Stay Agile, Aligned, and in Flow: Why It’s Time to Ditch Goal Setting

Does conventional goal-setting feel more like a trap than a tool for progress?

For many creatives, traditional goal-setting creates resistance instead of clarity.

Rather than inspiring action, it often leads to confusion about where to start, overwhelm at the scale of the task, and a looming sense of failure when life inevitably takes unexpected turns.

What’s the alternative? Designing intentions.

Unlike rigid, hypothetical targets, intentions cultivate direction and focus that evolve with you.

By prioritizing process and values over arbitrary milestones, intentions offer a way to grow without the stress of trying to predict the unknown.

This week’s Flux & Flow shares three powerful resources to help you embrace intention-setting and leave frustrating goal-setting behind.

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Flow Forward: Key Resources for Creative Growth

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Why “Set a Goal” is the Worst Advice for Creative Work

Traditional goals often stifle creativity. Discover why intentions, not rigid goals, are the key to aligning your actions with your values in my recent LinkedIn post.

​Read more.

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Embrace the Freedom of “Outcomeless” Thinking

What if you approached your work without clinging to specific outcomes? This article by Leo Babauta explores how letting go of rigid expectations can unlock creativity and reduce stress.

​C​heck it out.​

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Intention by Design: A Course to Align Your Work

Feeling stuck in your creative process? Intention by Design, a course I created for Antifragile Creative, helps you find clarity of direction by building an effective system for setting consistent, meaningful intentions.

​Explore Intention by Design.

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Inspiration and Action

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”

– Brené Brown

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Small Actions to Start Setting Intentions:

1. Identify a core value that drives your work. Write it down and reflect on how it aligns with your current projects.
2. Before starting your work tomorrow, set one intention. Ask yourself: What’s one thing you want to accomplish or focus on that aligns with your value?
3. At the end of the day, take five minutes to reflect. Did your actions align with your intention? If not, consider what you can adjust.

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Values → Intentions → Behavior → Results

Experiment this week with focusing on your present direction instead of a hypothetical desired state of being. I promise your overhwhelm and stress will decrease while increasing your creative effectiveness and productivity.

Your turn: What’s one intention you could set today that aligns with your values and supports your creative work? Hit reply and share—I’d love to hear how you’re applying this!

Have a wonderful week and keep creating!

Jeff

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Share the Inspiration

Know someone who struggles with rigid goal-setting? Forward this newsletter to them and help them discover the power of setting intentions to cultivate clarity and creative flow.

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