Awareness and Focus

You may have heard that it's important to live intentionally. But what does that mean? How can we tell the difference between living with intention and simply living?

The difference lies in two basic qualities of existence: awareness and focus.

When we live intentionally, we approach every day with purpose and meaning. We are present in the moment and we make choices that align with our values.

Authenticity Takes Work

While this may all sound straightforward, it takes lots of dedicated work. In order to be authentic, we have to put serious energy into learning who we really are. The end result is that we are able to live an authentic life that is meaningful. Anything less is unsatisfying.

4 Steps Towards an Intentional Life

Here are some practical steps for moving towards living your life intentionally:

1. Get clear on your values and what you want in life. Take the time to examine what you care about the most. This helps you uncover your core values and life goals. Write them down and look at them often.
2. Identify your priorities and focus on what is most important to you. The hardest thing in life is the choices we all must make. Every day, we choose how we will spend our time. But once you understand your values and life goals, it's easy to find your priorities.
3. Make a plan for how you want to live each day. Values, goals, and priorities remain nothing more than ideas... until we turn them into actions. Each day, each week, each month, each year plan to move towards what matters the most to you.
4. Set boundaries and make time for what matters. Once you start living authentically with clear intention, you will soon find other interests nudging you away from your goals. Many things show up in our lives that are interesting. Fewer are essential. An intentional life focuses on things that are essential. In order to do that, we need to set boundaries, even with the people we hold dearest. We need to make time for what matters.

Why Good Intentions Aren't Enough

Most people have good intentions. Yet, everyone does not live intentionally. It's about taking aspirations and turning them into actions.

John C. Maxwell in his book called "Intentional Living" gives us some guidelines for recognizing the difference between good intentions and intentional living:

Turning Intentions into Actions

Sally, one of my clients, used to be one of those people who just went through the motions. She would get out of bed, go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. She never stopped to think about what she was doing or why she was doing it.

But then one day, something changed. She contacted me because she was unsatisfied with her life. We talked openly about how little time each of us gets and she quickly saw why it is important to live intentionally.

She identified her values and decided these were the things most important to her: meaningful work, a fulfilling relationship with her life partner, time alone to learn more about herself, and the opportunity to travel. She has since committed to all of these things and is living a life with intention.

If you were to ask her now, she would tell you her biggest accomplishment has been having the courage to live a life true to herself, not the life others expected of her.

Call to Action

Over the next week, explore your values and life goals. Then identify your priorities and make a plan for how you want to live each day.

As John C. Maxwell says, "Nobody finishes well by accident."

Your Friends,
The UpCloseTeam