Living Intentionally: How to Do It, How to Love It

I decided recently that I was tired of always being tired.  I was tired of dragging myself from commitment to commitment, doing things half-assed and hoping for the best.  I wanted to enjoy what I was doing; heck, I wanted to just be fully awake while I was doing them!  I stumbled upon the concept of living intentionally several months ago and have slowly incorporated parts of it into my life.  Most of it started with my desire to become more of a minimalist in terms of my possessions, and it's blossomed since into a desire to be fully present in my life. 

What does living intentionally mean?  Intentional living is simply consciously living according to your morals, religion, or personal values.  Living the life we claim to live.  It is being aware of our fundamental beliefs and making a conscious effort for our behaviors to reflect those beliefs.  

For me, that meant living according to Christ, even when it's hard or counter cultural.  It meant prioritizing my relationship with Christ, family and friends.  And it meant living a life of simplicity, the way Christ did, actively, purposeful, and peacefully.  It has not been an easy conversion; it's been slow and tedious.  I've had to work at lots of things, particularly my impatience, laziness, and tendency to make excuses.  The following are ten rules I've written for myself to encourage myself when I'm feeling like I've failed.

Rules to Simplify and Live Intentionally:

1.  Reevaluate your priorities.  For me, that required writing down all of my commitments, desires, and leisure activities.  I edited what I could and prioritized the rest, taking into consideration how much time and energy I had and desired to put into each activity.  When I removed excess things that I didn’t truly enjoy or have time for, I felt a lot less obligated, less stressed, and less tired.

2.  Realize you can’t do it all.  Going hand-in-hand with number one, yes, our dreams are limitless, but our time/money/energy is not.  We cannot, on this very day (maybe not even this week, month, or year) complete everything we wish we could.  And that’s okay!  When we finally admit that we don’t have to do it all now, we suddenly are able to breathe easier and enjoy more the things we can do now.

3.  Stop comparing.  Teddy Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”  How often have we scrolled through our Facebook or Instagram feeds wishing for the life of someone else?  We forget that we are only seeing the parts that those friends want us to see, that they too have boring days, work days, bad hair days, etc.  When we covet the possessions, opportunities, or lives of others, we forget all that we have..

4.  Count your blessings.  When we stop comparing, we can more clearly see all the wonderful gifts we have.  Every day may not be great, but there is something great in every day.  Taking the time to be thankful for your morning coffee, sunshine on your lunchbreak, a sweet note from a coworker, or a stranger in a car letting your merge helps you to realign your priorities.  We are all more blessed than we give the Lord credit for.

5.   Live at full volume.  Live passionately.  Don’t spend your weeks waiting for the weekend, months waiting for vacation, or years waiting for retirement.  Do your living now, right in the middle of the week.  Be all-in when it comes to life; don’t live it as a bystander waiting for something to happen.  Make it happen and be proud of it.

6.  Do your laundry.  Whenever you have a full load of clothes, do it.  Don’t let it pile up until the weekend.  Take five minutes now to start it, five minutes in an hour to put in the dryer, and five minutes in another hour to fold it.  You’ll have an empty laundry basket, an item to check off of your to-do list, and an accomplishment that day.  Carry this mentality over to other aspects of your life.

7.  Speak kindly.  The golden rule is as true now as it was in elementary school.  Speaking negatively not only hurts others, it also hurts the speaker.  When we profess negativity, we internalize that same negative energy.  And your awesome day can turn sour with the smallest gossip to a coworker.

8.  Be gentle on yourself.  There will be days when everything goes to Hell, when nothing on your to-do list gets checked off, when you impulsively buy something you immediately regret, and when you just feel like you let yourself down.  Stand up, dust off your clothes, and move on.  You are not perfect, and you do not have to be.  Simply resolve to do better next time.
9. Surround yourself with positive friends.  It is more difficult to live a simple, intentional life when we surround ourselves with people who promote the opposite in us.  Cultivate friendships with people who encourage you to be the best version of yourself.

10.   Pray.  Pray for patience if you find yourself impatient (but be prepared for the Lord to give you opportunities to be patient).  Pray for a change of heart if you’re harboring hateful feelings.  Pray for self-control if you can’t seem to pass a sale wrack without buying something.  Pray for a strong desire for a simple, intentional life and the opportunities to reach for it.