Hello loves! Welcome. I’m your host Tonia and today we are deciding to be intentional. We are deciding to create the lives we desire.

As such, our episode affirmation is:

I AM CREATING THE LIFE I DESIRE. 

Repeat it. Write it down. Make it a reality. Make it a lifelong habit. 

I talk a lot about living a vibrant and joyous life through simplicity and healthy habits, but such a way of life, and to be successful in living in such a manner, you have to be intentional about having the lifestyle and intentional in the way you pursue the lifestyle. 

And I know you’ve heard the term intentional living from just about everyone talking about how to be happy and finding joy. But what does it really mean? 

Well, for one, Intentional living is living with purpose and making decisions that support that purpose.

Look, not much falls out of the sky but rain and bird poop. Happiness may come to you, but for that amazingly awesome feeling fulfilled joy and a continuous flow of it, you are going to have to put some thought and work into it. Be intentional about how you live and go about things so you can be in a position to receive and accept that amazingly awesome joy. So let’s have this as our definition and guide on intentional living:

Intentional living is about choosing the type of person you want to be and the type of life you want to live, and then holding yourself to it. Being accountable. Being responsible for your joy, not just letting it occur haphazardly or leaving it to luck.

As many an athlete or successful person will tell you, talent and luck can only take you so far. If you want to get to an optimal level, you have to put in some work. Take action. Meaningful, directed, consistent, purposeful action. 

Here are a few ways you can do just that.  It’s time to start living an intentional life. stop wishing and hoping, and instead, create that life you desire.

Make The Choice

For one, make the choice to have that life. And please understand choices are available and choices matter. An intentional life is all about making choices that make sense for you and your beliefs. Your choices determine the direction of your life and are the first step to creating the results you experience.

Since the choices you make determine the direction of your life, you also need to make sure that the choice is your choice. 

This is your life. Your choice must be what’s best for you. It’s okay to be concerned about the impact your choices and decisions will make on those around you and those close to you, but you have to put yourself first, and make those feelings, as well as the needs of others, secondary.

Base your decision on who you want to be, what you want to do, and how you want to feel. 

Additionally, Just think about being intentional in your dream lifestyle choice.  Ask yourself what’s the cost to my well-being and happiness and do I want to pay the price for doing xyz in order to become who I want to be and feel what you want to feel. Which way is best for me? Remember, prioritize your well-being and do what the heck you want to do, not what is said as needing to be done. Otherwise, you’ll be intentionally living a life that isn’t on your terms.

It can be difficult to figure out what it is you truly want and what decisions you want to make. Allow yourself time to be by yourself and think about what it is you truly want in life and the right decisions for you to ensure that you live the life you want filled with happiness and success. And maybe working the grind is your thing and brings you joy. You are the only one who holds the answer to what the right decision is for you to make. 

Be smart about it, and push past the requests, expectations, and opinions of others, as well as your fears and other things holding you back and trying to limit you. 

I’m just going to put it out that there that if you are hanging with me, I know you are choosing to have a vibrant life, that brings you joy and one where you create your moment, savor your moment, and pass it on. 

Visualize And Describe The Life You Want To Have

Okay. You are choosing a life that brings you joy and abundance, and freedom, etcetera, etcetera. Let’s get a little more specific. Good that you are deciding to be intentional about your life, but what is this dream life? How can you achieve it, if you don’t know what it is? How can you make strides toward having it, if you don’t know what it is?

You don’t have to have it all mapped out in 100% detail with I’ll have this and I’ll have that. The master bedroom accent wall will be emerald green; I’ll have $17, 528. 43 in my petty cash stash on Monday, of this month and this year. But you need to have a target in mind. What we mostly talked about earlier is choosing to have this feeling of joy and happiness and fulfillment. Think about how you’d like to live. How you’d like to experience joy. Be bold and leave your limitations behind for a moment.

Don’t overwhelm yourself and don’t overthink it. Here we are talking about simple lifestyle changes that together give you the joy and life you want. We just need to know what that lifestyle is before we can adopt and embody those changes. 

And remember we are talking about what you want and what brings you joy. Whether it’s being able to run an unrushed 10K on Monday mornings or moving your family to the Caribbean, Start with thinking about your ideal day. Start with thinking about your ideal day. How would you spend your time? Who else would be there? Where would you live? What would your finances be like? Give it some thought.

Know Your Values

So okay, you’ve visualized the type of life you want; you feel ready, inspired, and committed to turning that vision into reality, but before you can map out the steps you want to take, you need to know your values.

A big part of intentional living is living according to your values, Since it’s about living on your own terms, it's necessary to be intimately familiar with your values to accomplish that. 

Have you ever taken the time to seriously consider what your values are? Your values, or your basic and fundamental beliefs, or attitudes that guide your actions, are a huge part of how you live your life.

Understanding and defining your values is a significant step toward living the life you want to live. When you focus on your fundamental beliefs, you ensure you’re living your life in a way that suits all of your goals, dreams, and interests. 

Values differ from person to person. And sometimes that’s the problem. Stick to your values and make sure that they are in fact actually YOUR values. 

Some values that may come to mind are adventure, loyalty, creativity, empathy, boldness, strength, relationships, family, humor, happiness, knowledge, promptness, optimism, love, self-respect, honesty, status, and trustworthiness. The list goes on and on. Remember, there are many and they are personal.

Your values exist deep within yourself. These values, when measured against how you’re making choices and living your life, help you determine whether or not you’re following that “feeling” and path you choose in life. If something feels off or just doesn't feel quite right, it’s a signal, that it’s going against your values and not in alignment with your fundamental belief, so you know either you're heading down the wrong path or it’s leading you down the wrong path. Something you don’t want to be a part of, or have in your life.

Set Goals For The Major Areas In Your Life

Okay, you understand you have choices, you have described your dream life, you know your values, now you need to set goals for the major areas in your life. These are typically going to include your relationships, health, finances, career, spirituality, time, contributions, education, fun and recreation, etc.  Even subsets of those categories. You’ll find numerous lists online with a set number, all of them differing. Remember, it all depends on your aspirations and values. The key is to set specific goals in those areas. Again, the base is who do you want to be, what do want and want to have, and what do you want to do or are willing to do to be that person and have that life.

Choose Habits That Support Your Goals

Once you have those goals, to be intentional about how you are bringing them about, you must choose habits that support those goals.  Intentional living is much easier with supportive habits in place. You’ll run out of willpower otherwise. Pick a couple of simple, but effective habits that will help you to attain each of your goals and begin implementing them. Again, a lot is possible. There are a million things you can do that will support those goals, but you’ll end up doing nothing if you overwhelm yourself trying to do everything. 

Be Intention With Your Time

You want to be, no, need to be, intentional about your time. When you are prioritizing yourself and your well-being, it requires that you be intentional about your time. That 24 hours is sacred and is not elastic. You need to honor your time and value it. 

Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to what we do each day. Keeping your dreams and values in mind, what is the best thing for you to do at this moment? What do you need to accomplish today? Make choices and avoid operating on autopilot or “squeezing” things in for others when you simply don’t have the time to spare.

Go With your Values, Not Your Impulses

Similarly, you’ll need to gain control over your impulses. Your impulses will have you all over the place, and most of the time, never where you envisioned heading. Your impulses are also often related to pleasure or avoiding discomfort. Hopefully, your values and intuition will save you some heartache, but to truly avoid making decisions that don't serve you just to avoid discomfort, remember following your impulses is the opposite of intentional living. Intentional living is about making rational decisions and following through regardless of comfort.

Reject Distractions

Speaking of things that are the complete and absolute opposite of intentional living. Strong word - but you need to reject distractions. And let’s get clear on what distractions entail. We’re talking about thoughts of the past and future. I know. I said intentional living is about choosing the type of person you want to be and the type of life you want to live and then holding yourself to it. I mean. You embody that person and way of life NOW. Intention requires presence. Yes, you set that goal, for continuously having joy or whatever it is you decide, but you start today. You are intentional about it being your life. And that life starts now. It is not merely a dream. It is a doing. And let me tell you, distractions are things you shouldn’t be doing at the moment.  They will stop you from getting what you want now and in the future.  You know those times when all of a sudden you MUST clean the house when you need to finish a project with a deadline? Yes, you need to clean your house, but it can wait until after you finish the project that’s due. For sure, it wasn’t so urgent two weeks ago.

Measure Yourself And Track Your Progress

Lastly, being intentional requires that you measure yourself and track your progress. Ask yourself, How well did you do today at living intentionally? What challenges did you face? What worked? Where did you fall short? What can you do tomorrow even better than you did today? 

So add this too, a large part of being intentional is learning something from each day that you can apply to the future.

Here’s our episode affirmation again: I am creating the life I desire.

Are you choosing and creating your life or just living by default? Having a life you love will never happen by accident. Be bold enough to choose the life you want to lead. Decide the type of person you want to be. Make your decisions and choose your actions accordingly.

Live intentionally. It’s the best way to respect yourself and your life.