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    Realizing Intention

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    Sean FargoPublished December 13, 2015 · Updated October 21, 2026 · 2 min read

    Printable Worksheet

    Realizing Intention

    PDF·188 KB

    A mindful companion to this worksheet

    Setting an intention, shaping a habit

    Much of life runs on autopilot, and most of that autopilot was set without our say. “Realizing Intention” is a chance to notice the patterns you have inherited and to set a new intention with care.

    How mindfulness can help

    Mindfulness opens up the gap between a cue and a reaction, which is where a new pattern can be chosen. Bringing curious attention to a habit's full arc, the cue, the urge, the action, and the aftermath, gives us back some freedom where there was only repetition.

    Gentle steps to try

    1. Set a clear intention. Name what you would like to grow or let go of in plain words. Write it down and read it each morning.
    2. Watch the cue. When the urge shows up, pause and notice what just happened in your body, your surroundings, or your mood.
    3. Insert one small choice. Replace the old action with one breath, one stretch, one glass of water. Small replacements loosen the pattern.
    4. Count the noticing. Even when the old habit wins, noticing it is real progress. Awareness is where every change starts.

    Change rarely comes in one dramatic decision. It is the quiet adding-up of intentions remembered, again and again, with patience.

    Printable Worksheet

    What Do You Want to Stop

    PDF·163 KB

    A mindful companion to this worksheet

    Setting an intention, shaping a habit

    Much of life runs on autopilot, and most of that autopilot was set without our say. “What Do You Want to Stop” is a chance to notice the patterns you have inherited and to set a new intention with care.

    How mindfulness can help

    Mindfulness opens up the gap between a cue and a reaction, which is where a new pattern can be chosen. Bringing curious attention to a habit's full arc, the cue, the urge, the action, and the aftermath, gives us back some freedom where there was only repetition.

    Gentle steps to try

    1. Set a clear intention. Name what you would like to grow or let go of in plain words. Write it down and read it each morning.
    2. Watch the cue. When the urge shows up, pause and notice what just happened in your body, your surroundings, or your mood.
    3. Insert one small choice. Replace the old action with one breath, one stretch, one glass of water. Small replacements loosen the pattern.
    4. Count the noticing. Even when the old habit wins, noticing it is real progress. Awareness is where every change starts.

    Change rarely comes in one dramatic decision. It is the quiet adding-up of intentions remembered, again and again, with patience.

    This worksheet is a contemplative exercise for finding your purpose, identifying the intentions that serve it, examining them honestly, and acting with your purpose in mind. Being aware of our real intentions lets us take responsibility for the consequences of our actions and act with good intentions.

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    How to practice

    1. Sit in a relaxed but alert posture, back straight without straining. Meditate quietly on the breath and center yourself in the body.
    2. Imagine coming to the end of your life, not in a frightening way but as if you have just finished an autobiography and are considering its message. Consider your values and your successes. With understanding for your own humanity, ask how you could have lived those values better, and what the future you would say to the present you about your meaning and purpose.
    3. Coming out of this state with as much compassion for yourself as possible, write down your life’s purpose. Beneath it, list core values that reflect it, and use these values as intentions. Then list concrete actions that realize them. Your purpose does not need to be grand; it could be to be the best life partner and parent you can be.
    4. Affirm these core values by explaining your purpose, values, and plans out loud, in a mirror or to a friend who simply listens.
    5. Standing, come into full awareness of your body. Bring to mind one intention, then what may stand in its way, and the decision to act in spite of it. Consider the other side of the question fairly, and ask whether the intention truly serves the good of all. When you are sure, decide on your first step.

    Where the idea comes from

    Wise intention (sometimes translated right intention) is the second factor of the Buddhist Eightfold Path, and the Buddha taught that speaking and acting from a clear mind leads to happiness and from a clouded mind leads to suffering. Philosophers from Aristotle to Kant also wrote about how intention links actions and results. The phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” is a reminder to look at the root of an intention, not just its surface.

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