Summary

We have all heard the phrase, "Well, they had good intentions"—usually right after something goes terribly wrong! It makes us think that perhaps intentions don't really matter if the goal isn't reached. But is that true? In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson joins advisory board member Amanda Powell to answer the question: What is the difference between a goal and an intention?

We move from just hitting targets to actually changing our hearts by exploring the internal compass of goal setting. Tamara shares a relatable story about doing mountains of laundry—and how shifting her intention turned a loathed chore into an act of profound gratitude. We dive into 1 Samuel 16:7 to understand why God values a holy intention far more than a perfectly executed goal. Amanda also shares a raw story about how a 14-day migraine forced her to abandon her business goals, proving that when your intention is simply to "grow and listen to God," a delayed goal is never a failure. If you are exhausted by performance-based living and want to learn how to turn your hollow to-do list into a holy mission, this episode is packed with the practical steps you need.

Episode Takeaways

1. Goal vs. Intention: A goal is a future-focused outcome (a specific point on a map, like walking 10,000 steps). An intention is the present-moment purpose behind the goal (the heart and orientation of how you walk those steps).
2. The Laundry Epiphany: Tamara hated doing laundry until she realized her intention: she wanted to raise clean, capable, contributing children. The goal (washing clothes) stayed the same, but the intention changed her heart from resentment to gratitude.
3. 1 Samuel 16:7: "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." The outward appearance is your checked box, your published book, or your lost weight. Your intention is your heart. God grades your intention, not just your execution.
4. Hollow vs. Holy Goals: If you exercise because you hate your body, that is a hollow goal. If you exercise because you want to be a good steward of the body God gave you, that is a holy intention. The action is the same; the spirit is entirely different.

Resources

Are you ready to stop checking boxes and start partnering with God? Download our FREE Guide to Goal Setting. It features the new "Vision to Victory" page, which includes a specific Intention Tracker to help you align your heart with 1 Samuel 16:7. 👉 Download the Guide Here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/WyaLn2gS/checkout

Need accountability? Check out our Women Warriors Accountability Group for free for two weeks! https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/join-now

Reflection Questions

1. Look at your to-do list today. Are you a "slave to the result" or a "steward of the soul"?
2. Think of a chore or goal you currently loathe. How can you find a "holy intention" behind that task to change your heart toward it?
3. Read 1 Samuel 16:7. Have you been beating yourself up over a failed goal (the outward appearance) when God is actually pleased with your intention (the heart)?
4. If your goal is delayed (like Amanda's business), is your underlying intention to grow still intact?

Transcript

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-a-goal-and-an-intention

We have all heard the phrase, well, they had good intentions. Usually that happens right after something goes terribly wrong.

It makes us think that perhaps intentions don't really matter if the goal isn't reached. But is that true? Today we're answering the question, what is the difference between a goal and an intention?

And by the end of today's episode, you will understand why. A goal is the destination you reach, but an intention is at the heart of who you truly are.

Going to help you solve the pain of performance based living by showing you how to align your to do list with a powerful verse of scripture that reminds us what God sees as most important. We're moving from just hitting targets to changing our hearts. Stay tuned. Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes.

The Arise Women of God Podcast hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God Podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Andersen, and joining me today is Amanda Powell of our Women warriors of Light Advisory Board.

And today we're looking at the internal compass of goal setting. First, we're going to define the difference between goals and intentions, or outcomes and orientations.

Second, we'll dive into First Samuel, Chapter 16, Verse 7 discuss why good intentions are what God values most.

Third, Amanda is going to share with you a powerful personal story about how a physical crisis can take away your goal, but it doesn't touch your intention. And finally, I'll give you some real life examples of how to pair a goal with an intention so that you never feel hollow again.

But first, let's dive into defining both a goal and an intention. A goal is a future focus focused outcome. It's a point on a map that is specific and measurable. For example, I will walk 10,000 steps today is a goal.

You either did it or you didn't do it. An intention, however, is how you walk those steps. It's the purpose behind the goal, and it comes from inside.

If your goal is to have a clean kitchen, your intention might be to create a place of peace for your family. If you if the goal fails because, say, the dishwasher breaks, your intention still has not failed.

You can still find a way to be peaceful in the mess.

I remember having an epiphany with this one day when my children were little and I was up to my elbows in laundry and it was a task that I absolutely loathe. And suddenly it was like God hit me on the head with a 2x4 and seemed to ask, why are you doing this, Tamra?

If you loathe it so much and I really had to pause and think about the reason behind the task. I wanted to raise my children to be good, hard working, contributing members of society. I wanted them to be the best they could be.

And that included having clean clothes and a clean body. And suddenly I had my why. I had the intention behind the laundry. I wanted my kids to be the best they could be.

And suddenly the laundry loathing changed. My goal to do the laundry was the same, but my intention changed my heart. And the reason behind doing laundry.

I was suddenly thankful that I could do this for my children. It became less repetitive and more purposeful. This is the difference between a slave of the result and a steward of the soul.

Now let's jump into a beautiful verse of scripture where Gospel can kind of hijack the productivity world a little bit.

In 1st Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7, the Lord tells Samuel, the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. That outward appearance can be your goal, the checked box, the published book, or the lost weight.

But God is looking at the intention behind the goal. Why are you doing it? Are you doing it for praise? Out of fear? For love? When we say someone has good intentions, we shouldn't say it as an insult.

In God's eyes, a heart aligned with him is a success, even if the outward goals get messy. When your goals break down sometimes, as they often will, your intention is what keeps you moving.

Amanda Powell had a goal to launch a business, but her body had a different plan because her intention was to grow and listen to God. The goal's delay didn't mean that she was a failure. Listen as she shares this story, or

maybe if you've lost the excitement, there's a question that you could ask. Is this goal the right goal for me? Right? Like, maybe my goal is not aligned. Maybe I have a goal that is just.

I set this goal because this is what everybody else is doing or this is what I think that I need. Okay? So for example, a couple of years ago, I had a goal and I quit my job with the districts. I was going to go out on my own.

I was going to do my business. And I was super, super excited about it. You guys, like, so excited about it. So I do that, and I wind up with migraine headaches for 14 days straight.

And through all of that, I found a lot of things going on in the back of my neck. And it put a hold on it, right? And so I kind of had to stop.

And I was like, hey, Now I'm getting frustrated because I'm not reaching this goal, but I can't reach this goal. So I had to ask that question, is this the right goal at this time? And the answer was no. The goal for me was to learn about health.

I needed to make some changes. I needed to learn about yoga. I needed to learn about things that would help relieve the pain in my neck, you know?

And it was a year of such growth for me. But it was. It was also a year of a little bit of frustration, too, because it was changing things that were just so autopilot for me, right?

Complete autopilot. And now I had to change some things, like yoga. You guys, really, I am like weights and let's get out and walk. And now I'm doing yoga.

And I didn't even know my body could move like that, like, holy cow. Or hurt like that. Like, never in my life have I experienced so much physical pain than my time in yoga, right?

But oh, my gosh, it's something now that I love to have in my life. Like, I am just like, I get up and I'm like, oh, I'm stiff. I got to move my body, right?

And had I not checked in with myself and said, and my heavenly Father, is this the right goal? It wasn't the right goal. I had to put that on pause, and I had to shift to my health, figure out this, and then, guess what?

A year later, it was time for this goal.

So. So how do we put this into practice on a Monday morning when we're setting goals for the week?

How do we stop the hollow feeling of simply checking goals or hitting targets? Here are some examples of pairing a goal with a holy intention. Here's the goal. I will walk for 45 minutes, four days this week.

A hollow reason for doing this would be, I have to do this because I'm unhappy with the way my body looks and I need to hit my steps. A holy intention for this goal is that you are a steward taking care of this body that God has blessed you with.

The transformation is all in the intention. When your intention is to be a good steward to the body that God has blessed you with, A missed day isn't a failure.

It's a chance to sometimes listen to your body. Maybe it needed more sleep that day. When you do walk, it becomes a prayer of gratitude for your health rather than checking a box or a chore.

Here's a second example. The goal is, I will write two chapters of a book this month.

A hollow reason for doing this would be I need to get this done so I can finally call myself an author and prove that I am successful. A holy intention would be I am a vessel to God's message through me. The transformation from hollow to holy is this.

If your intention is to be a vessel or a tool that God uses, you stop worrying about the typos or what other people are going to think. You write because there's someone out there who needs the light God put inside you.

The goal is the book, but the intention is the service that you are giving. Do you see the difference? The goal remains the same, but it's the heart and the purpose that changes.

One feels like a heavy burden, the other feels like a holy mission. So this week as you set your goals, don't ask what am I doing? Also ask who am I being while doing it and that reason behind the goal.

Your goals are the outward appearance, but your intentions are your heart. Don't let a broken goal convince you that you are broken as a person. If you are ready, stop just checking boxes and start partnering with God.

Go download our free A Guide to Goal Setting for Christian Women.

It features a new Vision to Victory page with a section that has an intention tracker on it, specifically inviting you to align your heart with 1st Samuel chapter 16, verse 7.

And if you're tired of the hollow success and want a community to help you build a mission that matters, join our Women Warriors Accountability Group will help you find the peace that the world's goals can't give as you move forward in faith. The links for both are in the description below.

So go set a holy intention in the next five minutes, figure out the heart behind your goals with God's help and until next time, may you arise. Do it God's way. God strong.