I was making oatmeal for breakfast, moving around the kitchen in that familiar morning rhythm. I intended to make oatmeal, so I made it. My body knew what to do, the routine unfolded, and it was actually quite peaceful and nice.

But here's what stopped me as I was about to leave the kitchen and start my workday: I had intended to make the oatmeal, but I hadn't intended to enjoy it. The enjoyment just sort of happened because the circumstances were right.

And there have been so many other mornings when I've made that same oatmeal and been completely distracted, maybe upset about some news I'd just heard, my mind already racing ahead to everything else I needed to do. Same action, completely different experience.

We do this constantly. We think of the thing we want to do and then we go do it, but how we feel while doing it ends up being kind of random, depending on circumstances or past conditioning or whatever happened five minutes before.

Maybe you practice your instrument one day and it feels magical, the next day it's just something you're supposed to do so you do it. Maybe you love your work sometimes and other times you're just going through the motions.

I've been realizing more and more that what I teach in The Art of Freedom® Method is really about this: creating the music, the life, the relationships you actually want.

And I think what we all really want is to be happy, to be fully present, to experience that sense of awe and wonder and aliveness in what we're doing.

So what if we started including the feeling we want to experience in our intentions? Not just “I'm going to practice scales” but “I'm going to practice scales and really enjoy the mystery of what happens.” Not just “I'm going to get a drink of water” but pausing to get curious about what that's going to be like, how it's going to taste, finding the magic in something so simple…. and to specifically intend for JOY.

Right now, what's the next thing you're going to do after reading this? Comment below and tell me what it is, and add in the feeling you want to bring to it. Something like “I'm going to close my laptop with ease and appreciation” or “I'm going to walk across the room with curiosity about what I'll discover.”

I'd love to hear what you notice when you try this.

Check out the video link in the comments below to hear more about this, and share it if you like it, thanks! 🙂