The Power of Intentions – Part Two: The Physics — by Elazar Aslan
By Elazar Aslan
She was a senior executive at a Fortune 50 company. Smart, accomplished, disciplined, and accustomed to getting results. Yet there was one challenge she could never quite overcome: losing weight.
Her reasons were compelling: better health, more energy for her family, greater self-confidence, and career advancement. She had tried everything—diets, exercise programs, personal trainers, even surgery. Each time she enjoyed some initial success, only to sabotage her progress and regain the weight.
How could someone so disciplined and successful repeatedly fail at something she genuinely wanted?
We began, as I often do, by examining her intentions. I use the ocean as a metaphor: intentions on the surface, beneath the surface, and on the ocean floor.
On the surface were her familiar reasons for losing weight. Beneath the surface were questions about her states of mind, attitudes, assumptions and interpretations.
But on the ocean floor, we discovered something unexpected.
As a younger, thinner woman, her experiences had taught her that being attractive did not always mean being safe. Unwanted attention had created a protective intention that remained with her long after those experiences.
She genuinely wanted to lose weight. She also genuinely wanted to stay safe.
Two powerful intentions pulling in opposite directions.
For years, she had been trying to overcome one intention by putting more effort into the other. More discipline, more determination, more willpower. But the problem was never a lack of effort.
By bringing her hidden intention into awareness, she could finally acknowledge its protective purpose and recognize that being thinner did not have to mean being less safe. For the first time, she could bring her intentions into alignment.
What had appeared to be a failure of willpower was actually a conflict of intentions.
Think of two balls colliding on a pool table. Each has its own speed and direction. In physics, these are represented by vectors. When forces move in the same direction, they reinforce one another. When they oppose one another, their effects diminish or can even cancel out.
Our intentions work much the same way.
We can devote enormous energy to achieving something, yet make remarkably little progress because another intention is pulling us in the opposite direction. The harder we push, the more frustrated we become, unaware of the opposing force we are creating within ourselves.
This is why clarifying intentions matters so much. We need to look beneath the surface, sometimes even to the ocean floor, to uncover what is truly driving us. Only then can we resolve the conflicts and bring our intentions into alignment.
When our intentions work against one another, effort is wasted. When they work together, the same effort can produce extraordinary results.
Before trying harder, clarify and align your intentions and let the rest reveal itself.
Read all five parts of Intentions and add this powerful tool to your toolkit
Questions this Key Learning answers
Why do I sabotage progress on a goal I genuinely want?
The author suggests that repeated setbacks may reflect conflicting intentions rather than weak discipline. One intention may pursue health, confidence, or advancement, while another protects safety, belonging, or emotional stability. Our analysis describes this as competing goals: both can be sincere, but progress remains limited until the feared cost is recognized and addressed.
How do I uncover a hidden intention blocking my progress?
The author recommends looking beneath stated reasons and examining states of mind, attitudes, assumptions, and interpretations. At the deepest level, the key question is what valued outcome the current behavior may be protecting. Bringing that protective intention into awareness makes it possible to acknowledge its purpose and find a path that aligns it with the stated goal.
Should I try harder when discipline keeps producing the same setback?
Not before clarifying the intentions involved. The author’s story shows that more determination and willpower can waste energy when another intention pulls in the opposite direction. Our analysis treats repeated reversal as information about a competing goal, not automatic evidence of weak character. When intentions align, the same effort can produce more progress.