Intention and Action

"There is no way of knowing how far intention and action can take you. This world offers not guarantees, only opportunities and vicissitudes. When you reach for the stars you may not get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either." -Michael Michalko, Thinkertoys

Intention and action. Two necessary sides of the same coin.

Without intention, I spend my days wandering in and out of tasks that may or may not have meaning, if I even do those those tasks themselves. Without action, I spend my days dreaming and plotting but never actually doing.

But without intention, there is usually no action. At least in the things that matter, I have to intend to do something before I will actually do it.

So which do I struggle with more? I'd typically say action, as most people probably would. I'm not doing nearly enough on a day to day basis towards ideas and goals beyond the basic efforts of existence.

But if I stop and think about it, I'm forced to confess that a lack of intention is probably my greater weakness.

For years I've maintained that people find the time to do what is important to them. Even in the press of a busy life, there are always those things which are so important to us as individuals that we will manage to eck out time - often sacrificing meals or sleep - to do them.

I could say that I have many intentions, things I'd like to do or want do - but how many of these am I serious about, and how many of them are things I like to dream about but will never do.

A powerful intention will always lead to action. If there is no action, I have to question the claim of the intention behind it.

So what do I intend - not just dream about, but intend. "Well begun is half done" was a saying of Augustus Caesar. If the initiation of beginning is the intention to do, how well begun am I?