What is Intentional Living?
There are many new fads and buzzwords that emerge regularly, most of them are interpretations of what has always been there, and this applies to what many are now calling: intentional living.
So, what does it mean to live your life with intention?
Our definition is:
“To live your life, but not let life live you!”
So what does this mean?
It means, living consciously where you find time to examine and understand what your core values and beliefs are.
It means being mindful to live according to these core values and beliefs.
It means disallowing life circumstances and people to sway your decisions and choices without your conscious intention.
It means acquiring clarity to spot the areas in your life that don’t fit so you can replace them with what you actually want.
Is it easy?
YES and NO.
The Yes answer is easy based on your intention to be more alert in your life. It’s also easy if your intention is to practise being in the state of mind of conscious awareness until such time as it becomes natural.
The No answer is often the easiest choice, even if it doesn’t truly serve you, that’s because modern life bombards us with distractions and daily demands, so the simplest option is often just to get through the day and let life happen.
This response is completely normal. It’s linked to worry and stress, and our brain uses it to alert us to potential danger.
Intentional living requires a stock take
When you decide to live your life with intention, you must start by taking an inventory of your life.
This means to take a close check on your relationships, your finances, your lifestyle, your motivations and anything else that makes you tick.
To hone in on this vital first, and most important step, requires you to take time out to examine the things you think about and do on a regular basis.
The most effective way to do this is to ask yourself the many many questions ‘why?’ Some examples are:
Why do I do the job I do?
Why am I with my partner?
Why have I chosen the friends I have?
Why don’t I feel successful?
These and the many other ‘why’ questions you can ask yourself are important because they reveal something fundamental.
It shows you that everything you think and do, is in actual fact a series of choices whether you make them intentionally or not. It doesn’t matter if you do things because you are coerced, forced or as a passive automatic response without full intention or awareness.
Think about this.
When you acknowledge that many of the things that occur in your life are based on a series of your choices, and you face this with your full recognition, you’re well on your way to living intentionally.
But it’s worth noting, that it’s very likely that you’ll realise in the process that every question you ask, really deserves and requires an answer from you.
This is when given the number of numerous potential questions you can ask, and therefore the numerous number of answers you need to find, it can be quite become daunting. This will be in particular if your answers appear elusive.
This contrary to what it might feel like, is an important part of the process of creating intentional living.
This is where you get to assert your intention to find all the answers no matter how long it takes.
Intentional living reinforces how you react?
Once you’ve begun the process of knowing where you currently are in life, the next step will be to focus on how you react to the circumstances in your life.
Living intentionally recognises this importance because everything that happens to you whether good or bad will be down to how you choose to react.
Let’s look at some examples of how you can choose to react negatively (and understandably) if someone is rude to you:
You can react by being rude back because you’re angry and upset.
You can become depressed because this person’s rudeness reminds you of all the people in the past who were also rude to you.
You can do nothing but simmer and plot about how you’ll get the person back as you keep your anger on the boil.
Now if you choose to react with positive intention, you can do the following:
You can decide not to react with anger but instead assess the person isn’t worthy of your anger and walk away.
You can ask if there was anything you did to provoke the rudeness
You can ask yourself what there was for you to learn about yourself and your reaction
You can assess then let go, knowing you acknowledged the event as something valuable that you won’t allow a repeat of.
You can affirm your worthiness recognising no one has the power to affect you if you don’t react and allow it.
Intentional living puts the power in your hands
The whole purpose of living intentionally is to take control of your life. Starting this process can reduce the anxiety and stress that come from feeling powerless.
The key question to ask yourself is:
Do you feel deserving of power, happiness, and peace in your life?
If your answer is yes, intentional living encourages you to explore solutions that bring harmony and peace as your ultimate goal.
Ask yourself questions like:
Which parts of my life bring sadness or friction?
Do these challenges leave me feeling powerless to make changes?
The beauty of intentional living is that through this process, you are constantly reminded that you deserve all the good things in life, and that it’s your right to pursue them.
Additional questions to guide you include:
What’s my vision for the life I choose and deserve?
Which parts of my life make me feel energized, fulfilled, and alive?
By reflecting on these questions, intentional living helps you identify what matters most and take conscious steps toward a life filled with purpose, peace, and joy.
How can you live intentionally?
Work from your core values to help you choose the direction you’d like to take in life.
It’s not necessary to have it all worked out, but you do need to know what matters to you the most in your life.
If you’re struggling to decide what your core values are, just start from recalling the times you were happiest and felt proud of yourself.
From here decide what matters to you the most, and then try to align your life to maintaining or achieving your desires.
Once you know what your core values are, create daily habits to reinforce them.
For example:
If your core value is to take care of your loved ones, remember to show your love and care every day.
If it’s to have financial stability, keep a weekly check on how much you’ve spent, how you’ve reduced your debt, and how much you could put into your savings.
It’s easy to lapse so to make sure you’re not returning to auto-pilot living, when you have to make a decision take some time to ask yourself the question:
Why am I doing this?
There should be a purpose behind every decision you make, so if you can’t answer why or you’re not happy with the answer you are not making a powerful choice.
That as we covered before, is a huge part of intentional living. It’s recognising you have the power to change things in your life which in turn means accepting responsibility for what happens to you.
Be gentle with yourself within this process.
Some things you might not be able to change immediately, but happily accepting them knowing that you plan to change what isn’t to your liking, will make you feel in charge and purposeful.
Be honest with yourself and only do what feels right for you.
Being true to yourself means there don’t have to be right or wrong answers just the authenticity with which you make decisions in your life. This requires you don’t compare yourself to others who will be different to you.
Mistakes are a vital and valuable part of life so even living intentionally will not stop this happening. Being gentle with yourself and recognising that each mistake is an opportunity for growth will get you back on track quickly.
This is a great book on intentional thinking and living that you might like to read.
Intentional Living – Summary
Be aware that intentional living is a continuous journey that can transform your life in meaningful ways. It allows you to step off autopilot, recognize what truly matters, and make conscious choices that align with your values and goals.
By saying no to the things that no longer serve you, you create space for the people, experiences, and habits that enrich your life.
Living intentionally is not a one-time effort, it requires ongoing reflection, practice, and self-awareness. Each decision becomes an opportunity to strengthen your sense of purpose, reduce stress, and cultivate peace and happiness.
The good news is that anyone can practice intentional living.
With consistent effort, you can reclaim control over your life, focus on what truly matters, and gradually build a life filled with meaning, energy, and fulfillment.
It’s your opportunity to stop reacting to life and start shaping it on your own terms.
The time to live your best, most purposeful life is now.
If in navigating through questions, you find yourself struggling to find answers, and deeper issues are flagging up, consider if speaking to a counsellor or therapist trained to support, can help. Visit our website: www.thillow.co.uk.