YOUR INTENTION SETS THE DIRECTION (Your System Does the Rest)
Your intentions—your goals and objectives—are far more powerful than most people realise.
Even in everyday life, intention matters. It shapes how we interpret actions, decisions, and outcomes. It tells us where something is heading… even before it fully arrives.
In fact, it matters so much that even in a court of law, it can determine outcomes.
You might hear something like: “Well, Ken… you didn’t actually rob the bank… but you became dangerously close to robbing the bank. We can clearly see what your intentions were—so no need to pack your bags… you’re going inside for a while.”
A bit tongue-in-cheek… but you get the point.
Direction matters.
But let’s bring this into something more usable.
The Tennis Serve Example
Picture a young tennis player trying to improve their serve.
They’re being coached. They can see what needs to happen. They can feel parts of it.
But they just can’t quite put it all together.
So, they go home… a little frustrated… and eventually go to sleep.
And this is where something interesting happens.
While they rest, the brain—being the beautifully organised hierarchical system that it is—begins to process the day. It filters through what worked, what didn’t, what was noise, and what was meaningful.
It doesn’t just store information… it reorganises it.
So, when that player returns the next day and has another go…
Whammo.
Something clicks.
The serve begins to flow in a way it didn’t the day before.
And that raises a powerful question: What actually changed between yesterday and today?
The Role of Intention
Here’s the key.
It wasn’t just repetition.
It wasn’t just effort.
It was the intention—the clear direction—that guided how the system processed and refined the experience.
Your brain doesn’t randomly improve things overnight.
It works towards something.
And that “something”… is set by you.
When You Don’t Quite Get It Right
This is where people often lose their way.
They don’t achieve what they wanted in the moment… they get frustrated… they question themselves… and sometimes they abandon the process altogether.
But that misses the bigger picture.
Even when you don’t get it right… even when you fall short… even when you give in to something you said you wouldn’t… your underlying intention still holds weight.
If it’s clear… and you stay aligned with it… your system continues to organise itself in that direction.
A Real Time Example For Me Right Now.
At the moment, I’m preparing for an opening keynote presentation at an international neurology conference in Barcelona.
The slides are there. The content is solid.
But when I go to practice delivering it… there’s interference—other commitments, other pressures.
And yet, every time I return to it…
I’m a little more fluent.
A little more at ease.
A little more connected.
Not because I forced it… but because the intention is clear.
And the system is doing what it does best—refining, organising, and moving me forward.
So What Does This Mean for You?
If you’re trying to improve something—your health, your performance, your mindset, your skills…
Don’t panic if it doesn’t click straight away.
Don’t overreact to a poor attempt.
And don’t underestimate what happens between attempts.
Because when your intention is clear… your system keeps working—even when you’re not consciously aware of it.
Final Thought
You don’t need to force the outcome.
You just need to stay true to the direction.
Because once the intention is set… your system will meet you there.