What is Intentional gets done

What is Intentional gets done

Through my travels I coach people on actions and best practices to help move them and their organization to the next level. In many instances, on my next visit, none of the action items have been completed and therefore there has been no visible performance improvements. When I ask why the action items have not been done, I normally get something along the line of "we got busy". Life happens and at a rapid pace everyday; if we are not careful those things we intended to do get lost in the hustle and bustle. This rule doesn't just apply to the business world, but to everything in our lives; our marriage, raising kids, losing weight/getting healthy, our education, etc.

As the definition states, being intentional is an action that is done deliberately, consciously and on purpose. If we do not make something a priority and make a conscientious effort, then life will happen and it won't get done. I need to lose a few pounds (okay, maybe more than a few), I can wake up everyday and say I need to lose weight, but just stating the obvious will not make it happen. I can intentionally step on the scale everyday to see if my thoughts have helped me shed those pounds. Until I become intentional about what I eat and exercising regularly, nothing will change except the calendar. Being intentional requires a deliberate action to take place in order to achieve the goal.

I believe that having a regular date night with your spouse is important to a healthy marriage. My wife and I have been in those seasons in our life where date nights just did not happen. It was not until we put them on the calendar and made plans to off-load the kids at grandma's house, did those date nights start to happen (we still don't have enough of them). Being intentional requires some planning and conscientious actions to make it happen.

Nissan's Super Bowl commercial featured the story of a busy dad with the song "Cat's In the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. In the song, and the commercial, the dad was too busy with work to spend quality time with his son. If we are not intentional about the time we spend with or kids, just like in the song ('he learned to walk when I was away') and the commercial, we will look up and our kids will be grown and have their own busy lives that prevent quality time. One of my favorite things to do is build LEGO with my 7 year old (talk about therapeutic; I can build stuff, break stuff and build it back again). I try to be intentional about getting in the floor with him and digging through the bricks. I know that it is something that he will look back on and hopefully be intentional with his son, to stop and play. Being intentional with our kids requires us to "clock-out" at work and "clock-in" at home.

At work we are faced with a multitude of things to do everyday; there are the daily fires that we must put out, the sales that must get done, the employee issues and the unexpected. If we are not intentional about our efforts to improve or "fix" something, everyday stuff will get in the way. So many times we let "we were busy" get in the way of completing things that we know would make life, business or our health better. In today's world being busy is associated with getting things done, when many times it is just the world spinning around us. Be intentional and listen next time you ask someone what they have been doing; you will hear "I have been busy" more times than you can count. Being intentional means that we don't let life get in the way of the important things.

It is time to jump off the busy train and start being intentional about those things that are important to your business, your health and your relationships. What do you need to be intentional about today? Are you letting life get in the way or are you being intentional?