Today I sat down to write my first blog post. I had been thinking about how to elevate my mindset with intentional living, but as I was pulling my thoughts together, my attention was pulled in another direction. My baby girl wanted to play with me. On most days she can play for a bit while I sit with her. Today she wanted to play with everything except her toys. She was happy to explore the house, play with pots and pans, and get into everything except what she was supposed to.
These are THE moments when I could get frustrated about not being able to finish a task, but instead, I can choose intentional living.
I’m a list maker and I like to cross things off my list for a productive, accomplished feeling. This kind of day is where I could be impatient about not having a second to think for myself. It’s easy to live day to day focusing on what tasks you want to get done that day, including this blog post. Yet, the mindset that you choose each day is the foundation that you lay for your life.
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If every single day adds up to one life, what value are you adding to that day with that one task?
If you were to look back on your life 10 years from now, would you remember the to-do list that you didn’t get done? When I sat down to write my blog post, I could have chosen to prioritize getting this done. I could have spent the day frustrated by the lack of time to focus. I could have tried to squeeze in time to write while Thea was playing. Instead, I chose to put away my notes and balance my time by not spreading myself too thin. With one shift in my mindset, I decided to spend time with my baby girl who is only a baby once. I decided to remember the quality time that I spent with her. I want to embrace my life as a life that I have lived, not a life that I filled with crossing things off my list.
How Do You Elevate Your Mindset With Intentional Living to Create a Life You Love?
1. DEFINE YOUR VALUES.
As I mentioned earlier, spending time with my baby girl was more valuable to me than getting things checked off my list. It's important to think about what you value most each day in order to live your life in line with those values. Your values connect to your dreams and your ideal self. Where do you want to be in life? Who do you want to be in life? What is your ideal day? To elevate your mindset, you have to create intentional living in your life by aligning each day with the values of where you want to be and who you want to become. Write down your ideal day with as many details as you can think of. This is your chance to dig into the core of who you really are. Dream big. If everything you said about yourself was to come true, what would you say?
2. DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE AND MIND.
Living with intention means surrounding yourself with what you love. We have to get rid of the energy from the things in our life that are taking up space. This could be clothes, friendships, or negativity. You can declutter your life by getting rid of what depletes your energy instead of replenishing it. Take the time to clear up space in your life and in your mind to make room for better things to come. For me, this meant shedding the negative mindset around feeling a lack of time and shifting my focus to realize the time that I did have.
3. SHOW GRATITUDE.
When we shift our mindset from thinking about the lack in our lives, we begin to focus on what we are grateful for. We start celebrating the little moments each day and create a happier life. Write down every single thing you can think of that you are grateful for at this moment.
4. CREATE A SELF-CARE ROUTINE.
A daily self-care routine is so important to center us. The world around us is fast-paced and can suck us into that mentality. I have several things that I do each day to create a self-care routine. The first part of my routine is my morning coffee. This warm cup that I pour is a special part of my day and allows me to wake up slowly. I like to play Billie Holiday to set the mood, then I have quiet time to myself. This is where I journal affirmations, read my bible and center myself for the day. At the end of each day, my evening skincare routine is part of my self-care. I take the time to take care of my skin. It’s calming and relaxes my body for sleep. Pick one thing that you can start doing each day for yourself to center your body and mind.
5. SLOW DOWN.
Have you ever heard someone say to you, “time is flying by”? Time flies when we aren’t taking the time to slow down. To live with intention, we must slow our pace and clear our minds. We can clear our minds through meditation or by spending an evening at home to do things away from the noise such as finishing a puzzle or reading a book. The objective here is to learn how to say yes when it’s a good fit, and to say no when you need to take a beat. The practice of slow living creates an opening for opportunities to present themselves to you. Make a list of things that are distracting you in life. It could be your phone or Netflix (I love it too). Pick one task that you can do instead of grabbing your phone or pulling up Netflix that will help you slow down and enjoy the quiet.
Intentional living is the art of seeing a great picture rather than just the moments that are in front of you and taking them in with the greater picture in mind.
It’s the ability to be present in each moment while having the awareness of what those moments will mean to you. This mentality allows us to break out of our mindless routines and to-do lists. We can create a life that we love by aligning our decisions to focus on what we love. When I’m playing with Thea, I’m not thinking about the dishes, the blog, or the to-do lists. I’m thinking about the little baby that she is right now and won’t be forever. I kiss her, use my imagination with her, and soak up every moment.
