“Don’t just drift through your life, instead live it intentionally and on purpose.” Some years ago I came to believe that is one of the most important lessons that a person can learn.
Living YOUR life demands that you pay attention to it and this means that you must make a conscious effort to have a plan for your life.
We live in a fast-paced world and in order not to lose yourself to that hectic, almost out-of-control life, you need both to remember that you are not living in a vacuum, but also to understand the culture that you’re living in is constantly moving and changing.
As you begin living the life you chose, on your terms, you will be required to continuously evaluate the flow of the culture to determine where it is headed, how it is affecting you, and if it is taking you in the direction YOU chose.
To successfully do this, you must examine yourself.
• Get to know and understand who and what you are.
• Get a strong handle on your passions, talents, abilities, and weaknesses.
• This will require precious time and energy on your part to be successful. But, it is one of the most valuable things you can ever do for yourself and those you love.
Living your life certainly requires intentionality. In today’s hectic world this is not a simple task.
To live your life intently, you need to understand that your life is made up of choices – a lot of choices! Every day, we are each faced with a multitude of choices and decisions – even the attitude you will have for the day.
“Your attitude?” Yes, you get to pick your attitude along with the choices of your life! It’s up to you to make the decisions not to let the circumstances of your past negatively determine the pattern of your life in the future. You have a choice in the matter – to be stuck in the same pattern of living that you have been for years, or realize that with every morning comes a new opportunity to live YOUR life.
This is your life – wake up, learn it, live it, love it.
Decide to live your life, not someone else’s idea of how you should live YOUR life!
Oh, and stop comparing your life to anyone else’s. You weren’t born to live their life. There is no sense wasting your life being jealous of theirs. Instead, you were born to live your life – make an intentional choice today to be good at it. After all, this is the only life you get. So many people I know seem to live for the approval of others: dressing and acting a certain way hoping to impress someone. People are not being true to themselves when they do not stand up for their beliefs or… even who they would like to spend their time with… and thus, they are robbing themselves of THEIR life for the approval of someone else.
By not living their life, by not being true to themselves – they will never be happy, nor will they ever truly get the approval they are searching for.
Define your life’s purpose.
There are two days in your life that are head and shoulders more important than any other – the day you were born and the day you understand why. By realizing what the purpose for your life is will help you identify your life’s passion. Write this down. Just doing that will bring new meaning to your life. This will rouse you from your slow death of only going through the motions of living.
Know your dreams and consciously choose to make them real in your life.
In doing this, you will develop a set of goals for making these dreams real. You will soon find that just writing your goals down makes them more significant for you. Your goals will shape you and move you forward to set new and bigger goals. By setting goals that are directly in line with your life’s purpose, they re-enforce that purpose for your life.
Remaining focused becomes a number one priority in your life.
In this ever-changing world there seems to be every possible distraction out there begging for our attention nearly every moment of the day. It’s time to turn off those distractions and start living your life instead.
I understand the pull of TV: I grew up in a very rural area in New Mexico back when there were 3 channels and they were broadcast over open airwaves. In the mountains there, reception was non-existent… so, no TV. To this day I truly love to just let myself submerge into a day of mindless TV (I must add that my wife hates this). Does releasing your mind to this do you any good – sometimes yes – if this is where you find your escape and relaxation, but only for a short while.
Why did I tell you this? To let you know that is good to sit back and mindlessly relax sometimes. But, let’s be real – all TV does (with very few exceptions) is rob you of time and energy that could be better spent living intentionally. Turn off the TV, turn off the distractions and live your life instead.
The worst thing you could ever do is to waste your life.
• Decide to live your life for yourself
• Define your purpose: this will tell you who and what you are and guide you
• Stop comparing yourself to others
• Set goals: and reward yourself for achieving them!
• Stay focused and don’t fall prey to all the distractions that surround you
Basically, it’s time to start living your life based on choice and commitment not circumstance and playing the “hand that you are dealt”.
You do have the power to control what you want, your dreams, and your goals so exercise that power and start living your life.
