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What Is Intentional Living: How to Live According to My Beliefs and Values?

An intentional life is one in which you are clear about your purpose and work on it every day. It doesn’t matter if, in the end, you don’t achieve all your dreams; it is enough to have an existence according to your values and desires. 

Do you feel that you act and react on autopilot? Do you feel that the days slip away from you one by one without anything happening that you truly desire? Maybe you need a change. It may very well be time to lead a more intentional life, attuned to your authentic desires and values.

As some experienced paper writers said, people don’t come into this world to do everything but to accomplish something specific. However, many of us end up lost in the labyrinth of life. We do what we can, what we are told to do, and what is expected of us at any given moment, rarely focusing on what we really want.

An intentional life is when we are clear about what we want and direct our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions towards that goal. Being in tune with our purpose gives us a pleasant feeling of control. We perceive ourselves to be in control of our actions, which leaves less room for stress, anxiety, and even discouragement.

It is worth working on this mental competence, this psychological disposition that forces us sooner or later to stop and think about what things are important to us. Once we clarify them, it is time to work on them.

Intentional living, the path to well-being

The concept of intentional living may at first seem somewhat fuzzy to us. It certainly seems like the classic idea of romantic philosophers, a vague entelechy with dubious promises of happiness. However, those who decide to lead an intentional existence work, live and feel according to their purpose. That is little more than the key to satisfaction to well-being.

Research indicates something very concrete. Having a purpose in life is one of the most basic and necessary human needs. We could say that these freely chosen and motivating goals act as beacons on our life horizons.

An intentional life is a mental focus that guides and encourages every behavior to bring us closer to what gives us meaning. However, the way to tune in to such a powerful internal narrative is not simple. It requires reformulating many ideas, deactivating old thought patterns, and disinfecting some negative beliefs.

Let’s discover how to initiate this enriching change:

Re-evaluate your reality to find out what is important to you. People often feel pressured into the need to be “perfect.” We want to show the world that we are competent in achieving multiple goals.

Here are some steps:

  • Be clear and honest with yourself: are you leading the life you want? How would you like to see yourself in three years? Do you think what you are doing now will allow you to become who you want to be? Reflect on it.
  • Clarify your goals. Are they in line with your values, are they yours, or are they conditioned by what others expect of you?
  • Review all the beliefs you have stored in your “mental cache.” Maybe it is time to update them because, possibly, they are not allowing you to get where you want to go.

An intentional life requires making choices every day

writing goals
Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

To be happy, feel good about yourself and lead an intentional life, you must make decisions. If you don’t, others will decide for you; circumstances will lead you, and chaos will rule your reality. Take control of what is under your control and act, decide, direct, and commit yourself daily to what gives you meaning and purpose.

Also, do not forget to design a roadmap. Every decision must follow a strategy, a series of thoughtful steps that will lead you to the goals you have set for yourself. Not everyone may understand what you want and what you aspire to. But it doesn’t matter what others think; an intentional life is a firm commitment to yourself.

Commit to your goals, but know how to live in the here and now

All intentional living means taking responsibility for ourselves and committing to our well-being. It implies having purposes and being guided by them. However, there is another no less decisive aspect. It is not all about looking towards tomorrow to conquer dreams; it is also about enjoying the process while appreciating the present moment.

To live deliberately is to connect with the here and now to delight in who we are, what surrounds us, what we have left behind, and what we have achieved. Existing according to our values composes a vital score in which nothing is out of tune. Let us try to be and live according to that gorgeous music we all carry within us.

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