to expectations that are set too high. It’s challenging to overcome but I find I get more done now! Thanks for commenting.
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