Many people go about their day on autopilot. They don’t stop to check their feelings and intentions; they simply act without much thought. While routine is beneficial in many ways, it also contributes to the neglect of intentional living.
There is no inspiration nor any creativity in automatic living. Those who don’t pause to think about why they do the things they do may end up not living the life they truly want. They possibly may not have the career they want or the lifestyle they want. And if they never question it, their life experience might never change.
Read on to learn more about what intentional living means and how you can be intentional every day.
Living intentionally essentially means being mindful of the choices you make and the reasons why you make them. You live intentionally by sensibly considering your choices and making sure those choices are moving you in the direction you want to go in life. You want to make decisions and do things that add value to your existence and support your dreams and visions of the life you want.
And this will look different from person to person. Some may emphasize values and authenticity, while others may place greater importance on professional and financial accomplishments, and others might choose living true to themselves and following their joy rather than living for other people.
Intentional living can be applied to any area of your life. This includes your career, personal and romantic life, your financial state, and more. It’s best to be intentional about all areas of life in order to make choices that truly reflect who you are and lead you in the direction you want to go.
Living your life with clarity and intention has many benefits on your health and overall life satisfaction. Not only will you have greater freedom to make decisions that reflect your goals, but you will also be more confident in making those decisions and sticking with them.
Being mindful of your desires for your life presents a number of options. You’re no longer simply choosing the automatic default answer but looking towards other paths and truly thinking about what you want. There may be options for you that you aren’t even aware of.
The ability to look at all the paths for your life and choose the one you like most will bring you a greater sense of joy and excitement towards all that life offers. You’ll feel more optimistic about the future and have a stronger sense of belief in yourself.
This can be incredibly empowering. You can design the life you want.
You become the writer of your own story instead of a character in the book of your life. Taking a close look at your values and what’s most important to you will bring you into alignment with your true life’s purpose.Taking ownership of your values and purpose will increase your confidence and enable you to make decisions that are more in tune with who you are.
At the base, you must realize that your life is made up of choices. Every new day brings with it new opportunities, and your decisions, actions, and attitude ultimately all impact your future. If your life is a product of your choices, why not start paying more attention to your everyday decisions and actions?
In order to determine the right course for your life, you must examine yourself and determine your core values. These are the things that are most important to you. You need to know how you are and understand your desires, passions, abilities, weaknesses, and fears. Ask yourself why you do the things you do and why you think you want the things you think you want. You may prioritize some of the following over others: career, family, friends, love, money, success, health and wellness, creative pursuits, religion/spirituality…
Create a list of possibilities and a vision for your life. Identify what you want to stand for, and how you want to contribute. Try to find your “Why”, something that will bring meaning and joy to your life. A passion to live for that’s larger than you. Sometimes you don’t know what is possible until you sit down and make a list. Closely examine your core values to determine what is most important to you. Then, run through the many life paths that are open to you.
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to stay on any one path, no matter how long you’ve been walking down that path. Opportunities can spring up out of nowhere and take you to new, unimaginable places. But first, you must recognize all the choices you have.
Set goals for who you want to be and the things you’d like to accomplish in life. Setting goals that are in line with your purpose will help keep you on track. Every morning, set intentions for the day for who you want to be, who you want to show up as. How patient and kind you want to be, how much support and love you want to give. What you would like to accomplish today, this week, this quarter, this year? Setting intentions serves as a roadmap for how to live out each day so you may attain your goals and become the person you truly want to be. Learn to turn off the distraction around you and focus on living your life and your goals instead.
Every single person on this planet has a different set of values and intentions. Just because one person thinks life should be lived a certain way doesn’t mean you have to agree. You must let go of other people’s opinions and place importance on your own, on what truly matters to you. Only you know what kind of life will give you meaning and satisfaction.
Invest your time in things that are most important to you and that reflect your values and goals. Don’t put all your time into working towards things you don’t really care about. For example: You might want to ask yourself why you’re working 65-hour weeks. Is that a must? How is that fulfilling you? What’ your end goal? What other aspect of your life you might be neglecting in order to be able to put in all these hours at work?…
Declutter. Clear out your physical and mental environments. Decluttering your space can lead to room for growth and more opportunities. This doesn’t just mean getting rid of things in your home, but also looking at your professional life, people around you, habits that no longer serve you and replacing them with new ones that will support the changes you’re seeking to make in your life.
Surround yourself with friends and family that support your dreams. Keeping people in your life that are not supportive will only bring you down and cause you unnecessary stress. On the other hand, surrounding yourself with support will help motivate and push you towards going after your goals and living true to yourself. It is said that you are the sum of the people you surround yourself with. Choose wisely. Have around you people who are going to lift you higher, people who are positive and have healthy habits.
It is very helpful to be organized when living intentionally. You can create rituals, to-do lists, or organize your day by time frame. This helps to be mindful about the time and not let it trickle away into meaningless tasks. You can also make simple changes to your environment so that it supports the new lifestyle you want to adopt. For example, getting rid of all unhealthy foods in the house so that when you get that late night craving and your willpower is all depleted, the only snack options available to you are the healthy ones you have on hand.
It can be scary to acknowledge there are more options for us than the life we are currently living. You have to become comfortable with change and let go of things that no longer carry much meaning. This will help you embrace transformation and fill your life with things that bring you joy. Further, there is so much in life that we cannot control; an adaptable mindset is key. Flexibility is one of the most important traits one can have.
Intentional living takes practice. It’s not something that just happens overnight. You must learn to stay mindful and continue to work at understanding your values and making choices that reflect what you want. Always ask yourself “Why”. Consider the “Why” behind the decisions you make and avoid acting in a mechanical way.
Remember that you have a say in creating the life you want. Your decisions dictate the direction of your life. Remember that inaction is also a decision. The possibilities are endless. No path leads to a dead end. It is entirely up to you to decide what to do from this point on. While it is true that we cannot always control everything that happens to us in life, we can control how we choose to respond, and how we respond matters. This can make the greatest difference in the outcome. By living intentionally, you can create a life you truly love.
Many people go about their day on autopilot. They don’t stop to check their feelings and intentions; they simply act without much thought.
By Kapha Living
0 Comments
