Intentional living in a fast pace world

the fact of being deliberate and purposeful

In a time where the fast life is related to success, it has become so difficult to be intentional in the simplest of daily activities.

For me while having lunch I have to be watching a youtube video, to the degree that sometimes I won\’t even touch my food before I find the right video. Does anyone relate? Most of us don\’t sit down to enjoy our breakfast, we take it on the go because we are late or for some other reason. Some of us find it difficult to meet with friends and family and when we do we are either surfing social media sites or taking work calls or something of the sort that just doesn\’t allow us to be present.

Now it\’s not only in social situations, even at work most of us will be working on one thing and be thinking about the other. We let phone calls interrupt or focus on one task to move to the other and even emails are a catalyst to some of us going from one thing to the other. Now please don\’t misunderstand. I am not saying don\’t answer calls at work or respond to emails, even what I\’m saying is that we allow the call and the email to distract and take away from tasks we were working on, we let them shift our focus.

Thecouchingroom.com in an article states Intentionality lies at the heart of consciousness itself. At a preliminary stage of intentionality, intentions determine how you perceive the world. After all, the intention you bring to something governs how you will perceive it. Because when you have an intention you are “turning your attention toward something,” your perception is directed by your intentionality— your capacity for intention.

So now my question to you is how many times a day are you turning your attention from one thing to another? Are there things that you consider important that you are taking the time to be attentive or present on?

Now I understand that this whole idea can sound a little philosophical but bare with me a second. When your attention is being stolen less say at least 5 times a day at work by a notification on your phone or a phone call how do you expect to be your most effective self? Most of us feel so drained after work we don\’t have the energy for anything but sleep. Now just for a second imagine if you were a little more intentional with your time if you took an hour every morning to answer your emails before you start work, that way you can set out your main to-dos for the day. If you took your lunch without any distractions from YouTube and enjoyed your lunch by yourself or even with a colleague instead of Youtube. Imagine if you turned off your notifications on your phone and then got to your messages during your commute or somewhere that doesn\’t require your attention.

I\’m not saying you won\’t be tired. I am however saying you will have the mental energy to discipline yourself and create a habit. That maybe visiting friends and family or going to the gym or cooking anything you feel will be more beneficial to you.

Mark Pettit in an article for Lucemi consulting writes.

Without an intentional focus for your day, you can feel stuck and waste time on non-important activities. Without intention, you can take on too much and get easily distracted.

I recently started turning off my notifications and I can say that it has been the best thing I have done for myself. I used to really find that my mind would wander and I would shift my attention from one thing to another and end the day with a bunch of started but unfinished tasks and that led me to serious burnout. Now I am able to focus more and I feel more efficient and accomplished at work. That makes me feel like I should reward myself after work.

Which leads me to the second point of being intentional. Now rewarding yourself is mostly related to getting yourself a nice juicy burger or watching the new top gun maverick. Which is not a terrible thing but if you are trying to lead a healthy life and eat clean how does having a burger help? For me my goal is to lead a healthy life and stay healthy so I\’m trying to be purposeful about the food I eat. I have set clear and even measurable goals to help me reach that goal so for me rewarding myself with a burger (just one burger) completely diverges from my goals so I intentionally reward myself with either a healthier meal or something i\’m trying to do now is incorporate a day at the gym and spa when I want to reward myself.

I am in no way saying I\’m perfect or this is easy. It’s so hard in fact it is the harder thing to do but the long term results of intentional living are more rewarding.

Mark Petit sums up the article by saying When you focus on being intentional every day you feel clearer, more capable, and more confident. To be intentional, get clear upfront on exactly what you want to achieve, understand its importance, and take focused action every day towards achieving the things that matter most.
Being purposeful and deliberate builds a positive mindset, helps you become more present in the moment, and gives your life greater clarity and meaning.