Affirmations, Goals, and Intentions
Knowing what you want to change doesn’t always tell you how to get through the hard part. A goal names the result, an affirmation offers encouragement, and an intention guides how you respond. Here’s how you can use them together.
Maya keeps saving job listings.
Imagine Maya. She wants better-paying work, but every time she opens an application, she wonders if she’s qualified. Explore the tabs to see how each approach might help her.
What do I want to achieve?
Find a better-paying job.
Maya knows what she wants. The hard part is applying when she doubts she’s qualified.
Maya is a fictional character.
Asking for help before feeling ready
Maya books an appointment with a careers adviser. As it gets closer, she starts wondering whether she should cancel and spend another week fixing her résumé first.
“Take the next step, even while I’m nervous” gives her a reason to go as she is. The appointment can be a place to ask questions about her experience and options. She doesn’t need to arrive with her career figured out.
Where this fits in your life
Your situation might have nothing to do with work. Perhaps you want more time to yourself, but agree to every request because saying no feels selfish.
An evening to yourself could be the goal. “My needs matter too” might be the affirmation you need to hear. An intention such as “Pause before I say yes” gives you something to try the next time someone asks for a favor.
Start with the moment you find hard. That makes it easier to choose words you’ll actually remember when you need them.
Try it with your own situation
Think of something you’ve been meaning to change. It can be as small as taking a proper lunch break. Finish these lines:
- I want… What would be different?
- I keep getting stuck when… Picture a specific moment.
- Next time, I want to… Choose a response you could practice.
Read your last line back. Would you know what it meant in that moment? You can use our guide to setting an intention to work on the wording.
Can the same words be an affirmation and an intention?
Yes. “I can take one step” might reassure you when you doubt yourself. It can also remind you to do one manageable thing. The label matters less than what the words mean to you and how you use them.
Our goals vs. intentions guide has more examples of how a result and a way of acting can fit together.
In Clarido, you can talk through what keeps getting in the way and choose an intention to keep on your lock screen. Later, a check-in helps you look at what happened, whether the words helped, and what you want to try next.
What does the research say?
This example doesn't establish that intentions work better than affirmations. Research on self-affirmation often involves reflecting on personal values, rather than repeating positive phrases. Cohen and Sherman's research review explains that distinction.
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