“The quality of your commitments will determine the course of your life.” – Ralph Marston
Recently, I spoke to a room full of high school students on the topic of “Don’t Waste Your Life.” Among the advice that I gave them, I offered this nugget of truth: “Don’t just drift through life. Live with intention and purpose.” I believe that is one of the most important lessons that a person can learn—and the sooner we get it, the better.
Living a simple life certainly requires intentional living.
In a world that is hectic, busy, and hurried, simplicity is not. In a culture that encourages selfishness and excess, minimalist living does not. And in a society that is rushing to gain more, satisfaction with less is counter-cultural.
To begin living with intention, we must begin by laying a proper foundation and then add practical steps on top of it.
First, Lay the Foundation.
- Realize that your life is made up of choices. Every morning is a new day full of decisions and opportunities. You get to pick your attitude and your decisions. You don’t have to let the circumstances of your past negatively determine the pattern of your life in the future. You have a choice in the matter. You do not need to be stuck in the same pattern of living that you have been for years… realize that every morning is a new opportunity.
- Evaluate the culture that you’re swimming in. Life is not lived in a vacuum. It is lived surrounded by a culture that is moving somewhere. This culture around us forms a swift downstream current. Living with intention will require you to take a step back and evaluate the flow of the stream to determine where it is headed, how it is affecting you, and if it is taking you in a direction you desire.
- Examine yourself. Know who you are. Get a strong handle on your passions, talents, abilities, and weaknesses. Give precious time and energy to this endeavor. It is one of the most valuable things you can do.
Second, Add Practical Steps.
- Decide to live your life. Stop comparing yourself to others. You were not born to live their life. There is no sense in wasting yours being jealous of theirs. Instead, you were born to live your life – determine today to be good at it. After all, you only get one shot.
- Define a purpose. Identify what you want your life to communicate and contribute. Find a passion to live for that is bigger than yourself. Write it down. It will bring new meaning to your life. It will wake you from the slow death of only living for yourself.
- Set goals. Goals move us and goals shape us. Set goals that are directly in line with your defined purpose. By their very nature, they will introduce intentionality into your life.
- Stay focused. We live in a world of constant connectivity and distraction that is begging for our attention nearly every moment of the day. Learn to turn off the distraction and live your life instead. Turn off the tv and don’t read gossip magazines. Remove nonessential physical belongings that are robbing you of time and energy that could be better spent living with intention.
- Learn from others. Successful people are curious people. They possess the humility to learn from others. Identify people accomplishing your purpose and goals. Then, study them and learn from them.
The worst thing you could ever waste is your life. Instead, commit yourself to intentional living and living with purpose.
Ahmed says
awesome post Joshua, keep it up :)
Earl says
Awesome post. It’s never too late to improve and make changes (I’m 52), so I’m making the decisions needed to simplify and live with defined intentions.
Marci@OvercomingBusy says
This is a concept I wish I would have grasped when I was much younger! I wonder how different life would have been. Not that it is bad now, but I see how intentional living instead of drifting would have helped avoid some junk :) All the more reason to teach this to our kids!
Lynne says
I so agree… I should have followed this a long time ago.
Carlos says
A quienes tengan dudas o lo califiquen de difícil, una experiencia por si les es de utilidad: mira en tu interior en busca de tu seguridad.
Y para quienes deseen leer un texto que se alinea con este post: la letra de la canción “Antes de que cuente diez” de Fito&Fittipaldis, pura poesía
Gracias a todos los que, a diario, regalais aire fresco a través de esta ventana tecnológica.
Tiffany says
Another great post – thank you. My favorite piece of advice you’ve given here is the “Decide to live your life” paragraph – what a terrific reminder.
jay carstensen says
Great suggestions!!
I would add to not be afraid of failure. Go for it and learn if you come up short. The attempt is a lesson waiting to happen!
Be well!
Jay
Amelia says
I totally agree and live by these sentiments. It takes years sometimes to build up this mindfulness to a degree where you can live it daily.
Changing thoughts is powerful I have learnt.
Thanks for sharing.
Amelia.x
Adventure-Some Matthew says
To “Decide to live your life” I would add, “for yourself”. So many people I know seem to live for others: dressing/acting/buying things in order to impress. Neither their physical appearance nor their possessions will truly impress someone, but only their actions and who they really are.
Mark Cancellieri says
Great post. The only thing that I would add is that we need to realize that we don’t need to figure out our entire life’s direction in the beginning. This was the mistake that I made when I was younger, and it held me back. I didn’t fully commit to my intentions because I was afraid of making the wrong choice.
The reality is that we can always change our path somewhere down the road. This takes a lot of the pressure off. We can decide on a particular intention and live by it, and then we can change if it isn’t quite right. Odds are that your intentions will evolve over time anyway. I know that my intentions have changed pretty dramatically over the last few years as I have clarified what I really want, and now I’m really going for it. It’s pretty exciting.
Kathy says
Good additions, Mark.
TRISANN says
Thank you for this, this has been holding me back for quite sometime as well.
Susan says
Great point!
Karina says
Thank you, Mark!
Karina says
Thank you, Mark!
Marie-José says
So you see: It is the yourney of your life Thats more important than reaching Its goal. There is no goal in the horizon. ;)
Felicity says
Well, what I have taken away from Mark is that he set goals, did not reach them, possibly because he did everything in his power to achieve it, but maybe others had control over his achievements/potential success. Then again, maybe he reached his goal, and decided he really did not like it, so he moved on. To find your purpose is not a mere A+B=C. This happened to me. We cannot control what others do; we can only control what we accomplish. I met with a young lady, who wanted to get into vet school, but realized she could not get in school, because she did not have a 4.0 GPA. So, she got a masters degree in biology instead. Now, she is a professor.
Inder Jeet says
Thanks Mark!! you have put it fantastically and will surely gonna help me.
ren says
Good advice as we can plan life all out and one monkey wrench gets thrown in and is all for naught.
Tom Jones says
I completely agree and I have begun the process of living intentionally. What you said about the option to always be able to change your mind if things are not a good fit is Incredibly important to remember. So many people seem to be stuck. We’ve decided that is not for us!
Christine says
This is an excellent post and right in line with what I am trying to do now. Thank you!
Martie says
Thank you for sharing this information in such simple words…i really learn a lot from this block thank you Martie