Setting Daily Intentions: How to Start Your Day with Purpose, Faith & Positivity
Hey, Motivated Moms, family, friends, and foes, let’s talk intentions. Some mornings, I wake up ready to conquer the world. I have my plan, my coffee (on occasion), my prayer time, and I’m ready to GO.
And then there are those other mornings. You know the ones. Before your feet hit the floor, your mind is already racing. You’re thinking about the kids, work, the business, bills, appointments, deadlines, the laundry you forgot in the washing machine, the text you still haven’t answered, and the 47 other things waiting for your attention.
Sometimes the day feels overwhelming before it even begins. That’s one reason I’ve learned the importance of setting daily intentions.
Setting an intention doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan. Trust me, life will still LIFE! The kids may still have a meltdown. The meeting may still run over. The email may still come. The opportunity may fall through. And somebody may test every bit of patience you prayed for that morning.
But setting an intention gives you something to come back to. It reminds you that even when you cannot control everything that happens around you, you can be intentional about how you show up.
What Does Setting Daily Intentions Mean?
Setting daily intentions means choosing how you want to think, feel, and show up before your day begins.
Unlike a traditional goal that focuses primarily on what you want to accomplish, an intention focuses on how you want to live through the experience. For busy moms, setting an intention each morning can create greater focus, peace, gratitude, and purpose, even when the day doesn’t go according to plan.
An intention might be: Today, I choose peace. I will be present. I’ll give myself grace. Better yet, today, I will trust God with what I cannot control. Think of your intention as a compass. It doesn’t tell you everything that’s going to happen along the journey, but it helps you remember the direction you want to go.
Start Your Morning With God
For me, intention begins with remembering who I am and Whose I am. Before I let the world tell me what is urgent, I want to give God a chance to remind me of what is important.
Some mornings look like prayer, Scripture, and quiet time. Other mornings, it may simply be: Lord, order my steps today. Give me wisdom. Help me be patient. Allow me to recognize what matters and release what doesn’t. Give me the grace I need for today.
Proverbs 16:3 reminds us: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” That’s the kind of intention I want to carry into my day. Not just: What do I need to accomplish? But: God, who do I need to be today? There’s a difference.
Goals vs. Intentions: What’s the Difference?
I love a good goal. I believe in vision boards, planners, strategies, deadlines, and checking things OFF the list! But intentions are different.
A goal says: I want to finish this project. An intention says: I will do my best without letting perfectionism steal my peace.
A goal says: I want to grow my business. An intention says: I will show up confidently and trust God with the opportunities meant for me.
A goal says: I want to be more present with my children. An intention says: Today, I will put the phone down and be fully present when my child needs me.
Goals focus on what we want to accomplish. Intentions help us decide how we want to show up as we carry them out. And we need both.
How to Set Daily Intentions Every Morning
Setting a daily intention doesn’t require an elaborate morning routine. Please don’t turn this into one more thing you have to do perfectly! You can create a meaningful morning intention in just a few minutes. Start by giving yourself a quiet moment before the day’s noise takes over.
Take a breath. Pray. Then ask yourself: What do I need today? Not next month, or next year. Not what everybody else needs from you. What do you need today?
Your word might be peace when life feels a little too loud. You may need discipline to stay focused on what you started. Perhaps it’s courage to take the next step, even when you’re afraid. Some days call for patience, while others require a little more confidence.
And there will certainly be days when you need to extend yourself a whole lot of grace. Then there are those days when your intention can be summed up in one simple word: BREATHE.
There have been seasons when my intention needed to be just to keep going. In other seasons, when I needed to remind myself, you don’t have to figure everything out today. And there are days when my intention is simply: God, I trust You.
Your intention doesn’t have to sound profound to be powerful. It simply needs to speak to where you are.
15 Daily Intention Examples for Busy Moms
If you’re wondering what a daily intention actually sounds like, start here. Choose the one that speaks to where you are right now:
- Today, I choose peace over pressure.
- Today, I will give myself grace.
- Today, I will be fully present with the people I love.
- Today, I will trust God with what I cannot control.
- Today, I choose progress over perfection.
- Today, I will speak to myself with kindness.
- Today, I will protect my peace.
- Today, I will walk confidently into the rooms God opens for me.
- Today, I will be grateful for what I have while working toward what I desire.
- Today, I will not allow fear to make my decisions.
- Today, I will focus on what I can control.
- Today, I will make room for rest without feeling guilty.
- Today, I will finish what I started.
- Today, I will look for God in the ordinary moments.
- Today, I choose to believe that something good can happen today.
Choose one. Write it down. Pray over it. Then carry it with you throughout your day.
Put Your Daily Intention Somewhere You Can See It
Once you’ve decided on your intention, don’t just leave it in your head.
Write it down. Put it in your planner. Write it on a sticky note. Put it on your bathroom mirror. Make it the wallpaper on your phone. Write it at the top of your to-do list.
If your intention is peace, seeing that word during a stressful moment may remind you that not everything deserves a reaction. Whew. Let me say that again: Not everything deserves a reaction.
If your intention is confidence, seeing it before an important meeting might remind you that you belong in the room. If your intention is presence, seeing it at dinner might remind you to put the phone away and enjoy your family. Sometimes we simply need a reminder.
Use Your Daily Intention as a Compass
We make hundreds of decisions every day. Some are big. Most are small. But those small decisions eventually become our habits, and our habits help shape our lives.
That’s why your intention can become a personal compass. When something comes up, ask yourself: Does this align with how I said I wanted to show up today?
If your intention is peace, do you really need to engage in that argument? Perhaps your intention is to focus; should you spend another 30 minutes scrolling? Maybe your intention is courage, or is fear making the decision that faith should make? If your intention is rest, do you really need to say yes to one more thing? I certainly don’t. Your intention helps you pause before automatically reacting. And sometimes that pause changes everything.
Daily Intentions Can Strengthen Your Decision-Making
One of the things I love about intentional living is that it creates clarity. Life comes with choices, lots of them. When you’ve already decided who you want to be and what matters most to you, some decisions become easier.
You don’t have to entertain everything, attend everything, answer everyone, or carry everything. Your intention reminds you of what matters. Sometimes saying no is exactly how you honor the yes God has placed in front of you.
Give Yourself Permission to Evolve
Here’s something else I’ve learned: You are allowed to need different things in different seasons. One season may require discipline. Another may require healing. One season may be about building. Another may be about resting. One season may require you to say YES. Another may require you to finally learn how to say NO without writing a three-paragraph explanation afterward!
Growth doesn’t always look like doing more. Sometimes growth looks like recognizing that what worked for the woman you were five years ago isn’t what the woman you’re becoming needs today. I am in a season where growing looks like losing, but I know that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed through me. Allow your intentions to grow with you.
Intentional Living Doesn’t Mean Perfect Living
This one is important. Setting an intention does not mean you’re going to get it right all day. You may say, “Today I choose patience,” and somebody may test that patience before 8:17 a.m.
Perhaps you choose peace and find yourself frustrated by lunchtime. You may intend to be present and realize you’ve spent the last hour answering emails while your child has been trying to tell you a story.
That’s life. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness. Recognize it. Reset. Keep going. You don’t have to throw away the entire day because one moment didn’t go the way you wanted it to.
Give yourself grace and begin again.
A Simple 5-Minute Morning Intention Routine
Tomorrow morning, try something different. Before you grab your phone and allow notifications, emails, social media, and everybody else’s needs to enter your mind, give yourself five quiet minutes.
Minute 1: Be still.
Take a breath and thank God for another day.
Minute 2: Pray.
Ask God for wisdom, direction, peace, and whatever you need for the day ahead.
Minute 3: Ask yourself three questions.
What do I need from God today?
How do I want to show up today?
What is one thing I refuse to allow to steal my peace today?
Minute 4: Choose your intention.
Maybe it’s:
Today, I choose peace.
This week, I will choose courage.
I will be present.
Today, I will trust God with what I cannot control.
This month, I will give myself grace.
I will not shrink from making other people comfortable.
Today, I will finish what I started.
Minute 5: Write it down.
Put your intention somewhere you can see it throughout the day. That’s it. Five minutes. No complicated routine. No pressure to do it perfectly. Just you, God, and a decision about how you’re going to enter the day.
Do I need a new intention every day?
No. You can keep the same intention for several days, a week, or even an entire season. Remember, we’re not turning intentional living into another item on our to-do list! Your intention should help center you, not create additional pressure.
One last thing, Mama. You don’t have to wake up every morning knowing exactly how everything will work out. You don’t need the perfect plan. And you certainly don’t need to have your entire life figured out before breakfast. You simply need to decide how you want to show up for the day you’ve been given.
There is power in waking up and saying, “God, thank You for another day.” Help me use it well. And Mama, that’s more than enough.
Stay motivated. Stay intentional. And keep becoming.
– LaToyia, The Motivated Mom
