Have you noticed that when you actively “love” or “appreciate” someone (or some thing), you feel “love” (i.e. good, loving, open, connected, etc.)?  Have you also noticed that when you dwell on your fears, you create more fear?  That’s because thoughts attract “like thoughts” and emotions attract “like emotions”.  Years ago I read The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. It contained a sentence that changed my life. “Love is a verb.”  That simple phrase suddenly made me realize that if I proactively found things to love, I could feel “love”.  As someone who secretly feared being “without love” in my life, that lifted a huge burden!  Never again did I have to feel at risk.  I could feel love by simply focusing my attention toward a person, pet, idea, or project with appreciation. I also discovered that whenever I felt stuck or unmotivated, if I shifted from self-focus to loving or offering value to others, I quickly restored my energy and got moving again!

If you ever find yourself running out of energy for your intention, consider shifting to “love”.  Find something to love or appreciate and focus on that.  Then, from that loving perspective, ask yourself how your intention will help others.  Here’s a personal example:  “I’m fat and I want to be thin,” can be transformed into “I appreciate my body’s amazing capability and I honor those I love by taking care of it.”  “Love”, for others and ourselves, has the power to shift our perspective and illuminate paths that we couldn’t see from a place of self-focus. And as we do that, we not only offer more value to the world, but the world soon offers more value to us!  I invite you to remember an African proverb: “If you want to go quickly, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”

Last month, I encouraged you to create a dominant intention for this year.  That will act as beacon to narrow your focus and align your energy.  Of course, intentions alone don’t create results.  The real key is consistent action that makes you FEEL GOOD!  If you’ve been telling yourself that daily practice is too hard, too much responsibility, or too time-consuming, ask yourself this:  Was it difficult for you to play with what you were drawn to as a child?  Of course not!  What if you knew that you could manifest your intention by attracting the elements to you….through mental play?  All that’s required of you is that you IMAGINE what you want in full sensory detail and write it down…every day!   Are you willing to do that? What have you got to lose?!

Once you’ve created your “INTENTION FOR 2017”, use this worksheet to journal every day, and see what begins to happen!