Intentional Living

People sometimes wonder what I mean by "Mindful". For my family, being mindful is our journey with intentional living. Intentional living is the process of choosing how to spend your time. In essence, it is the process of deciding which action to take, instead of being a passenger in the vehicle of life. Living intentionally means giving meaning to each moment. It is planning how to spend your time, which words to speak, how to treat yourself and others. It is living life by your rules instead of simply allowing life to happen.

Living intentionally looks different for everyone who does it. People focus on different areas to bring intention to their lives. For some, it is about faith, living intentionally in the mores of their religion. For some, it is about activism; social, environmental, health, or any number of causes, giving oneself over to the cause and always working towards furthering that cause. For some, it is about lifestyle, and always being a part of that lifestyle. The intentions vary. The thread that holds all of these people together is the focus of living in your intention.

However, intentional living is not about obsessing over making the right decision. It is not about a second guessing yourself. It is not about feeling guilty for making mistakes. It’s not a rigid set of rules for life. Instead, it is more fluid than this. It is accepting that we are human, and that we all make mistakes, yet striving every day to be better in some way, and to get closer to our goals.

Intentional living is about making the choice moment by moment to be the person you want to be.
What is your intention? What are you striving towards?