Living an Intentional Life

What does it mean to live an intentional life, and how does money factor into this?

Well, I'm glad you asked.  Being intentional means being present, deliberate and conscious in the choices we make and how our life actually is.

I don't know about you, but I had no idea what this meant until not that long ago.  It's not something that really comes up, and it's difficult to do until we have a few years of life experience behind us.

The early days of our lives are spent following our parents and soaking in all the things that they do and how we perceive their life.  We start out as extensions of our parents, and then spend our teens applying friction and rebellion to this concept as we start to figure out who we are and what we want.

Once we hit out 20s, we are still doing this, only now we have more responsibility, more concerns and less time to really delve into what we want our lives to be.  Fragments of this view start to form though.

Then come our 30s and so many new things are thrown at us!  Just as we're starting to figure out who we are as an individual, we often become a partner, wife and a mother.  Plus, if we have older parents, throw carer into the mix as well.  Talk about overload!  Grasping onto something steady to navigate life becomes the priority, and days become weeks, months and years.

And just like that, we hit our 40s.  A certain stride kicks in here and often our kids are a little older and at school, we have likely become tired of being the everything to everyone and we yearn to figure ourselves out!

Beyond this I would be basing my thoughts on observations, as I'm still in my 40s.  However, seeing my mother go through her later years, it has it's own challenges and delights.

Being intentional then really becomes about questioning our beliefs and stories - especially around money.  Often our self-worth is measured by what we "have" and what we "have done" up until this point in our life.

When we start to question, we often see that the beliefs and stories are not ours, but a composite of those from our parents, friends, colleagues and society.  Images of who we "should be", what we "should be doing", and what we "should have".

I say throw the word "should" out the window!

What do YOU want from life?

What kind of home do you want to live in (and not just the look of it, the feel as well)?

What kind of relationships do you want to have with those around you?

What sort of business/work do you want to do and how?

How are your money beliefs and stories potentially holding you back?  Or, are they spurring you on?  Being aware and conscious of this will allow you to make more values-aligned decisions.

Bringing in the Law of Attraction too, you need to be specific.  If you're going to ask for or imagine something, it better be clear!  If not, you'll get it, and it might be distorted, or not quite what you really had in mind.

If you're prone to what others think of you, avoid comparisonitis.  Looking at what others are doing can be great for inspiration and motivation, but if it means you make decisions that aren't aligned with what you want, because you're trying to be someone your now, or live a life that isn't "you", then stop looking.

Awareness is key, so start paying attention to your thoughts, the words you're using and how you're reacting to situations.