How to put the intention to accomplish goals without suffering with the expectation?

One of the most famous teachings of the Buddha is that creating expectation generates suffering. It is enough to observe in your life, in the present moment, what you do not accept as it is and would like it to be different to feel this causing suffering. At the same time, we are bombarded with spontaneous thoughts every day of our lives, dreams arise and the intention for things to materialize.

If I have the intention, it's because there is already a potential in our life for that to manifest. If in our life there is no potential to become a doctor, for example, or a professional athlete, it is because it does not make sense within our abilities and what has the potential to manifest itself.

It is important to have self-knowledge of which intention brings greater fulfillment and, at the same time, best serves the context. In this way, the journey alone is a reason to continue regardless of the result. The way to free yourself from the expectation and suffering generated by it is to be fully on the journey in the present moment.

When we do things with true intent, results come in ways we couldn't have imagined at the start. The path is built and all the lessons we learned and that we internally consider successes or failures, simply contribute synchronously to that achievement.

Expectation breeds arrogance, that peacock who needs to prove himself and speak firmly, disdaining others with a false belief that things will be as he wants, is the “I know! The intention is “I only know that I know nothing”, it is the detachment of those who know that they can put as much energy as they want, but cannot control the result. The intention brings with it a leap of faith and the self-esteem of those who are doing their best and fulfilling their purpose.

Expectation = I want it to be my way and I suffer because it is not

Intention = I choose the journey I want to take and do my best

Not creating expectations doesn't mean not giving our best, on the contrary, it's giving our best regardless of having a result or not. There is an excerpt in Marianne Williamson's Course in Miracles that is extremely inspiring in this regard. Here is the reflection:

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is being as powerful as possible. It is our light and not our shadow that scares us the most. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, beautiful, talented and fabulous? In fact, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. You putting yourself in a small position does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people around you don't feel insecure. We are destined to shine, as children do. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is in everyone, not just in some of us, in everyone. When we let our light shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. As we free ourselves from our own fear, our presence automatically frees others.

Seeking our best version and fulfilling the intentions that are born in our hearts is to let life flow, it is to serve the field of loving consciousness in which we live. It's the result? “The result happens as a consequence of the internal qualities of the content and the field” (Hawkins, Truth vs. Falsehood)

If the intention exists, but the fact has not yet manifested, it is because you are not prepared, that is, you are developing the internal qualities necessary to reach that level. Be open to the challenges and learnings that will arise, sometimes more intensely and sometimes less, but there is certainly a way to go.