9 Ridiculous Easy Ways To Living An Intentional Life
Have you ever looked around you and ask, “How did I end up here?” Is it because you feel lost, uncomfortable, or just afraid. This happens to the best of us. Whether this is because you’ve made a few bad mistakes, or if it’s because you weren’t making decisions. This is where living an intentional life comes to play.
If you’re living an intentional life, everything you do is done with purpose. If you go to the grocery store it’s done on purpose. This is in no way the same as “knowing” (misconceptions about living an intentional lifestyle. ~ Intentional is not the same thing as knowing) every step you will take. It’s the difference between being confident in the steps you take vs hesitant.
Living an intentional lifestyle is simply showing up for yourself, ALL THE TIME! If you are interested in making your dreams, come true and living a happier life, try these 9 Ridiculous Easy Ways to Living an Intentional Life.
Stop Making Excuses
It’s easy to make an excuse, but it’s harder to act.
When you make excuses, you are hindering yourself from moving forward. It keeps you from trying, or taking necessary steps to get what you want in life. To live intentionally, you must quit making excuses.
Instead of thinking of reasons why you shouldn’t or can’t, try allowing yourself to see what it looks like if you said yes. A lot of time we have not because we make excuses as to why we shouldn’t or can’t.
You are capable of ANYTHING you’re willing to try and deserve anything you’re willing to have.
Be Accountable
Wanting something and making it happen are two different things. Wanting something is just sitting there waiting for the wind to blow it to you. Being intentional about it is simply making actionable steps to have it.
Being accountable is taking responsibility for the decisions you make. When you are building a habit to wake up at 6 am every morning, holding yourself accountable is doing it even when you don’t feel like. It can get tough sometimes to stick with things, but the result of your present is a reflection of your past.
Your life is a mirror of the steps you took up to now. Your dream life is not a fantasy and it’s not out of reach, you just need a plan and intentions to get you there. Remember you have all that you need to succeed.
It’ s about showing up for yourself, rewarding yourself, being disciplined, and not giving up or making excuses!
This is your life, own it!
Set Goals
An action plan = results. Excuses = stuck!
Carving out time to set goals is living intentional. Your goal goes from just an imagination to a possibility.
Setting goals is an important role in living intentional. Without setting goals, what are you aiming for, and if you’re not aiming where are you hitting? Are you happy with where you are, or is there somewhere you want to be?
The answer key is in your hands. It’s simply creating a target (aka a goal) and aiming to hit it. This is what intentional goal setting looks like.
When you write goals without a plan, it’s like riding a bike without wheels. You may get on the bike and be able to move in place, but you’re not actually moving anywhere. This could make you feel like dreams are impossible – which they are not. ALL things are possible, you just need to act.
Also realize I said “set” goals, not make them. By setting a goal, you are giving yourself a timeline to make it happen. This makes it more likely to come to pass. The goal will feel more realistic if you make it a reality.
Meaning if you just write your goals as a list, you will always see it as a task, not a desire or goal. If you don’t venture pass that step it will always be as far as you go.
You want to achieve your goals not crush them. To succeed, create an action plan and keep going.
Challenge Yourself
To get where you’ve never been you’re going to have to do what you never done!
Safe zone vs comfort zone. When I say get out of your comfort zone, I am referring to your “comfort/safe” zone. This is where you are familiar with your surroundings. You know that saying, “Better to be with the monster you know than the one you don’t” this a valid point in some cases, but most of the time it is an excuse not to move forward.
Sometimes we become afraid of the life we are not familiar with, so we would rather stay where we’re familiar. This is not intentional living. This is living out of fear.
If you want to reach heights you’ve never been to before you are going to have to reach a checkpoint of change. Change is not scary, it’s necessary. Change is unknown, and the unknown is scary.
This is where you will have to step outside your “safe zone”. It can be scary to try something new, but anything that you have never had is new. If you want to live an intentional life you must challenge yourself. It can be something as simple as journaling or changing your schedule to fit your new Pilates class. Just take one small step of change at a time.
A challenge is not always hard and unbearable. It can be just adding to or taking away. A challenge is just doing something outside of the norm to get where you are trying to go.
And before you know it, you are where you want to be, but have never been before!
Stop Letting the Wind Blow You
“If it is meant to be it will be”, This is a good mantra IF you are being intentional.
Have you ever been on a boat or in a car where no one is steering? Would you like to be?
When you are sitting there waiting for the wind to bring you the goals and dreams your desire, you will always be waiting. Not to mention this leads to feeling/living an unhappy lifestyle because you’re not been intentional about what you want.
People are not going to bring you the life you want to live, without you doing something to attract it. (Aka living with intentions).
Take charge and be confident about the life you are living. This is seeking opportunities to fulfill your life. If you want to be healthy, you will need to create a plan and add this to your routine somewhere.
Whether this going to a fitness class twice a week. You are no longer saying “Yeah maybe”. It’s “Heck yes I am going to do this because, in the end, I’m the only person who has to deal with my choices. The good and the bad.”
You will become the driver of your life. This is saying yes, or no, doing or not doing. Not controlling but living.
You have control in the way of choices. And yes, not choosing is a choice. A lot of time people don’t realize how much their lack of choices influences their lives, but it does. Not choosing is allowing someone or something else to decide for you. Is that what you want?
Only you know your deepest desires.
Be Honest with Yourself
How can you set goals if you’re not honest about your dreams?
Being honest with yourself is more than just allowing yourself to feel, see, hear, or think a certain thing. It’s admitting the truth to yourself. Living intentional is about being honest about you wants, needs, desires, goals, dreams etc. It’s intentionally taking steps that will lead to you reaching your goal.
It also means being honest with yourself so that you may hear which path/road you should take. How will you know if you’re on the best path if you’re not hearing yourself speak, and how can you hear yourself speak if you’re not listening.
Listening to your inner voice is another word for honesty. That is because it comes from within.
It can be nearly impossible to reach a goal if you’re not being honest about those goals. If you want to be a model for your favorite clothing brand, how can you if you’re running and/or hiding from that truth?
Everyone has an inner voice. By ignoring it, or pretending it’s not there, is not being honest with yourself. It serves a major role in living intentional. Honesty is the basis to a healthy relationship, so it is something you will want to have with yourself. With honesty you can hear YOUR inner voice speaks.
For example, if you want to learn a new language, completing this through intention is deciding to learn a language, picking a language to learn, and then add it into your routine. You can learn on your way to work or while cooking or cleaning your room.
Living intentional means showing up for yourself, and deciding to do because it’s for you, and you want it!
Change Your Tune
When your dreams come to you, your instinct will take over. You will use a fight or flight instincts to determine if you should accept this desire or get rid of it.
But where does that responds come from?
It’s a reaction to the things that have been said or done to you.
For example: if you wanted to be a singer or actor and you’ve expressed that one way or another and someone shut you down, when that desire pops into your head/heart, you will react in a fight or flight instinct because you want to be protected from being hurt.
So, when those thoughts come to you, you must be willing to correct them. Your inner voice vs the voice of critics. Not everything you hear is from you or a source of goodness. It can sometimes be the voice of people. (If you want it, accept it, admit it, and get intentional about it).
Your goals and dreams are for you. Others will have something to say about it, but that does not make it true. To reach these goals, you are going to have to change the tune of what you are hearing. Everyone words don’t deserve a place in your inside of you.
Choose what comes in and what does not. You must filter the words people say to you, because not everything is worth keeping. When you acknowledge what is being said and filtering it out or in, you are getting intentional about the voices you hear when you decide to step outside of your “familiar” zone.
Stop Saying No to Yourself
How do you feel when someone you love tells you “No” about something you really want?
It can be disappointing to be told no, right?
Well, imagine having your ideas and desires being shut down, or denied by YOU.
Have you ever thought that you being denied by the world is because you first denied yourself?
People help people who help themselves.
Are you telling yourself no? It’s easy to do when it’s something you have become accustomed to. Saying no can be doing any of the 9 things on this list. Like, making excuses for why you shouldn’t or couldn’t do something.
Your desires come to you like a child in the night, innocent, and craving support. It’s there to guide you to a life you want to live. However, it’s shut down due to the words or actions of others.
Remember we are not born knowing rejection, we learn it!
Did you know? A lot of the times that negative voice we hear inside of us isn’t ours to begin with. The negative talk is a bank of the things people have said to or around you.
How devastating will that be, listening to a voice that constantly make you feel low only to realize it was not your voice? It was the voice of your critics.
A lot of time that’s exactly like it is when we tell ourselves no. We deserve one cheerleader for our goals, yes?
That cheerleader starts with you!
Be Open for Change
When you are living an intentional life, you are going to experience change. This is normal and healthy. When you are making decisions and choosing to chase your dreams and goals you are going to see things from different angles and perspectives.
Don’t let this discourage you. Life is a journey, and change is a part of any journey.
Closing
To live an intentional life means you show up for yourself no matter what. It’s setting goals and challenging yourself to step out of what is familiar. It’s changing your tune, and not allowing the wind to blow you wherever, and it’s taking accountability for your life, no longer making excuses, and saying yes to yourself more. You have an inner compass to guide you, let’s get intentional! Sign-up for my newsletter and stay tuned.
For more information check these post…
- Friendships: 13 Simple Ways To Get Intentional
- 15 Simple Reasons Your Dreams Are Not Coming True
- 11 Simple Things You Should Be Doing Daily For Your Well-Being
- 9 Ridiculous Easy Ways To Living An Intentional Life
- What is Self-Discovery and 12 Simple Reasons It’s For You
Thanks, xoxo! As always remember whatever you want in life can be yours. Because it starts with you! Stay tuned, I look forward to sharing more tips and tricks on living an intentional lifestyle.
