Impact Over Intention

Have you ever had a concept or a thought that just seeped into your pores and would not let you go? Well for me lately it has been the idea that often the impact of our actions and decisions are far removed from our intent. Have you ever said, “well that wasn’t my intention” when someone shared the real impact of your decision or action? Yeah me too…and if you said no…well I am going to call bullshit on that. We have all witnessed our impact stray so far from our intent that we can’t even see it anymore. This is not meant to stir guilt or condemnation, but instead hopefully a greater awareness of how our individual and collective actions and decisions impact those around us.

Often in a world that seems to be losing its mind, it can be hard to know what we can do to make a difference. I would assert that a good place to start is by beginning to explore our intent vs. our impact. Observe, ask questions of those around us, and get curious. After you have done all of that, be honest with yourself. Notice the situations, interactions, relationships, and experiences where your impact was very different from your intent. By staying in the curiosity of this we can begin to shift our actions and decisions in ways that support those around us. Now this is both an individual and collective task. We are interconnected and do not create, act, or make decisions in a vacuum. The more that we can sink into awareness of this reality the more we can begin to intentionally move through this experience of life in ways that not only supports our most authentic expression, but frees and invites others to do the same. Now that is the impact I think we all want to see.