The Intention Stack
Align every to-do up through goals to core values so motivation flows downward
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
Bailey models intention as a five-layer stack shaped like a funnel. At the bottom are present intentions (the to-do list, e.g. tie your shoelaces), which feed into plans (go for a run), which feed into goals (run a marathon), which feed into priorities (become ultra-fit), which sit under values (health, security, self-direction). The width of a layer is the time horizon over which you express it. The mechanism is vertical alignment: when a medium-term goal is connected to one of your strongest values, the value's motivational pull is inherited by the goal, so pursuing it feels like an extension of who you are. When a goal serves a value you don't hold — chasing six-pack abs for the value of 'face' you don't care about — you feel a headwind the entire way. Diagnosis and repair happen by tracing each goal up the stack to the value it serves.
Origin
Developed by productivity author Chris Bailey for his book 'Intentional' (originally titled 'Follow Through'), synthesizing academic goal-attainment research, Shalom Schwartz's values theory, and interviews with Buddhist monks on intentionality.
Core principles
- 01Every action is an intention expressed over a time horizon
- 02Goals and values are both intentions — one to do, one to be
- 03A goal aligned to a strong value feels effortless; a misaligned one fights you the whole way
- 04Motivation is not manufactured; it is inherited from the value a goal serves
How to run it
- 1
Draw the five layers
Sketch the stack: present intentions, plans, goals, priorities, values. Understand that each higher layer is broader and expressed over a longer time horizon.
Pro tip Keep it as a funnel — many small present intentions narrowing up to a few core values.
- 2
Name your top two values
From Schwartz's 12 fundamental values (self-direction, achievement, security, benevolence, pleasure, power, tradition, conformity, humility, universalism, stimulation, face), identify the two strongest for you.
Pro tip Search 'values Schwartz' on Google Scholar rather than trusting a corporate 100-word circle-the-page exercise.
Watch out Don't circle everything — the point is contrast, knowing which values are low for you matters as much as which are high.
- 3
Trace a goal up the stack
Take one live goal and follow it upward: which priority does it serve, and which value sits beneath that priority?
- 4
Test for alignment
If the goal lands on one of your top values, expect it to feel effortless. If it lands on a value you rank low, expect chronic resistance.
Pro tip The clearest sign a goal is value-aligned is that you already do it — aligned goals feel like an extension of who you are.
- 5
Realign or drop the orphans
Re-frame misaligned goals so the same actions serve a value you actually hold, or drop goals that cannot be honestly connected to one.
Watch out A goal you keep only because others expect it (unless you genuinely value conformity) will fight you indefinitely.
In the wild
A common fitness goal is 'six-pack abs by beach season' — an expression of the value of 'face,' how you appear to others. For someone who doesn't rank face highly, that goal generates a headwind the whole way. Traced up the stack, a better goal for a security-valuing person is 'build a cardiovascular system strong enough to play with my grandkids into old age.' The gym sessions may be identical, but now the goal inherits motivational pull from a value they actually hold.
→ The same actions feel effortless instead of forced, because the goal is anchored to a genuine value.
Common mistakes
Setting goals with no value underneath
A goal disconnected from any strong value has no motivational source, so it stalls no matter how disciplined you are.
Borrowing someone else's value
Pursuing a goal because it serves a value others hold (conformity, face) when you rank that value low produces guilt and resistance, not follow-through.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who follow through daily but keep a graveyard of abandoned bigger goals.
Not ideal for
Someone who wants a quick tactical fix rather than to examine what actually motivates them.
From the transcript
“This is something in the book that I call the intention stack... the width of one of our intentions is how long we express it…”
“When that is aligned with a value, that becomes far, far more motivating than a goal that isn't.”
From the episode
How to Wake Up Excited About Your Goals - Chris Bailey - #1077
Chris Bailey