Do you know what it is to live a life with intention? It’s a way of living life to the fullest, achieving happiness with your full potential. Many people drift through life without giving it much thought, taking the road that’s presented to them. For many, this involves pursuing the American Dream of college, a good/safe job, a house, and a 401k retirement plan. A number of people find happiness in this way, but according to The Harris Poll Survey released by TIME, only 33% of Americans were happy in 2017.
I consider unhappiness the difference between your desired and current state of being. If 67% of the population is unhappy with their job/life, there’s clearly a need for change. This is where one must decide whether they allow life’s circumstances to control their happiness or if they will start living with intention. Download my free living with intentions workbook and make your dreams a reality.
1. Visualize Your Dream
To start living with intention, one must first visualize their ideal life. What does a perfect life look like to you? Maybe you dream of owning your own business, traveling the world, or improving your health. Take a moment to visualize your ideal life and consider the activities that bring you happiness on a regular basis.
Don’t worry about how you will accomplish this just yet, simply run through the exercise to discover your sources of happiness. Every great achievement in this world started in the minds of men and women. Rome wasn’t build in a day and either will your dream. However, dreams are where success begins and where you should start your path toward living with intention.
2. Realize Your Values
After visualizing your dream life, one must consider what they value. These values will determine your direction and the choices you will make on a daily basis. For instance, one may value financial achievement, family/friends, and a healthy lifestyle. Another person may value family, world travel, and charity work. Each person’s values will vary widely and achieve greater happiness as they align with their chosen value-set.
Keep in mind that values may change over time and adjustments may be necessary to keep in alignment. For instance, I have always placed high value on friends/family and health, but my professional aspirations are completely different from what they were a decade ago. Consider the values that are most important to you and align with them to improve your state of being.
3. Find Your Purpose
Finding what one values in life is usually pretty simple, but finding your purpose can be a bit more of a challenge. What is it that you feel most passionate about? Where do you find continued interest day-in day-out? Is there something you enjoy doing regardless of pay? If you find yourself answering these questions with an absolute answer, you’ve likely found your purpose.
Now, you may have any number of interests, but try to focus on interests that have income potential. You may love watching Netflix dramas, but it might be difficult to make a living. A combination of passion, your skillset, and market need will have you chasing passion into profit. For instance, I’m fascinated with the world of online business and investing for financial freedom. It’s why I’ve created this website and present everything I learn to help my audience succeed. Follow your passion and find a way to increase both your income and happiness.
4. Analyze and Improve
Now that you’ve visualized your dream, realized your values, and found your purpose, it’s time to analyze your habits. What does your daily routine look like, does it support your life’s vision? Say for instance one of your values is to live a healthy lifestyle. Do you think eating potato chips and cookies everyday aligns with your values and life’s vision?…likely not. Take the time to analyze what you do every single day and ask yourself, “does this align with my values and life’s vision?”.
Once you’ve analyzed and pinpointed areas in your daily life that don’t align with your values, replace them with actions that do. For instance, say you’ve made it a habit to watch a few hours of television every single night. Instead of wasting those hours every night, try aligning with your life’s vision. Maybe you could learn a new skill, spend more time with family/friends, or start building your first online business. We all have the same number of hours in a day, but how you spend your time will make all the difference in the world. This is the foundation of living with intention, spend each and every day focused on what brings you greater happiness.
Living with Intention
Living with intention puts you in control of your life. You’re not bound to the circumstances given to you and each day is an opportunity to create your vision. With each passing day you take action on your dreams and start building your future brick by brick. Your daily progress may seem slow and inconsequential, but over the years will add up to something substantial.
Personally, I do my best to align with my life’s vision on a daily basis. For instance, I was recently flying to the west coast and instead of watching a movie, I listened to and took notes on the current audiobook I’m listening to, “Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence and How You Can, Too“, by Gary Vayncerchuk. Instead of wasting my time with a movie that would simply pass the time, I used that time with intent. You know how many people I saw reading/listening to books or working on something during that flight?….very few.
Start living with intention and watch your vision become a reality.
What are your thoughts, are you living a life with intention? What are you striving towards in your life and what changes have you made to align with your life’s vision? Leave a comment below!
*Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to make a purchase.
