Intentions, motivations, goals:
An off the cuff difference between intention and motivation is that intention is a course of action that one intends to follow, while motivation is the arousal of action by the giving of purpose. It’s a willingness to action.
Goals are specific, achievement focused, destinations. Goals aren’t actions, they are descriptive of a situation, a person arrives at their goal, they achieve a situation.
Intentions are lived each day and are independent of achieving the goal. (A person can have an intention without realizing a goal, but they could not realize a goal without the intention to do so.) Goals are external achievements. Intentions are about your relationship with yourself and to the world.
Goals are defined as the “state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve”. Goals are what a person wants to do, achieve, or become. …
Motivation is what arouses and sustains action toward a desired goal. It gives purpose and direction to behavior.
Zygote Blum 