Human being  or human doing? A guide to intentional living (4 min read)

It is easy to get into a rut. We have all been there. It is even easier to get into a non engaged repetitive lifestyle, in short to be human being. A zombie if you like doing the same thing day in day out and not being particularly happy doing it. But what would it look like if you were living a life you loved? Wouldn’t it be great to wake up each day happy with you life, motivated and engaged. A human doing. Intentionally living and getting the most out of life.

This is not a pipe dream living this way, it is possible AND more importantly it is  thousands of people do this every day. Thousands of people live their lives intentionally. And so can you, if you want it. Intentional living is about learning how to make better decisions, so you’re happier and have fewer regrets.  It is choosing to live your life consciously and with purpose. Intentional living gives you the opportunity to step away from simply existing to designing your life. Empowering yourself to  choose and be who you want to be and do what you want to do.

Now do you want a piece of that? OF course you do. Everyone wants an intentional life. Not everyone creates it. Why? Well it’s because intentional living is the beyond the wishing on a star to make your dreams come true. (After all a star is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity, how is that supposed to help you with anything.) Remember the wisdom of the late Terry Pratchett,

“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”

The point being is that if you want to change your life then it’s up to one person you. And you alone. People can support you, guide you but it’s you that has to do the leg work. It means changing habits and going through the place of discomfort to get to the place of bliss. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your life won’t change overnight. However if you put in the effort to live intentionally then one day all of sudden you will find that you are living a life that inspires you. A happy life.

So if you are still in, if you are ready to commit to yourself then follow this guide to intentional living and experience creating the life you want.

Life inventory

Before you know where you are going you need to know where you are. There are some basic areas that make up the founding roots of a person’s life. These are;

  1. Health – How you treat your body and your current state of health?
  2. Finances/ security – Your home, income and financial status ?
  3. Community – Your state of your relationships, family, friends, co workers ?
  4. Effectiveness (success) – How successful and effective you feel in your life?
  5. Relaxation  – What you do to relax and how often you do it ?
  6. Inspirations and dreams  – What inspires you, how often do you connect with it and are you striving for your dreams?

Take a life inventory. How does your life look in each of these areas right now?

Create the vision

So now you know where you are at you need to know where you want to go. There are many ways to do this. Brainstorming, create a vision board or making your bucket list are all effective and possible ways to focus yourself on your intentional life vision. Try making an overall plan for each area of your life, don’t be too specific just a loose description of that part of your life in its ideal state.

Create Goals

Goal setting focuses us and gives a point reference to know we are succeeding in the way we want to. Make sure your goal is measurable in units of time so if it’s  1 month or one year, it doesn’t matter, the time target makes us accountable for the goal.

Take conscious action every month, week and day

Check in with your goals every week and incorporate them into your daily planning. I use a 3 list system a monthly list which focuses on each goal. A weekly list which keeps me on task. And the daily list which keeps your goals in mind everyday.

Assess and reward your progress every week

Each week just before making your new weekly to do list assess  your progress with your monthly goals. Give yourself a reward for completing tasks each week. Celebrating success is an important part of intentional living.

Keep a work and life balanced

Living intentionally is also about living a balanced life. We need to be good to ourselves. So plan your rest and relaxation as much as your work and career. Keep you a foremost priority, After all without you nothing happens at all. Make the time to re energise

Cultivate a positive atmosphere and attitude to life

Taking charge of your attitude to life and the atmosphere surrounding you is an important part of intentional living. Cultivate positive habits to remind you to live intentionally for example mindfulness be it meditation or mindful eating, or making your bed in the morning. Call positive people into your life and keep a distance from the naysayers and their negative influences. One of the best ways of changing your atmosphere is to create around you an attitude of gratitude and celebrate your life.

Do a life inventory every 6 months

Life is constantly changing and evolving as indeed are you. Every six months do a life inventory and keep yourself aware you are at and where you are going.

Make memories

A great life in my opinion is rich in both experiences and memories. I love to experience new things, new places and honestly if I don’t life becomes boring. Make conscious time each month to make a memory, to have and experience and have fun- life should always be about enjoying the journey!

————————————————————————————————————————————–

Intentional living does take effort but the great part is that once you get past the uncomfortable this is a new habit I don’t like change part of your experience, intentional living becomes well, second nature. Keep yourself engaged in your life. It is a precious gift. You have everything you need to live your perfect life, you just have to want it enough to do something about it and become a human doing.

Enjoy your journey 🙂

 

Live

Leave a Reply