To be intentional means always having a why or reason for your decisions and actions. Living this way helps create space for growth and peace in your everyday life. Intentional living can help inspire you, improve relationships, and create clarity.
There was a time in my life where I would always wonder why things never worked in my favor. I couldn’t understand why friendships would end, promotions didn’t come, or why I just seemed to be stagnant. Then I discovered ways to manifest these things by being intentional.
I began to make intentional decisions towards achieving these things. I made the conscious effort to communicate better and build friendships, I did my best work at my job with the intentions of receiving a raise, and I even took the steps towards applying to grad school.
Now, almost a year later, I’ve received two promotions, I have a growing network and circle of friends, and I’m starting graduate school this summer. It took a bit of self-reflection, and lifestyle changes to manifest these things. However, I’m now living the most positive life I have in years and it all began with the decision to be more intentional in my daily life.
If you seek to be more intentional always remember to ask yourself: why? You don’t have to have everything figured out, and it’s not about being perfect. But, it’s a step in the right direction.
Here are a few essentials for beginning to be more intentional in your everyday life.
1. Take responsibility
We all know life is not perfect. There will be twists and turns. However, accepting this is a major part of being intentional. If you accept that life will not always turn out the way you plan, you can more easily adjust to the hiccups here and there. Make a choice to accept the unknown things that may come your way.
2. Make the decision daily
Intentional living is all about making the daily effort to live a life that is pleasing to you. This requires consciously making choices that will put you in the direction that you desire.
Ask yourself daily, “What am I doing to accomplish x, y, and z?”
Then, make choices based on achieving these things. Once you begin asking yourself why and making decisions based on this, you will begin to see a shift in your life.
3. Embrace the process
Intentional living is not a one step, overnight, fix-all choice. It is a continual process. This is a personal journey that you’ll have to embrace to see and feel results.
There isn’t a final destination or a finish line. It is all about making small improvements along the way and adjusting your way of thinking.
An intentional life will require you to become great at communicating with yourself and others. Once you begin to embrace self-reflection, making the small adjustments will become easy.
These are the first steps in living a life you love. Embrace the twists and turns, make the daily decision to live a life pleasing to you, and be in constant communication with yourself.
Know your why and make your decisions based on the values that are most important to you.
