In Buddhist psychology and the Eightfold Path, wise intention is not a goal. Intention is a here and now resolve you make in this moment. Goals are in the future. If my goal is to be a kind person, that’s open-ended, but being kind here and now is an intention. One of the challenges with goals is making them so big that we’re building in our own defeat. The Dharma teaches us that patience and resolve are needed to balance one another. Start with intention, and engage in the process moment to moment. As we hold goals as practice rather than result, we start to have a relationship with our experience that is more balanced.
Phillip Moffitt
Spirit Rock Residential Teacher
Phillip Moffitt is a Buddhist meditation teacher and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the founder and president of Life Balance Institute where he trains leaders and professionals in how to skillfully make major transitions in their lives.