Three Ways To Live A More Intentional Life Now

Our current situation is unprecedented. Many of us are in a world like we have never know before. Who could have ever imagined we would be primarily working from home and wearing masks every day since March?!?

Chaos can give you an opportunity to make big changes in your life. Most of us want to be the best we can be, but we struggle to determine how we will make it happen. We have obligations and expectations to live up to within ourselves and others. We think that we want a better life, but we get stuck in our own limiting beliefs and the expectations of others, especially our friends and family.

I want to give you permission to be a little more selfish with your goals.

I get it, I was raised that if I thought about myself in any way I was selfish. I grew up in the South, with parents being outsiders. They were from the North and from meager upbringings. They worker super hard and became upper middle class through their determination. I loved their drive and how they were more “real” than other parents, but I did always feel out of place.

My parents wanted me to be a good person. But they didn’t realize how much I was a people pleaser and took their words 100% to heart. They always wanted me to do something with my life because they thought I was capable, they wanted me to be happy but to use my gifts for the benefit to all.

Eventually I realized that and am now focused on using my gifts for the greater good. One of the things you realize when you focus on it, is that people always do the best they can with what they have. My kid will do the same and she will influence her kid(s) to level up as well.

So to try and help you level up, I want to share three ways you can start living an intentional life now.

1. Re-evaluate your life - When you think about your life right now, are you happy? Are you focusing on your goals? The ones that light you up and make you excited to start every day? If you are going through the motions and hate your day to day, it’s time to make a change. We have one life to live and we owe it to ourselves to live it to our highest good. If something is cause you a ton of anguish, change it. I decided to quit my high paying corporate job because I knew I was meant for more. People thought I was crazy! But I knew it was the right thing for me. You are the only one who can determine what will make you happy.

2. Bring in more joy - What makes you joyful? What do you love to do? For me it was freedom, reading hanging out with friends/family and traveling. So I had to determine ways to fit more of it into my life. The biggest step was quitting my job and doing a few PT/Flexible roles to give myself freedom to schedule my day.

   Instead of watching reruns on TV, I read. In the car, most times I listen to an audio book. For travel, I got two credit cards that give me points so I have enough to get free flights and companion tickets. I also refrain from buying other things because I know I’d rather spend it on vacation. Determine what makes YOU happy and stop wasting time on the other stuff and please, please don’t care about what anyone else thinks!

3. Get after it - Once you know what you want out of life, you need to take action. There is no other way to ensure success. Simply wishing for things to happen, just isn’t reality. You need to take consistent action every single day to move closer toward your goals. It doesn’t have to be some crazy action. Small changes over time add up. Start small. What is one thing you can commit to every day that will bring you closer to the life you want? Do something that you can commit to over time and increase one day. In my opinion it’s better to start with something small and then increase over time. Consistency is such a great predictor to success.

The bottom line is, you are going to be immensely happier if you start living your life more intentionally. When you focus on you values and beliefs and start aligning your life with them, you will be happier immediately. It’s going to be different for everyone. So get super clear on what you want and stay committed to making it happen!