Living Your Intended Life

in·ten·tion·al·i·ty

??(?n-t?n′sh?-n?l′?-tē)

n.?pl.?in·ten·tion·al·i·ties

1.?The?state?of?having?or?being?formed?by?an?intention.

2.?Philosophy?The?property?of?being?about?or?directed?toward?an?object?or?end,?especially?as?attributed?to?conscious?states,?beliefs,?or?other?mental?phenomena?such?as?language. (https://www.thefreedictionary.com/intentionality)

One of the things that I have come to realize is that a life without direction that is allowed to be led on the whims of the current moment and the emotions is often an unfulfilled life.?Without direction how would I get from A to B??Would I get there in a timely manner beneficial to me and everyone around me, or would I get there too late and nothing is available??When we add intentionality (see the definition above) to our present life, it allows for clarity and perspective which broadens awareness to opportunities that may have been missed in the past.?It directs us on a more direct and efficient path to what we want?It also allows for personal growth every day, for as the world changes daily, so do we.?Just to be clear, I am not necessarily discussing some radical new philosophy, but just sharing my perspective on the topic based on what I have been taught and learned

???????????????When I started along this topic, I didn’t intend to write an article, but I did want to explore how intentionality has molded my life and how I have been surprised by the outcome.?From Buddha, “Nothing is forever except change,” to Marcus Aurelius, “It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet.” They understood the significance of your intentions on your actions.?They lived a life that proved that when careful intentionality is applied to daily living it creates habits and lifestyles that allows for a fuller.?Studying these philosophers/spiritual leaders (and many others) has helped me to understand that in order to move forward in a successful way, I need to start taking each moment and living them intentionally, whether it is shutting off my cell phones (or at least their ringers) when I am spending time with my sons so we won’t be interrupted to asking my boys the same courtesy when I am working, and they not interrupt me during that time, it means taking time to be specific with your activity and not allow anything to disrupt you during these activities.?This has also caused me to seriously look at the activities I attempt to “multi-task” and realize how wasteful my time ends up.?I would often get caught up on side items that weren’t important for todays work and realized it was because I might not necessarily appreciate what the correct focus would produce.?This would happen often the day after a bad day and, in the past, this emotion could lead me on a few days to couple weeks of unproductive self-pity.?This didn’t help me move forward but it did protect me from more bad days (or so I thought) and restricted my growth.?I got comfortable with self-pity and lost hope because I let my emotions get the best of me.?

??????????????John Maxwell said that when you allow yourself to be carried in the ebb and flow of emotions around you, “an unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing.??An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.” Like philosophers before him, Maxwell understands that our intentions can allow us to realize more opportunities available by just opening our eyes a little wider.?When I realized that my actions were creating more harm than good, I started looking to different ways I could change my habits and get more comfortable with the uncomfortable. I learned that emotions can be dangerous (both good and bad) and can often cloud our judgement and logic.?But when I started applying intentions based on my “why” (that is a discussion for another time), I saw better how to cut through the excitement or anxiety of a situation and seek what best lined up with my that “why”, and my resulting actions that led me more directly to my “why”.?As I work to create this routine in my daily actions, I notice connections to what I do throughout the day, whether it is in a book I am reading or listening to, to the trainings or talks with peers and mentors. These connections didn’t seem relevant when I rode my emotions and were often missed, but with more mindful intentions I understood they may have always been there just waiting for me to notice.?We have seen this effect in how we notice vehicles more often when looking for one (for those of us old enough, “Slug Bug” comes to mind, or when we are considering a new car and picture a blue sports car, and you start to notice what seems like an extraordinary amount of blue sports cars on your commute to work or your way to the park or beach).?What many don’t realize is that we can take that “extra” awareness and, with intentional living, harness it to create more and greater opportunities for the future.

???????????????As Winston Churchill stated, “It’s not enough to have lived.?We should be determined to live for something.”?But what are we choosing to live for and how do our intentions influence that direction??Napoleon Hill said, “A definite purpose, backed by absolute faith, is a form of wisdom and wisdom in action produces positive results.”?I am not here to pound you with quote after quote, but some things have already been spoken so simply and eloquently that I cannot help myself, and you don’t need to attempt to fix something if it isn’t broke.?To lead an intentional life, you must have a strong “why.”?Once you find your “why”, it will prove to be stronger than your desires to procrastinate on tasks you need to do and allow you to grow and succeed in ways you haven’t even begun to dream.?With a strong why, the hows and whats become simple.?Start taking what you have in front of you and use it as a vehicle to drive you to where you want to go.?

???????????????But it isn’t always that easy.?If you don’t know what you don’t know, how do you learn what you need to know to grow??And this is where intentionality comes in.?It starts small, like a new seed sprouting, and as you start to practice intentional living, it will begin to grow and flourish, often in directions we didn’t realize.?The first step I took to a more intentional lifestyle is understanding what I don’t know and where I could learn it.?This first stemmed from a kidney stone I had that, I was told, was the size of a peanut M&M.?I thought I was healthy but had to learn better what I needed to do (my diet and hydration schedule, my exercise schedule, my work schedule).??This brought me having to figure out “why” I want to make those changes and what I need to do execute. Once I began my process it was simple because there is a lot I don’t know, but I do know my “why” (and that is where it truly begins).?Once you figure out your “why,” assess what you have at your hands to do what’s in your heart.?As an example, my “why” is: Educating and protecting working families and their children (mine included) to help provide stability and a lasting legacy for future generations.?I am currently able to do this through my occupation, lifestyle, and sharing my knowledge to assist people with life decisions.?After I knew my “why,” I started focusing in on my how and with what. I started on my growth mentality and outlook, intentionally setting aside time in my schedule for the growth I needed by giving up certain comforts and using them as rewards for achievements (weekend BBQs, Sunday Football with friends) and cutting out unhelpful persons (any who only offer negative enforcement to everything you and they do) and unproductive activities (binge watching shows when you should be working or staying up all night playing video games), and habits that don’t resonate with the path you are choosing (going back to what’s comfortable even if it isn’t productive protect yourself from rejection or failure, excessive drinking, eating, jumping into video games or tv shows and movies). I read books on subjects I didn’t know (and made me uncomfortable to do) to help with my growth process, then, finally, taking the knowledge and applying it to improve my life and others.?Last comes the hard part, having faith that the knowledge you are gaining is helping.?Like a seed first planted, growth may not be seen over a night, or a few days, but eventually, you see the sprout and watch it flourish and grow, so too does the initial knowledge take time to show, and, once applied intentionally with proper actions, expands in ways you may once have thought impossible.??