Intentions

“It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you don't stop”

Confucius

As encouraging as this quote is, it addresses our intention with regards to a task, but not to the origin of our motivation. We often find ourselves performing something with the sole aim of completing it, possibly in the shortest amount of time or perhaps in the most efficient manner. But how do we feel about it? Do we intend to do it to the best of our abilities? If it’s a task for someone else are we thinking about their needs and how we can help them?

An example of this in a spa setting is sometimes seen during massages. The therapist is only interested in providing the service and ticking the box off as another client done for the day, almost robotic in their actions. For any interaction where there is physical contact or the aim of helping someone, there must be an intention from within to connect with that person. In layman’s terms, you have to truly want to do something, you can not simply say that you want to.

The actor George Burns said “I would rather be a failure at something I love than be a success at something I hate”. This provides an interesting analysis from a philosophical / ethics standpoint. In teleology, your actions are worthwhile if the end goal is reached whereas in deontology, your actions can be good or bad, regardless of the outcome. As such, the deontology side of this debate resonates well with the idea that success comes from within, regardless of what can be seen as external failure.

We would not want to condone or encourage failure, but if the activity is one which we care about, it seems likely that we would get more out of the process than if we were merely going through the motions. Intentions alone will not bring success, intelligent work and dedication are absolute necessities, but it’s important to know why we choose to act in a certain way and which path we decide to follow.

As Robert Herrick said:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.

How will you choose your rosebuds?