Have you ever thought about what it means to live intentionally?
We talk about “living intentionally” a lot!
But what does it really mean?
Today, I want to share with you what I know about living intentionally, from my experience personally and from coaching clients as a Life Coach.
Let get started…
"What Does Living With Intention Mean?"
Living intentionally means you decide ahead of time how you want to live your life. It’s really all about goal setting and decision making. It’s choosing to take your life into your hands.
Instead of life happening to you your life is happening for you.
It involves long term vision planning, short term goal setting, and choosing daily habits that set you up for long term success.
Living with intention doesn’t mean you live the perfect life.
It doesn’t mean you never have problems.
Life is always “50-50.” 50% of the time it’s amazing. 50% of the time it’s hard. 50 good. 50 bad.
That’s what we sign up for.
It’s going to be hard and that’s okay. You can do hard things.
I like to think of living with intention like playing a card game. You can’t choose the hand you’re dealt, but you can choose how you play your hand. Living intentionally is learning how to choose what game to play and how to play your hand in that game.
I’ve done this in my life. I changed the games I’ve played (I quit practicing law, then quit working as a CFP), and I’ve learned how to play the hand I’ve been dealt (even in my dream career as a Life Coach I still experience a lot of problems).
Because I live intentionally, I have the tools to solve my problems. I know in advance where I’m going. I turn my problems into strategies.
And really that’s just the beginning. Living intentionally can flip your life upside down. It can take you from struggling to succeeding, from overworked to thriving, and from apathetic to exhilarated.
It’s truly a life changer.
So, now that I’ve convinced you how important it is, I want to show you how to do it.
How To Live With Intention
There are 7 main areas I recommend you live with intention.
1. Managing Your Mindset
Most people don’t even know that they can choose their thoughts.
Your thoughts are always 100% optional. And your thoughts create your results. So if you want to create a different life, you have to think differently.
This is the power of self coaching and life coaching. You learn how to rewire your brain, so you change who you are. Then the results follow.
When you choose those thoughts and choose to believe in them, you’re able to choose the life you want.
2. Set Impossible Goals
Setting impossible goals means that you set goals so big they’re currently impossible based on who you are right now.
And yet, through the process of transformation, you can make them happen.
It’s fun and also kinda of wild.
I feel like I’ve lived many different lives and have had multiple identities through this process.
3. Manage Your Emotions
You have the ability to manage your emotions.
We tend to want to feel happy all of the time. When we feel negative emotions, a lot of the time we feel like something is wrong.
The truth is, there is nothing wrong. It’s okay to feel any feeling.
You can also change what you’re feeling. It’s amazing. Figure out the thought that’s causing you to feel the way you do. Then decide if you actually want to feel that emotion. You can change the thoughts that are causing you to feel that way.
Managing your emotions is such a powerful tool. You can use it to change how you feel and pursue a levelled up life.
4. Take Massive Action
Taking massive action is the fourth step. It means taking enough action until you get the result.
Massive action is all about commitment and not letting anything stop you. It’s when you’re focused on creating new business or programs or whatever it is you want to create.
When something sets you back in the process, you never let it stop you. You work with the failures and turn them into different results.
You’re not just consuming new information and learning. You’re using the knowledge and turning it into output and progress. Massive action is when you always keep moving.
5. Become A Fast Decision Maker
Your ability to decide and choose matters.
It’s a skill you can get really good at, too.
The key is to not let fear stop you.
If you don’t start making decisions quickly, you can become stuck. You’re going to look back and realise you haven’t made a lot of progress.
Even if you mess up, you can just make a new decision. It’s all about continuing on no matter what.
6. Master Time Management And Planning
Time management is all about planning ahead. It’s putting your goals on your calendar in advance.
Find activities, people, or goals that you value most and make them priorities. Eliminate whatever it is that you don’t need to be doing.
It’s all about being intentional with the things you want most.
When you plan ahead and you follow through, you are creating results.
7. Implement Daily Habits
Finally, you want to implement daily habits.
Choose habits that are setting you up for success. Success can look different for everyone.
Your daily habits should line up with your long term goals. It’s also important to make habits of things things that will keep you healthy physically and mentally. Make sure that the habits you are doing on a daily basis, are setting future you up.
Make sure you have core habits that are aligned with the best version of you.
A Final Note!
Life can be hard. But you can choose to make it easier for yourself. You can level up your future. You can make decisions that set you up for success.
Design your dream life and live intentionally to become who you want to be.
