A question I get all the time is why I chose the Intentional Intern as my title, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of questions about the title of the blog too.
The short answer--I'm an intern, and I chose to be super intentional with the mission of the podcast, as it came from my lived experience.
The long answer--I couldn't think of ANY title for the podcast platform I built that didn't stem from intentionality. Intentionality has been a very big piece of my life for the past 4 years, and the word captures everything I want to be known for in a multidimensional, introspective, and empathetic way.
I'm an etymology nerd when it comes to words, so here's the background and definition of the word:
The word intentional stems from the Latin word intentionalis, which means "done with intention, design, or purpose; intended."
The current definition of intentionality is the fact of being deliberate or purposive. The philosophy behind it is "the quality of mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, desires, hopes) that consists in their being directed toward some object or state of affairs."
To me, Intentionality is what allows us to become the best we can be. Intentionality is this interconnected concept that allows us to deeply understand ourselves and accept or change the standards at every point of our lives. For me, an extremely indecisive person (to the point where her mom picked her major, her dad picked her minor, and she found the career she loved on accident at a career fair), intentionality allowed me to unlock new pieces of myself and strengthen who I am. It allows me to get out of impostor syndrome, the other bestie that's alwayssss on my case.
Being intentional allowed me to break the barrier of "trying isn't doing" when it most definitely is. Intentionality is a step, always. Whether we step forward or backward...welllllll that's up to you and life.
A bunch of small steps can contribute to big growth. It's like skipping stones, all of those little puddles combined make a big splash. Every step you take with intention, no matter how small, contributes to a larger picture of success.
It took a long time for me to understand how to be intentional for myself and my goals--I'm still learning as I go. However, after releasing that notion of "if I try and don't succeed, I failed" and it becoming "don't be too hard on yourself, you tried and will keep trying to succeed", life got way more comfortable--and livable.
Small actions create the momentum and progress to hit those big goals. I know that in life, it's always something that comes along and derails us from doing things that get us to the next level--but as long as you're putting in any type of intentional effort to achieve your goals with realistic actionable steps, you'll get there faster than not doing anything at all.
For me, one of my small steps is doing a veryyyy slow morning routine. I wake up super early, and I have to have an hour of myself to drink some tea, light a candle, and go through my morning practices to get through the jam-packed day ahead of me. It helps me get to a big goal of mine-literally getting through the busy days that contribute to me achieving my goals.
I feel like deep down, most of us know how to start achieving our dreams, and when it's time to stop "chasing" them. It's just a matter of either a) if we're being intentional or b) how intentional we're being. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to make time to sit down and figure yourself and your goals out, but that small step--that needed intentionality--puts us on the path of being who we want to become.
I could talk about intentionality for hours (I'm lying more like months), but I do want to leave anyone reading this with a saying if nothing else sticks:
"Intentional days create a life on purpose." ~ Adrienne Enns
What I would add to that: "Intentional days create a life on purpose--not just one of purpose." ~ Amaya's Version
your host & certified yapper,
~ Amaya :)
