Why learning to live a life with intention is important and why you should prioritise it
Learning to live a life with intention can be hard nowadays where there are so many distractions. We live in a world which pulls us in all directions and at times it can be hard to keep up with. A world made of excessive connectivity which makes it impossible to know when to say no!
Everyone is fighting for our attention and we easily lose contact with our inner wisdom. Our ancestors didn’t live this way, they didn’t have all the information at their fingerprints. We know deep down that there is another way. There is a way to live with intention.
How do we find that inner stillness and allow new thoughts and new ideas to float on the surface? We hardly get bored and hardly have “nothing to do”. So how do we declutter our life and connect with our feelings, thoughts and breathe? How do we stop feeling frustrated with falling short to live a life with intention? How do we learn to follow the inner thread with a clutter-free mind? You know, the thread which moves us from within without losing sight of it?
We might try playing with meditation here and there. But then life “gets busy” and meditation is the last thing we want to do in order to live with intention.
PREMISES: this process will allow you to declutter your life and invite you to sit with yourself more.
In stillness, new, original ideas will arise. But stillness will not be here unless we make time for it! In this space, tapping into your intuition and finding your way to living with intention will be as natural as breathing!
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you define your priorities. Learn to use your intuition in living with intention. Choose where your energy goes.
Create a value system that helps you live a life with intention
In order to declutter our life and prioritise, we’ll need to know what we stand up for. What habits do we want to cultivate? Which relationships do we want to nurture? What environment do we want to live in?
None of this can be accomplished if at the base of it there is clutter and a lack of clarity. Having a clutter-free mind will allow us to create space for new ideas. To live a life with intention will be then much easier!
ACTION STEPS:
But how do we create a value system and start decluttering our life? Start by asking yourself the following questions:
- What do I deeply believe to be true?
- Which type of lifestyle brings the best out of me?
- What does it mean to live with intention?
- What makes my days joyful?
- When do I feel the most alive?
- How do I want to show up to my relationships, to myself, to the environment I live in, my country?
TOP TIP: Block some time in your calendar and sit with yourself. Prioritise your life. Let go of any distraction (ALL notifications) and start with some grounding in the moment exercises or a short meditation.
Breathe deeply and tell your mind that whatever needs to be done today can wait. You are ready to dive into the quest.
Set long term goals to live a life with intention
Our instant gratification muscles are turned on nowadays since everything is at our fingertip. We can order whatever we need (and don’t) and the next day it arrives. A piece of information can be easily found. A book can be bought in an instant. And the list can go on and on. This means that long term goals are more difficult to set and to keep up with. Decluttering our life will enhance a simpler way of living and will allow the important things to surface and prevail.
Once we have our value system and ultimately our vision in place, it’s time to show up. To live a life with intention permits us to clarify what our daily life looks like. Showing up means we consistently take actions day in and day out in that direction.
ACTION STEPS:
Based on your value system, ask yourself:
- Is there a habit you want to implement?
- Let go of some relationships? Say no more often?
- Not take things personally?
- Learn a skill? Write that book? Ask for support?
If you are new to the practice, start with small things that will help you work this muscle. The key to success is finding an accountability buddy to whom you will share your goals with. Check in on a regular basis (every week or even daily if that works for you). Put those actions into your calendar to start with.
Lastly, execute. Show up for yourself.
This might be difficult for some of us. New habits, new projects can be hard to implement. And this is where bringing simplicity and decluttering our life is essential. If we want to live a life with intention, we will need to make some tough decisions.
It will imply saying no to trivial activities, but also saying yes to feelings that have been ignored. You’ll find out that there is less doing involved and more being than you thought.
Get ready to face your insecurities and to challenge your limiting beliefs. The stories that we tell ourselves are the ones that will determine the way we show up for ourselves.
How positive do you feel about following through with what you said you will do? Reaching out for support when the doubts may arise can become essential. This is where a good mentor, or a strong community can become vital. So, if you stumble, don’t worry, we’ll be there for you.
Saying no is not an insult to others
If anything, saying yes all the time can become an insult to ourselves, to our own value system.
Once we define our value system, we start seeing some patterns. The relationship we tried to nurture for so many years is just not moving forward. The commitments on our calendar are just random things that are not mirroring our values. Our free time is invested in watching news, or scrolling through social media platforms. The course we enrolled just doesn’t mirror back where we want to be.
In living a life with intention we learn, with compassion and kindness, to say no to things that come our way. We learn that other people’s priorities are not ours. A sense of guilt may arise as we prepare to implement this. Once the hard work in step one is done, following through will require us to be true to ourselves and prioritize our values.
There is a famous concept called opportunity cost. Every time we say yes to something we say no to something else. Simple, but fundamental! How you distribute your energy is essential.
Saying yes because the people pleaser in us wants to make others happy is not a good enough reason. Saying yes to opportunities that make you thrive and grow will positively impact your life.
ACTION STEPS:
Check your calendar and daily habits for a week and notice, without changing anything. Then take some time and reflect. Ask yourself:
- Are the commitments I am showing up for in alignment with my value system?
- Are my habits supporting my value system and how I want to show up in the world?
- Is there anything that I need to change, eliminate or improve?
- What actions will I take?
Take your time, be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the luxury to say no. It is healthy and will improve your life long term.
Prioritise and live with intention by consistently showing up for your values and your life
Be prepared for when that latent old habit comes back and sticking to your values becomes more difficult. But, guess what? This part makes the biggest difference in living a life with intention.
ACTION STEPS:
- Every week schedule in your calendar 10 to 15 minutes to review your commitments
- Connect with your values and share them with others
- Practice tapping into your intuition and spending time without doing anything.
More time to reflect and to live a life with intention
Saying no to things and eliminating what is not useful will inevitably lead to available time in our agenda. This will mean that we’ll have more time to spend with ourselves. More time to relax. More time to allow thoughts and feelings that have been suppressed to come to the surface. Those moments are a valuable source of new and fresh insights.
We did our best to feel useful by saying yes to others by committing to things we thought will please them. But not anymore. It will come as a surprise that at the beginning staying in silence will be the hardest thing that we will ever do. Yet silence is the most powerful and healing step in living a life with intention. A place to allow the truth to come to the surface.
Are you ready to embrace the truth about yourself and be intentional with your life? Share the article with your bestie and engage in the process of prioritising your life. Take time aside to reflect and commit to what is truly important.
Want to deepen your commitment? Get in touch and let’s dive into the silence of your soul.