3 Ways To A More Intentional Life

I’ve been making some pretty big changes with how I live my life lately.  I decided to change my perspective through self-examination and see myself as being my best self.  During my internal journey, I realized that I was a shrinker. I was not living up to my full potential, so I gave myself permission to shine.  You know the moment that you recognize your potential and decide to go for it rather than playing small…that’s what I did.

Today I want to look at intentional living.  Living intentionally means something different for each individual.  Being intentional means I live a fulfilling life that I am actively engaged in every day. 

 

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By deciding how we are going to think and what we will do when facing the many choices everyday about our faith, family, health and financial future – starts us on our journey to live intentional.  For me, an example of intentional living concerning my faith is found in Ephesians 5:10, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” (KVJ) I want to be intentional about pleasing God, and doing that will change other areas of my life.

Intentional living means knowing your WHY

I read a book by Suzanne Evans titled The Way You Do Anything Is the Way You Do Everything about a year ago.  While the books help you to understand the WHY of why your business isn’t making more money…it is also a fast track to fixing you.  I mention the book because the title of the book is an illustration of intentional living. 

I love the quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”  Living an intentional life is about knowing why you do what you do. And the why will always impact the way.  When you know your why, the way you do things will change. 

 

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Intentional living means accepting your IMPERFECTIONS

No one is perfect…not even me” is what I tell myself daily.  Living intentional means to strive to grow while accepting your perfectly imperfect self.  Our imperfections are what make us unique. Yes, they are the flaws of our humanity known as differences. 

Surround yourself with other moms or women that will encourage you to love yourself just the way you are or help you work on those imperfections – one at a time that cause you the greatest amount of grief. Brené Brown is the author of the New York Times Bestseller The Gifts of Imperfection says it this way, “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”

 

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Intentional living means practicing being MINDFUL

Determine what you want your life to communicate and then be good at it.  Living intentional means to be mindful and present in the moment.   Being mindful is an awareness of thoughts, feelings and emotions.  It involves slowing down and accepting whatever that comes into your awareness.  I have started to pay more attention to my moments and enjoy them.  I settle my mind around where I am and what I am doing….and I enjoy it.  

 

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Practicing mindfulness could mean rising early for morning mediations, walking in the park, or it could be as simple as turning off all electronics during dinner or a period of time during the day.  Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts and he said, “Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experiences.”  The more you practice being mindful, the more you will understand how your feelings or thoughts affect and influence each other and the way you show up in your life.

Living intentionally means that you are able to see what others are doing, celebrate them and then do what is best for you and your family without influence.  Before every action, take a moment to determine if what you are doing is aligned with the life you want.  This is critically important because if we aren’t careful and mindful, we can find ourselves doing things that does not serve our purpose and growing frustrated as time goes on. 

Are you ready to live intentionally? Living intentionally gives you permission to make time for the things that are truly important to you. How will you live intentionally?

 

[latoyia]

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