Choosing to live life with an attitude of intentionality

In my article 5 Key Principles for Intentional Living , I listed Attitude of intentionality as the first principle. This article dives deep into the principle of intentionality and shows you why this is important and what it takes to have an attitude of intentionality.

“Don’t just drift through life. Live intentionally and on purpose.” - Joshua Becker

Do you ever wonder if you are living someone else’s idea of a good life?

Do you worry life is passing you by?

Do you approach your life with intentionality?

Do you approach your career with intentionality?

What you do in your spare time – is that done with intentionality?

I believe we get to create our own lives. We get to live according to our own values and rules. We get to call the shots. It is with this attitude of intentionality that will get us where we want to be. To live our own lives by our own rules.

Attitude of intentionality is a key principle for intentional living

This article introduces this principle. It shows you why this intentionality is important and what it takes to have an attitude of intentionality.

Life choices

From a young age, I knew I wanted to live an unconventional and intentional life. I knew I had choices. After graduating from college, I chose to take 5 months off to travel and have some adventures before starting a full-time job. Soon after starting my full-time job, it wasn’t long before I chose to make it a part-time job. I knew I didn’t want my life to be totally focused on work. I loved to learn new things, to write, and to hike, and I needed the time to do those things. I asked my boss if I could work 35 hours a week and he agreed. For many of the 20 plus years that I worked for others, my schedule was less than 40 hours.

If I wasn’t so in touch with how important those other areas of my life were, I wouldn’t have thought to ask for a part-time schedule.

I have had a long-time dream of being a writer. Having time to write is important to me. That’s why seven years ago, I intentionally made and put into action a plan to be able to quit my job so I could live a writer’s life. A year ago, I was able to put in my notice and now I'm living this new life I created. For me, to write is to live.

Understanding what is most important to you

One key to living an intentional life is to understand yourself, what you value in life, and what is most important to you.

Once you know what is most important to you, you must fight for those things (be intentional). For example, making sure you have the time to spend on those important things. This takes assertiveness. It also takes having an attitude that you will find a way no matter what to align your actions toward what is most important to you. In a nutshell, it takes an attitude of intentionality.

It is easy to be swept away by life as we hurtle around the sun year after year. If we don’t assert ourselves and design our lives around what is important to us, we will let ourselves get swept away. The worst thing is for us to regret our life. When I look back on my life as I near the end of my time, I want to be satisfied that I lived the life I wanted.

Design your life according to what is most important to you

Everything you do is a choice. And aligning those choices with what is important to you, will lead you to designing your best life.

How do you get to a place where you know exactly the life you want for yourself? You need to take time out of your busy life to reflect. Pick a weekend and set aside some time with a notebook or journal. My free guide 8 Steps to Designing Your Dream life has step by step guidance for identifying your values and the most important areas of your life.

Once you know what you want, start being true to that by being mindful in everything you do. By having intentionality in everything you do. Choose to spend time doing the things that are meaningful to you and pursuing what you are passionate about.

In what ways do you already live with intentionality?

What areas of life are you already living with an attitude of intentionality?

Next Steps for intentionality

Now that you get it. Now that you understand the path to living your own life is with an attitude of intentionality, the next step is to read my article How to create your personal strategic plan and align your actions toward what is most important to you. This article will teach you more about how to align your actions with your values and what’s really important to you.

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