The Day You Design: Setting Daily Intentions

Here's a couple questions most people never ask themselves: Who am I going to be today? Or another way to phrase it is… How am I going to show up today?

Not what am I going to do. Not what's on my schedule. Who am I going to BE? That's what setting an intention is about. It's choosing your energy, your attitude, your identity for the day before the day has a chance to choose it for you.

An intention is not a goal.

A goal is something you accomplish. An intention is someone you become. 'Score twenty points' is a goal. 'Be relentless' is an intention. The goal depends on circumstances. The intention depends on you. That's why intentions are more powerful. You control them completely.

One word. That's all it takes.

Before a rivalry game, a senior point guard picks the word 'relentless.' She writes it down. It's on her mind during warmups. When the third quarter gets ugly and her team is down eight, that word is still there. She doesn't need a pep talk. She already decided who she was going to be today. She plays relentless. They come back and win by three.

Before school, a sophomore picks the word 'present.' His best friend is going through a rough time at home, and he knows today matters. So he puts his phone away at lunch. He listens. He's there. Not because someone told him to be, but because he chose it that morning.

Before a family breakfast, a dad picks 'patient.' He knows Saturday mornings are chaos. Three kids. Everyone's loud. His instinct is to snap. But he chose patient. So when his youngest spills cereal all over the counter, he takes a breath. Cleans it up. Keeps going. That's not weakness. That's the strongest version of himself.

A coach picks 'encouraging' on a Monday after the team lost their third straight game. She's frustrated. They all are. But encouraging is the word. So instead of film sessions focused on everything that went wrong, she starts with three things they did right. The energy shifts. The student-athletes lean in. They needed someone to believe in them, and she decided to be that person before she walked through the door.

A project manager picks 'curious' before a meeting where he knows he's going to get tough feedback on his proposal. His instinct is to get defensive. But curious means asking questions instead of arguing. It means listening for what's useful instead of what's unfair. He walks out of that meeting with a better plan than the one he walked in with.

This is what elite performers do.

They don't just wing it. They decide in advance how they're going to show up. Then they let that decision guide every choice they make throughout the day. The intention becomes a filter. When you've decided to be 'focused,' scrolling social media for thirty minutes feels wrong. When you've decided to be 'kind,' snapping at a teammate feels wrong. The intention holds you accountable to the best version of yourself.

Pick your word tomorrow morning. Write it down. Say it out loud if you have to. Then go live it. See what happens when you stop letting the day decide who you are.