5 Ways To Live Your Life With More Intention

How many times do we sacrifice our own needs to fit the perception of what we “should” be doing?

For years, I struggled with trying to map out and find my purpose. I was caught in a constant battle between following what felt right to me, and being pulled in the opposite direction of what others told me I “should be doing”. As somebody who’s struggled with people-pleasing, separating the truth of what I knew to silencing the opinions of others wasn’t always easy—but what I realized, is that what it came down to was choosing to live a life of intention.

The only way we can live an authentic life is by learning how to be honest and open with what serves us and what doesn’t. Living a life of intention doesn’t mean shrinking the loudest parts of you to belong—it’s about living out what truly feels right to you and putting that above any expectations. It’s the inner knowing that sometimes choosing yourself means accepting that your journey won’t always be understood, but it’s learning how to be okay with the disconnect because you know you feel unsettled for a reason.

Living with intention means living for yourself, not for the approval of others. It means pushing past disapproval because you know it’s more important to pursue a path that feels right to you and for you. It’s learning how to pursue your passions, being intentional with your choices, and always putting yourself first, no matter what that looks like to anybody else.

Here are 5 ways to live your life with more intention:

1. Set Aside Time To Reflect Regularly

We often underestimate the power of self-reflection. Self-reflection helps us evaluate our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors behind our choices. It provides a clear understanding of why we feel the way we do and the correlation between awareness of how we feel and the way we act.

Change starts with the vulnerability of finding self-awareness. When we have awareness of who we are and who we want to be, it’s easier to draw the connection of how we can start living our life with more intention.

There was a long period of time in my life when I felt completely stuck. My passion for writing ran deep, yet when I was trying to pursue that path, it seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was writing for other publications at the time, trying to build my own website, and every challenge started feeling like the biggest setback.

Instead of enjoying the journey along the way, I was more focused on “when” I would finally be where I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do. Once I finally hit live on my website, I faced a whole new set of challenges that I had to navigate. I realized that throughout that time I put way too much emphasis on where I wasn’t, that I missed the beauty of enjoying where I was.

Self-reflection is about releasing how you think and feel, so that you’re able to understand how you can live more intentionally. It’s about learning how to let go of a negative mindset to embrace a positive one, knowing that your journey unfolds with time, and it doesn’t always happen immediately.

2. Find Out Where You Can Make Minor Changes

Our success isn’t only found in the big changes, it’s found in the smaller changes and choices we make each day.

Re-evaluate your priorities by starting where you are. I’m currently working on a project outside of my website right now, and while I have the majority of it mapped out—I found that I started struggling when I started putting too many expectations on myself of where I “should” be.

At first, I thought I could dedicate every single morning to specifically work on this project. But what ended up happening was that I could never quite get the words right, and I realized that it was because I was forcing it when it wasn’t right. I kept getting down on myself for not being where I thought I should be, rather than celebrating the success of how far I had come.

Minor changes happen when we drop unrealistic expectations. Like my example with my project, it’s not to say that we shouldn’t set goals and have intentions to reach those goals—but we need to learn how to give ourselves grace and appreciate where we are rather than always trying to hit a major milestone.

Living with intention starts with releasing constant pressure on yourself so that you can make choices that align with your values, goals, and overall vision for your life.

3. Be Intentional With Your Choices

Living life with intention means aligning what you truly need and desire with the choices you make. It doesn’t mean consistently showing up for other people and disregarding yourself; it means learning how to be intentional in everything you do.

Choose to be intentional with how you spend your time, the relationships you’re putting energy into, and the mindset you strive to have. Truly dive deeper by asking yourself if who or what you’re investing in is bringing you closer or farther away from where you want to be.

Looking back, I’ve shrunk myself too many times to fit into somebody else’s mold of who they thought I should be. I’ll be the first one to admit that this stems from a lack of confidence, and worrying about others’ perceptions of me rather than following what feels right and true to me.

The most important thing to remember is that you are the only one living your life—not anybody else. That’s why it’s so important to make choices that align with who you are, not who others think you should be.

Some helpful questions if you want to learn how to be intentional with your choices:

• What is truly important to me in this season of my life?
• Are the daily choices I’m making aligning with my values and goals?
• What habits and routines are helping me grow? What ones are holding me back?
• Do I find myself present in my every day, or am I simply going through the motions?
• What relationships bring me energy and joy? What ones drain me?

Evaluating your choices and learning how to be intentional means being honest with how you currently feel and spend your time. Only you know what’s going to fulfill you and make you feel whole. Choosing intention means focusing on what you can control and making those changes accordingly.

4. Let Go Of Any Negative Talk Or Self-Doubt

My life changed when I realized how much impact we have on how we feel. Our mindset influences our actions, words, and choices. If we convince ourselves that we can’t do something, or we aren’t capable of it, then we’ll start to believe it.

Living your life with intention means learning how to let go of any negative talk or self-doubt. Whether the doubt is influenced by your thoughts or by the opinions of others, you’ll never get to where you want to be if you consistently hold yourself back.

The truth is, only you know what’s going to fulfill you so you can live out your true purpose. This isn’t found in feeding into those thoughts of self-doubt or listening to others—it’s found in trusting and following what feels right for you.

I struggled with imposter syndrome for years when I was in college, and even found myself caught in that same trap after I launched my website. When I found myself slipping back into that pattern, I chose to replace every negative thought with something positive. Over time, the loudness of the negative thoughts lessened because I knew the truth outweighed any emotion or feeling.

Intentionally living means choosing to believe in the best for yourself; regardless of how you feel.

5. Live Your Life With Purpose

Choosing to pursue purpose isn’t found in what we do, it’s found in who we are.

Throughout those years when I struggled to find my purpose as if it was some kind of destination I could finally reach at the end, I realized there was purpose in my every day; not just when I completed a goal off a checklist.

I started to find purpose in the way I started my mornings, how I chose to unwind at the end of the night, and my overall daily routine. My mental health improved when I stopped chasing and trying to seek out my purpose. I realized my intention began with finding purpose in my everyday choices.