What does it mean to live with Intention and how do we apply it to Living Our Life to the Fullest?
Before we dive into the how-to section of this blog post, it’s important to take a closer look at what it means to be more intentional and live a more purposeful and meaningful life. When you know what you’re aiming for, it’s becomes easier to reach your goal.
Realizing what being intentional really means and what impact it can have on your life and that of your loved ones is also very motivating. This in turn will give you the energy and confidence to build new habits. Ready to dive in and take a look at what being intentional means and how it will help you lead a happier and more fulfilled life? Let’s get going…
Being Intentional Means Taking Control
When we live day to day without intention and purpose, we let life pass us by. Even worse, we let the things and people around us control us. When we start to become more intentional in what we do, we take back that control. We become the masters of our destiny again and it’s a very empowering feeling. It’s also one of the big reasons why living with intention increases self-confidence and happiness.
When you’re living more intentionally, you think about what you want to accomplish. For example, you decide that you want a closer and more loving relationship with your spouse. That’s going to take effort and work. You take control, put in the work and make it happen. This is how being intentional means taking control. You don’t just let life pass you by anymore or complain about how your husband isn’t as loving and caring as in years past anymore.
Being Intentional Means Planning Your Life
In addition to taking control, living with more intention also gives you a chance to plan your life. That’s a pretty big deal and it can have some huge consequences over the course of a lifetime. Let’s take being intentional about your finances from an early age as an example. If you know you want to be able to buy a nice house after starting a family, and have a decent nest egg by the time you retire, you can start to plan from the time you get your first pay check. By making that plan and consistently saving a portion of your income, you’ll get there. If on the other hand, you don’t live intentionally and don’t save part of your income, the money will be spent at the end of the month. Without planning, you won’t have money saved for a large down payment on a house and you will rely on social security instead of having enough saved to enjoy retirement.
Do you see how being intentional with finances and all sorts of other aspects of your life will benefit you both in the short term and the long run?
Being Intentional Means Defining And Living Within Your Values
Another interesting aspect of living with purpose is that it forces your, or at least encourages you to define your values. To live with purpose, you have to know what’s important to you. To do that, you have to know what you value most. If you’re not quite sure where to start on this journey of living with more purpose, start by thinking about your core values.
Then take a good look at each aspect of your life right now. Ask yourself if what you’re doing aligns with your core values. If it is, great. Do more of it. If it isn’t, it’s time to make some changes. Maybe one of your core values is to have a very active role in raising your children. If you’re currently working full-time, putting in lots of extra hours to further your career, this may encourage you to look into working less and spending more time at home while the children are little.
Being Intentional Means Living Your Live With Purpose
So often we get distracted from what we really want to do. Live is busy, time is short, but it’s also filled with things that distract us and take time away from us. How often have you sat down at your computer to pay some bills or look up an event in your town only to find yourself two hours later watching cat videos? It’s easy to get distracted when you’re not in the habit of living with purpose.
Once you make that shift, you become more intentional with everything you do. You have a purpose in mind and you get thing done. This helps you get a lot more productive, but it also means you end up with plenty of time on your hands to do things that are important to you … and to do them with purpose.
Being Intentional Means Making Good Choices
Another big benefit of living with purpose and being intentional is that you tend to make good choices. You don’t take action based on a gut jerk reaction. Instead, when you are being intentional and living life to the fullest, you tend to think things through and decide if the outcome is what you want. This in turn leads to making good choices. To illustrate, let’s go back to the financial example we used earlier in this chapter. If you know you want to save for a down payment on a new house, and you come across a cute, but clearly overpriced pair of shoes, you will be able to walk away (without the shoes… just to be clear). Living with purpose and intention allows you to delay instant gratification and make the right choice for yourself in the long run. Sure, that pair of shoes would be nice to own, but being able to buy the house of your dreams is a whole lot nicer.