As we think about anything we desire to do, to be, to achieve, we begin with intention. What is it that we want to do? Who is it that we want to be? It is often said that if we don’t know where we are going, we will not know when we get there. I believe that applies to so many things in life. Whether it is relationships or leadership, we have to decide what our goal is, what we want the outcome to be.

Powerful leadership, transformed leadership, full heart leadership begins with this intention setting. Rather than merely moving through our daily life and daily work, we have the ability—and perhaps even the obligation—to decide how we want to proceed. We can decide how we want to be perceived as well as the impact we want to have. There are no right or wrong answers, but there are answers for each of us as individuals.

Leading with a full heart is leadership with out eyes open, it is setting our intentions for ourselves and for our work. It can be as profound as thoughts on what our legacy could be, what lasting contribution we want to make to the larger world. It can be as simple as what we want to achieve this week or how we want to work with, and respond to, other people. Your goals and desires are, as they should be, as unique as you are.

What your future is, what period of time you are focused on, is your snowflake—like no one else’s and one that only you can choose. It is not set in stone, it is not mandated by anyone else. It is all you and only you, a product of your unique choices.

Whether you commit your intentions to paper or your phone screen or just hold them in your mind does not really matter. What does matter is that you give them the attention that they both need and observe. You breathe life into your desires by holding them in your thoughts and bringing your energy to them. And you breathe life into them with the most basic tool of all—your breath.

You may know the term “pranayama,” used in yoga to refer to the expansion of the life force, “prana” being breath and “Yama” energy. Bringing our attention to our breath can help us to, indeed, to open ourselves and our hearts to all that we want to focus on and accomplish.

Take a moment in your day to stop and focus on your breathing. Find a quiet space for your body and your mind. Close your eyes and just listen to the sound of your breath. Feel the power of the air as it flows through you and let yourself breathe deeply, letting your chest rise and fall. Think about what you need to move towards your intention and breathe that in and think about what stands in your way and let that be what you exhale. Breathe in creativity and breathe out self doubt. Breathe in openness and breathe out fear. Breathe in the future and breathe out obstacles. Just breathe.