Intentional Living
Intentional living means to live intentionally! It sounds so simplistic, but what does intentional living really mean? It is to live by design, live deliberately, live with calculation (remember calculators?) and to live premeditatedly. All this intentional living takes planning!
Living with purpose is defined very similarly as intentional living. Living with ambition, aspiration, desire, direction, goals, and with an objective or a plan. So why is intentional living and living with purpose so important at halftime?
Time is Ticking Away
It’s important because time is ticking away at this time of our lives…faster and faster! Adding anything else to a schedule at the halftime of your life may sound overwhelming, but it’s not if change and new ventures are calculated and planned. It will actually free you up.
There are five main principles we will cover in this article on how to create intentional living with purpose in your life. At the halftime of life, you may feel the ability to risk more, either financially or with your time and energy. Kids are older, you’ve been at the same job for a number of years with a bucket-load of experience, and you may even be more financially stable. But do you take a risk? (see: When are You Too Old to Start Over?) The following principles will help you make the days, weeks and years count in this season of your life. Here are those five principles.
Five Principles
PRINCIPLE ONE: Be very clear about your reason for making a change. Are you looking for adventure, a different lifestyle or doing the work you love? You will come back to this reason over and over again as it will help you define your purpose and live intentionally. It answers the questions, Why?
PRINCIPLE TWO: Work with the end in mind. My sisters and I just ordered our parent’s tombstones. There are just a few words you can put on a stone that will forever be a reminder of a life. For my mother, we chose: A true artist who loved the Lord, her husband, daughters and family. Simple and clear. It really summed up the beautiful woman she was, inside and out. It wasn’t all about money, fame or physical beauty. (Even though she was gorgeous to the very end!)
PRINCIPLE THREE: Live with no regrets. To look back on your life with no regrets, review principle two and imagine what you want to be known for on that little stone. Focus on those aspects first. All of us have only one lifetime to live on this earth. We are all on the same train with the same destiny. Is there something you’ve always dreamed of doing? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do something for the adventure or for fun. We get caught in the mental trap that unless we’re giving our extra time at a food bank or digging wells in a foreign country we aren’t doing something worthwhile. That is far from the truth! There are so many ways to make a difference and live with adventure at the same time, even for one person! Explore those ideas and dream a little!
PRINCIPLE FOUR: Get beyond the Fear.
There are many at the halftime of life fearful of stepping out for yet another project or even business that could bring failure and embarrassment. Life may not have turned out the exact way you planned with failed relationships, businesses and even finances. It’s understandable that there is hesitancy and fear to try something else that may also fail. However, there is both good fear and bad fear. Listen to the warning signs of the good fear. Those voices will be logical and make sense. But step out in confidence when you have a plan, direction and even guidance. (See: The Value of a Good Guide) Don’t let the bad fear of not-good-enough thoughts and negativity take over your mind. This is an important step for intentional living!
PRINCIPLE FIVE: Work on your business, not in your business.
Many want to start an entrepreneurial business at this stage, but unless you put a workable system together to start, you may be working many more hours than you planned for a lot less money than you desire. Invest in yourself and in the programs that will help you plan and implement your plan! I can’t emphasize this enough. I constantly invest in programs that will help me move forward and there are many out there. Find a person or a program you trust and go for it. You are so worth it!
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