Set the intention, go with the flow, trust the process.
Have you ever heard the phrase; hold on to something too tightly and it will break? Perhaps you’ve experienced first-hand the hardship of holding onto a relationship too tight, fearing it would end, only to find it ended anyway? Well this scenario can also apply to our goals. Let me explain…
Imagine a goal or a dream (for the purpose of this post I’ll refer to them as ‘intention’) you’ve always wanted, but no matter how hard you’ve been chasing it, it’s always eluded you. What if I were to tell you that by releasing your grip, you’d be more likely to get there in the end. Now I’m by no means saying that you should just sit back and watch it all unfold before your very eyes without even an ounce of conscious effort going into it. It doesn’t work that way either.
As with anything in life, the key is to find a balance. In this case, that balance is between holding onto your intention so that you’re always moving in the right direction. And giving it the space and time in order for it to happen naturally. In other words, going with the flow. I like to think of this flow as that of a river. The river runs best when it follows its intention (getting to the ocean) and goes with the flow. The moment we start to mess with the natural flow (adding dams, trying to re-route it, etc), the more chance there is that the river will burst its banks, losing sight of its intention all together, and never make it to the open ocean.
Life can be just the same. If we hold onto the idea of going from point A (where we are now), straight to point B (your dream, goal or intention), you might miss out on an opportunity that will help you get there. Think about it like this, an opportunity arises but at first glance it doesn’t seem as though it will take you directly to where you want to go and consequently you turn it down. What if I were to tell you that the thing you said no to would have taken you to point C, D, E and then after that, equipped with valuable new skills and experiences, the opportunity you were holding out for presents itself, taking you back to point B, where your intention is achieved.
The message here is; set the intention, trust the process, and go with the flow.
Written by Matt, our Life, Movement & Yoga Coach