Who am I and where the hell am I going is a question that is oh so familiar to me and I'm sure many other people. It seems to be the never-ending quest to find intentionality in life.
Often times we are so caught up in the constant cycle of worrying and fear of what is and what will be. The what ifs play over and over and over our head. It's like a dark cloud hovering filled with all of the maybes, self-sabotaging thoughts and cheating ourselves out of happiness in fear of things not playing out the way we think they should.
Or you experience the comparison game. You compare your life, work, family, finances, relationships (or lack there of) to others– especially in the world where social media makes everyone's life look picture perfect.
We fall victim of self-sabotage by taking the easy way out (not facing the circumstance) or deciding to not make a decision (which is actually making a decision) in fear of the uncertainty. But these same behaviors and ways of thinking makes us miss out on all the fulfilling possibilities.
I have found that through these experiences it has become essential to focus on being INTENTIONAL in the way that we live, interact with others and go forth on our journey of self discovery through life.
Well what does it mean to be intentional? By definition, it means you are purposeful in word and action. That you make thoughtful choices that assist with you living a life that is meaningful and fulfilling to you. Being intentional means that you choose everyday to actively interact and engage with your life as genuine, truthful and authentic as possible.
The journey to becoming intentional requires a shift in thinking, planning and action every day.
Here are a few tips I have found that makes the journey to living intentional feel more tangible.
Have and practice gratitude.
Say no to things that does not serve purpose for you or things that make you feel bad.
Meditate daily.
Embrace your imperfections by being gentle with yourself. You have overcome so many obstacles and traumas. You have battled things that most people will never know and for that you have scars that are still perfectly imperfect.
Hold yourself accountable for all of your actions. Stop making excuses for the way that you behave, for the way that you allow people to treat you or for the things that you choose to do.
Set goals for yourself and create timelines that are reasonable. It is great to set goals and push yourself to be the best version of yourself. However, it is best also to realize that is your own personal timeline, no one else's.
Highlight and remove distractions from your life. Whether that be family, friends, negative self-talk, ego, etc.
Manifest your life. Practice speaking aloud positive thoughts, affirmations and goals. You are what you think, live and practice. If you consistently think negative you lead your life into a self-fulfilling prophecy of negative things. If you consistently think positive you will create that for yourself.
Nurture relationships. If you love someone and they make you a better person, love them back. Be vulnerable, share your thoughts, fears, greatest accomplishments. For love is unconditional. Good relationships require attention and time. Something that is not guaranteed to anyone. Do not get caught mismanaging your relationships thinking you have time to fix the differences, marry that person, start a family, or just go on that date. Time is not promised and that person is not guaranteed to still be there if you are not intentional in loving them back (flaws and all).
Be truthful and honest to yourself and others. Live in your truth. Your truth is for you to own. Living a lie and living in a dark space do nothing but drain and deplete your well being and forces all of the good in your life to disappear. You cannot expect for others to be truthful to you if you cannot be true to yourself.
Live in your truth.
I believe that we all go through things in life that impacts us more than we know– some good, some bad and some indifferent. We experience some things that we can control and others we cannot. I believe that if we strive to take action in our life and not settle for the hand that we have been dealt, we can process, heal and grow to great depths.
Focusing on becoming intentional daily allows for us to make thoughtful choices and ultimately create a life that is meaningful and fulfilling; after all we only have one chance at this thing called life.
If you find that you are struggling to live an intentional life, schedule a FREE CONSULTATION today.