Jay Shetty ON How To Set Intentions That Work

In this ON Purpose episode, Jay Shetty shared a conversation he previously had with Vishen Lakhiani onstage at a Mindvalley event.

They talked about setting daily habits that can improve your life.Living in a busy world, it is easy to get distracted. For example, when watching a YouTube video, going down a rabbit hole is almost inevitable. Yet there are a few things that you can do to keep yourself more present. Jay explained how his daily rituals and habits allow him to stay on track and focus.

Seeds vs. Weeds

First and foremost, Jay Shetty explained to the audience that he refines his intentions daily. He has many tasks awaiting him every day, so tackling them with a sense of deep understanding is crucial.

What Jay does is set a daily habit that will allow him to be more mindful about how he spends the day. Refining habits, as he calls it, is one of his favorite habits. And it keeps him aligned with his purpose in life.

Jay does this by reviewing his daily to-do list and writing down his reason for performing each task. Sometimes, his reasons are for ego, pride, envy, competition, or jealousy. Other times, they are out of compassion, love, joy, passion, purpose, meaning, or fulfillment. He calls the things he does for the first set of reasons "weeds." This is something that he wants to limit himself from doing. The others, he calls "seeds" and tries to focus on these more during the day and throughout his life.

He likes to plant seeds and take out the weeds daily because sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in work and not realize the actual reason behind doing what you do. By applying this practice, he has become more mindful and can set purer and purer intentions as time passes.

Immersive Experiences

Jay Shetty dedicates as many as two hours every day to practicing meditation. It is a habit he has maintained from the time when he used to live as a monk. It helps him clear his intentions and provides him with guidance.

He also goes on a yearly trip to an ashram, where he completely switches off from the modern world. There, he immerses himself in the monk life and focuses on finding his center.

In our hectic world today, spending ten minutes a day meditating seems manageable, but finding the time for more becomes challenging. Yet Jay Shetty strongly recommends going on a retreat occasionally and immersing yourself in the experience.

He compared meditation to dating. Finding out if the other person is right for you takes more than ten minutes daily. You must also spend uninterrupted time together, such as on a weekend getaway, to understand if you are a good match. This mentality applies to spirituality, as well. As Jay Shetty told Lakhiani, "The more you immerse yourself, the more you get an experience that stays with you, the more you can live with that experience and keep going back to it for ten minutes a day."

Spirituality

Jay Shetty believes every person is spiritual, though each person may have varying degrees of openness to exploring this side of themselves. . He compared it to sunshine. The sun is always there in the sky, but it sometimes gets covered up in clouds.

We often cover the spiritual side of our lives with mundane things And so Jay is convinced that part of people's journey towards a better version of themselves is unlearning what they have been taught. It is as essential to look inward to understand your meaning as it is to look outward and learn new skills.

Because we are constantly bombarded with distractions, it has become more and more challenging to find time to look within ourselves. Jay Shetty quoted a study that asked both men and women to sit either in silence for fifteen minutes or give themselves an electric shock.1 Interestingly, 60% of men and 30% of women chose the electric shock because they didn't know what to do with themselves for fifteen minutes.

Meditation is a tool for connecting to your spiritual side, but it is not the only way. Other practices Jay mentioned include journaling, introspection, and reflection, and relating to people on a deeper level.

Focus on Relationships

A good portion of Jay Shetty's content revolves around relationships. It is an unusual interest for a former monk, and Lakhiani wanted to know what sparked that curiosity in Jay.

Growing up, he had several unfulfilling relationships. Then, he found that after living a celibate lifestyle as a monk for three years, he was often asked relationship questions. So he started to reflect upon these questions and try to find answers based on his personal experiences.

Being married now, Jay Shetty constantly refines his marriage by employing introspection. He tries to understand why some things go well while others need improvement.

Jay explained that his process before sharing his content with the audience, is to verify his findings using a study from the modern world. Then, he looks into thousand-year-old pieces of wisdom that aligns with the study's conclusion. This way, he is able to ensure the advice he spreads into the world has a deep foundation.

A Monk in A Materialistic World

Jay Shetty received a question from the audience about how he could live in a materialistic world while being governed by deep spiritual values. He admitted that reaching this point is a journey.

When learning something new, we often make big decisions based on a small amount of information. However, as we go deeper into that particular topic, we understand better how our newfound knowledge can serve the people around us. Our true power resides in giving back to the community where we came from before acquiring knowledge.

As a rule, Jay Shetty helps others who want to be helped. However, when helping a drowning person, you must do so in a way that ensures you will not drown together. If you cannot do this, look for a lifeguard or someone who is better equipped to save them rather than risking your own life in the process.

To do this in a practical way,Jay Shetty explained that before trying to help someone, he first reflects on his own abilities and flaws. Then, he tailors his actions accordingly. Similar to helping a drowning person only if it is safe for you, Jay explained that he is able to lift people as long as he knows they won’t drag him down. This is his protection mechanism to survive a worldly environment as a deeply spiritual person.

Strategy For Good

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war." This is a thought that profoundly resonates with Jay Shetty. He is convinced that making a better world takes goodwill but also strategy.In his opinion, making the world a better place takes both intention and action. Because those who love chaos are highly meticulous about spreading it to the world, they have a well-detailed plan and act on it strategically.

Jay Shetty encouraged the audience to come together to create a strategy for good. But first, the change agents must organize themselves and strategically spread their knowledge, wisdom, and messages.

Inspiring Others

When we start a spiritual journey, it may feel lonely. Family members and close friends might stay the same, while we are working to transform ourselves. As we go on this journey, it is crucial to be kind and understanding to those who aren’t doing the same.

Everybody has a different timeline and different triggers. People around us will only be impressed by how much we learn once they see the changes that occur in our lives. Therefore, Jay Shetty believes setting an example is more powerful than trying to coerce others to go through the same transformation as you.

Moreover, people rarely see family members as mentors. For this reason, a good strategy is to introduce those who are interested in changing and growing to those who have the power to inspire them. Jay Shetty's advice is to guide, not force people, onto a transformational path. Be patient with them and understand that change takes time.

Touch As Many Lives As Possible

When asked by Lakhiani about his plans for the future, Jay Shetty explained he wanted to spread his message to as many people as possible. A study showed that the wealthiest, healthiest, and wisest people often choose education over entertainment. Alternatively, the least affluent, healthy, and savvy often choose entertainment over education.

To bridge this gap and share his wisdom with everyone, Jay is constantly working on finding new ways to reach people across the spectrum. So, he is creating entertaining content that has an educational message inside. He told Lakhiani, "I made it my mission in life to build entertainment-first content with an educational heart."

More From Jay Shetty

Listen to the entire On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast episode on “#1 Daily Habit To Transform Your Life & How To Set Intentions That Actually Work” now in the iTunes store or on Spotify. For more inspirational stories and messages like this, check out Jay’s website at jayshetty.me.

1Wilson TD, Reinhard DA, Westgate EC, Gilbert DT, Ellerbeck N, Hahn C, Brown CL, Shaked A. Social psychology. Just think: the challenges of the disengaged mind. Science. 2014 Jul 4;345(6192):75-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1250830. PMID: 24994650; PMCID: PMC4330241.