It doesn’t take effort to drift; it happens naturally.

I was reminded of this during a family beach trip. While I don’t particularly enjoy going into the ocean, it’s an obligation for any dad. One afternoon, we spent a good amount of time in the water playing and laughing while the waves rolled in.

After a while, I heard my wife call my name. When I looked up, she made me realize how far we had drifted from where we first walked in. No one was trying to move. No one decided to relocate. But the current had quietly pulled us down the shoreline.

Life works the same way.

You don’t drift into something great. You don’t accidentally drift into a strong marriage. You don’t drift into a jacked body. You don’t drift into high performance. You don’t drift into a promotion.

But people drift into the opposite all the time. They drift into average. They drift into complacency. They drift into bad habits.

Drifting rarely feels dramatic in the moment. It is small and often goes unnoticed. But over time, the drift compounds.

The hard truth is simple. If you are not intentional, you will drift. If you are not intentional, the current of life will quietly pull you somewhere you never meant to go.

The good news is that intention works the same way. A small intentional decision, repeated consistently, can completely change your future.

Recently, in an Accelerate Leadership workshop, a woman named Kim shared a great idea to help herself stay intentional. She decided to place a small sticky note on her computer that simply said “IK.” It was her reminder to be “Intentional Kim.”

Maybe a sticky note is all you need to stay intentional. Or maybe you need someone standing on the shore reminding you that you are drifting.

Either way, if you are not intentional, you will drift.

P.S. The Optimistic Outlook is a Podcast! Leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts would mean a lot.