How making a vow-consciously setting an intention-can be a powerful tool for achieving all sort of goals, from the author of the best-selling Mindful Eating.

Making a vow is a powerful mindfulness practice-and all you have to do to tap into that power is set your intention consciously. A vow can be as
small as the aspiration to smile at someone at least once every day, or as big as marriage; as personal as deciding to be mindful when picking up the phone or as universal as vowing to save all sentient beings. It can be deeply spiritual, utterly ordinary, or both. Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays looks to traditional Buddhist teachings to show the power of vows-and then applies that teaching broadly to the many vows we make. She shows that if we work with vows consciously, they set us in the direction of achieving our goals, both temporal and spiritual.