Pay Attention to Your Intention
How often do you start your day with intention? Whether this be an intention for the day in general or one for practice or even a game?
Today I will…
Often, we get out of bed on autopilot. Alarm, snooze, out of bed at the last minute, shower, dress, breakfast on the run, and rush off into the day.
But what does the day have in store for you? Usually, in this model, we are reacting instead of creating. We are waiting to see what comes our way and then deciding if it was a “good day” or a “bad day.”
This is true in your athletic pursuits as well.
As an athlete, you can find yourself going into a practice waiting to see what drills coach is going to throw at you. You do the drills, maybe scrimmage, and then practice is over. Or, this can occur in a game. Show up, warm-up, game starts, compete against opponent, and get a result at the end. Again, this model relies on the outcome of the game, win or lose, to determine if you were “good enough” or “not good enough.”
You are reacting to circumstances instead of creating intention!
So what does intention look like?
You are in control of your narrative. You can set the tone, the mood, and the tempo of your day by creating purposeful intentions. Intention is different from goal-setting as it is focused more on attitude, thinking, emotion and behavior versus outcomes. Intention creates a foundation or framework for you to build out from as you grow. Intention is open, growth-oriented and positive! In hard moments, when tested, intention is something that you can re-center through and regain focus. In times of success, intention is something that can ground you.
Intention can be defined in numerous ways. You may have a daily intention for life, a weekly intention, monthly or yearly. To start, I recommend a daily intention. Keep it simple. What is one purpose for the day? Many find it is best to create this the night before, write it down, and let it be the first thing you look at when you wake up.
Be attentive to your intention
Maybe your daily intention is to create positivity, internally and externally. Pay attention to this intent when you wake 
up. Can you say one positive thing to yourself or identify one personal strength of yours? Smile when you look in the mirror and tell yourself you will choose to react positively no matter the situation.
Check in with your intent again after breakfast. Find the next positive moment. Send a nice message to a friend or a motivating message to a teammate. Tell someone the positive traits you admire in them and why.
During the day, if you experience negative news, stress, or a negative outcome, stop, breathe, and check back into your intent for the day. Does complaining spread positivity? Of course not. So, instead be purposeful and choose the path of solving the issue, finding a silver-lining, or motivating those around you to stay positive.
This is just one example of a daily intention.
Can you use intention in sport?
Of course! This is an important skill to develop in our young athletes. As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, many of our youth athletes have been trained to just do the drills at practice with the expectation this will prepare them to win. However, the most elite athletes go into practice and competition with a Performance Focus and a specific intent on the day.
For example:
- A soccer player has the intention to work on their non-dominant foot
- A golfer may have the intention to keep a positive attitude no matter where the ball ends up on each shot.
- A wrestler may have the intention to be more aggressive and shoot more often
These examples show intention is most powerful when it does not involve winning or losing. The soccer player may make more mistakes by using their non-dominant foot, but they know eventually it will make them a stronger, more dynamic player. The golfer understands focusing on a score creates anxiety and a bad shot makes them more tense when they carry that anger into the next one. So, they choose to disengage from the score and focus on mentality. And, the wrestler may leave himself exposed when shooting more often, but knows he needs to be willing to go for it even if it means getting caught once in a while.
Here is an example of intention from Kobe Bryant, who embodied mental strength:
Jamal Crawford Heard Kobe Bryant Once Practiced Just One Shot For An Hour Straight
Per The Players’ Tribune: “I heard one time in a workout that he practiced a shot for an hour. The same shot. For one hour. And it wasn’t like a three-pointer, it was a little shot in the mid-range area. Do you know how tedious that is? Do you know how locked in you have to be to do one shot for an hour? To trick your mind that way? That’s unbelievable.
Start living with intention today! Start simple and then grow from there!
Reach out to us at MBS Performance Counseling to discover the power of intention and purpose in the pursuit of your goals at [email protected] or 301-867-6577.
Ryan Defibaugh, LCPC, NCC, is the owner of MBS Performance Counseling, LLC in Frederick, MD. He works with adolescents and young adults to help them thrive in their athletic, academic, social, and personal lives. Ryan uses his experience as a former Division I college coach along with his counseling background in order to empower our youth with skills such as optimism, resilience, grit, and problem-solving abilities.
