Yes, you read that right – intention deficit – it’s something many entrepreneurs suffer from.
Without clear, focused intention, our attention is all over the place. We flit from idea to bright shiny object, all of which can distract us from our purpose as practitioners. Watching what others are doing on social media, we can experience imposter syndrome and think we aren’t enough, and we feel lost, unmotivated, and discouraged. The reality is that we’ve simply lost sight of our own intention.
Most of us believe we have solid intentions: we want to grow our business or be financially successful. But these goals are the natural outcomes of our determination, not the focus. They are the byproducts of tenaciously sticking with our primary intention.
When setting an intention, it must align with our passion and mission. It’s about what you’re here to do. For example, in the early days of my nutrition practice, my intention was to learn and grow my nutritional knowledge base so that I could help really complicated clients who weren’t getting answers from other practitioners. I doggedly applied myself, took courses, seminars, and webinars and applied everything I learned. Of course, I wasn’t successful with every client (is anyone?) but I honed my skills by staying focused on my intention of helping complicated clients. Five years in, I found I couldn’t keep up with the number of clients reaching out to me. I simply couldn’t work 10-hour days, 7 days a week to accommodate them. That’s when my intention shifted.
Instead of remaining focused on helping one client at a time, my vision, my mission, started to morph into developing a program where I could share what I had learned with other like-minded practitioners. I realized that my intention to help complicated clients could be so much more powerful and impactful if I trained other nutrition professionals how to do it and bring them onboard.
That was eight years ago and my intention is steadfastly the same: to train health professionals everything they need to know about working with sick, complicated clients. To date, we’ve graduated over 700 practitioners and offer 4 levels of advanced training.
So, how do we hold onto our intention? How do we connect with it on a daily basis to ensure we don’t become distracted? There are no shortcuts here – it takes focus, commitment, and nurturing. Every. Single. Day.
One of the techniques that has helped me the most is incorporating my intention into my morning routine. This is my secret sauce for keeping my determination front and center. Best of all, it only takes 20 minutes and has enormous additional side benefits.
Mornings are my sacred time. Here’s the formula I use, although you can organize these elements in any order you like or add anything else that inspires you:
- Inspirational reading for 5 minutes. I love The Science of Mind Daily Guides (which is also available online here. But you can use any spiritual reading that resonates with you. This is my time to tap into my higher power.
- Gratitude Practice for 3 minutes. One of my favorite aspects of my morning routine and I absolutely love this format. You’ll need a timer handy; I use my phone.
Set the timer for 1 minute, close your eyes and silently express everything you are grateful for in your life. For me, it’s different every day. Common themes are family members, my home, my dog, my friends, my health, the degree of comfort in my life… you get the picture.
When the timer goes off, set it for another minute and this time focus on being grateful for everything surrounding your work. This is when I flow gratitude for Margaret, the rest of the IRH team, our students and graduates, the mission we’ve taken on, and the common intention we have as a community. A minute often isn’t long enough!
When you’re finished, set your timer one last time for a minute. Now send gratitude toward yourself. This can be difficult – at least it was for me in the beginning. We can be so critical of ourselves; it can be hard to come up with things to be grateful for. With practice, however, it starts to flow. These days, my self-gratitude includes my strong healthy body, curious mind, my ability to figure things out, the love I extend to others, and on and on.
Having 3 unique gratitude categories is enormously helpful and suffice to say that by the end of 3 minutes, my heart is overflowing with love, warmth, and positivity.
- Segment intend your day for 90 seconds. This is absolute magic. So often, we fumble randomly through the day with very little forethought. Segment intending is a way of foreshadowing how you want your day to unfold. Set a 90 second timer, close your eyes, and begin to mentally walk through the day ahead (it’s helpful to take a peek at your calendar just prior). When I segment intend my day, it might include a meeting, so I set my intention for how I want to show up, how I want the conversation to flow, and the outcome I want from the meeting. If my day includes a client session, I set the intention of being fully present, listening intently, being open to intuitive wisdom, and showing up as the best practitioner I can be for them. If my day includes exercise, I set the intention for safe travel and enhanced physical vibrancy. As my day unfolds, I intend for my connections with family and friends to be positive. I intend for productivity and joy throughout the day. Segment intending sets the tone for every aspect of your day because you’ve envisioned it ahead of time. This is how we maintain our intentions!
- The last section of my morning ritual is a 10-minute meditation. I use a variety of meditations – from Mindvalley to the Calm app to Dr. Joe Dispensa. Meditation makes me calmer, more trusting, slower to anger, and I sleep better. I took a while to make this a daily habit but all the hype is true: we’re just better human beings when we meditate every day.
We all have a million excuses for why we can’t carve out 20 minutes to feed our soul. If we’re not careful, we can fritter away our time and attention, whether it’s scrolling Instagram or watching television, instead of nurturing our precious intention.
Experts say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Are you willing to devote 20 minutes a day for 3 weeks to ensure you maintain your intention? To show up as your very best self every day? To stay spiritually centered and remind yourself of how blessed you are? It’s been absolute magic for me. What do you have to lose?
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FAQ
The following frequently asked questions expand on the key concepts in this article and provide practical guidance for practitioners looking to strengthen intention, focus, and daily consistency.
What is an intention deficit?
An intention deficit is a loss of clear, focused purpose that causes attention to become scattered. Without a strong intention, practitioners may become distracted by new ideas, social media comparisons, or self-doubt instead of staying aligned with their mission. Reconnecting with a meaningful intention helps restore focus and direction.
Why is intention important for health practitioners?
A clear intention helps practitioners stay connected to their mission rather than becoming distracted by external pressures. According to the article, intention provides a foundation for sustained learning, professional growth, and meaningful client impact over time.
How is intention different from goals?
Goals are outcomes, while intention is the underlying purpose that guides daily actions. The article explains that financial success or business growth are byproducts of consistently pursuing an intention that aligns with passion and mission.
How can practitioners identify a meaningful professional intention?
A meaningful intention aligns with what inspires you and the impact you want to have. The author illustrates this by describing an intention that evolved from helping complex clients individually to training other practitioners to expand that impact.
Can your professional intention change over time?
Yes. As experience and circumstances evolve, your intention may also evolve while remaining connected to your core mission. In the article, the author’s intention shifted from serving individual clients to educating practitioners, allowing a broader reach without changing the underlying purpose of helping complex clients.
What causes practitioners to lose focus on their intention?
Distractions, comparison, and a lack of daily reinforcement can pull attention away from a practitioner’s mission. The article specifically highlights bright shiny objects, social media, imposter syndrome, and discouragement as common reasons practitioners lose sight of their intention.
How can a morning routine help reinforce intention?
A structured morning routine provides a consistent opportunity to reconnect with your purpose before the day begins. The article describes a 20-minute routine that incorporates inspiration, gratitude, intention-setting, and meditation to keep intention front and center.
What are the components of the 20-minute morning routine described in the article?
The routine combines four daily practices designed to reinforce intention and focus.
- Five minutes of inspirational reading
- Three minutes of gratitude practice
- Ninety seconds of segment intending for the day ahead
- Ten minutes of meditation
Together, these practices create a daily framework for maintaining clarity and consistency.
What is segment intending, and how does it work?
Segment intending is the practice of mentally rehearsing how you want different parts of your day to unfold. The article recommends spending about 90 seconds reviewing upcoming meetings, client sessions, exercise, and personal interactions while intentionally visualizing how you want to show up in each situation.
Why does the gratitude practice include three different categories?
The three categories encourage gratitude for life, work, and yourself. According to the article, this structure helps cultivate positivity while strengthening appreciation for personal relationships, professional purpose, and self-worth.
What benefits does the author attribute to daily meditation?
The author describes meditation as a practice that promotes greater calm, trust, emotional regulation, and better sleep. The article also emphasizes that making meditation a consistent habit contributes to becoming a better version of yourself over time.
How long does it take to build a daily intention practice?
The article notes that experts suggest it takes approximately 21 days to establish a new habit. It encourages committing just 20 minutes each day for three weeks to strengthen intention and create a sustainable daily routine.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anne Fischer Silva’s journey in the field of functional nutrition over the last 23 years began in a functional medicine practice, where she learned the power of objective testing. From there she opened her own business, A New Leaf Nutrition, where she built a wait-list distance practice. Anne has taught nutrition courses in Washington, Hawaii, and California, and hosted a radio show, “Health-Wise”, for 3 years. She helped develop the original curriculum for the Nutritional Therapy Association, was a lead instructor with NTA for 8 years, and she continues to lecture nationally on a variety of health topics. Anne founded the Institute of Restorative Health in 2013 with the sole purpose of training other nutrition professionals how to address complex issues with their clients and achieve the same stellar results she gets in her practice.
The core principles Anne built the Institute of Restorative Health upon are the importance of nutrient-dense foods and balancing biochemistry. From there, she looks for the deeper underlying issues by utilizing a variety of testing techniques and customized healing methods to restore optimal function and health.
Anne received her certification in functional nutrition from Advanced Integrated Medical Institute in Washington, DC in 2000 and she is a Master Restorative Health Practitioner and Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
In 2022, Anne decided to pursue new and different aspects of holistic wellness and left the Institute of Restorative Health in the hands of her dear friend and business partner, Margaret Floyd Barry.
