Live Life With Intentionality and Change the Way You Live
The other day I was talking with a friend about living with intention which then prompted me to continue thinking about what it truly means to live with intention. For the purposes of this discussion living Life
with intention means living with determination to act in a particular way. The choice is ours to decide whether we will use our intentions to shape Life to be meaningful or marginal.
The nice thing about living with positive intentions is that we get to choose what is meaningful for us in whatever way we intend to live. Whether or not we live with intentionality the fact remains that it is through our individual moment-to-moment acts that we ultimately determine whether our dreams as children match our destinies at the end of Life (Pettis Principle #26). Assuming a Life lived with positive intentions means that there really aren't any right or wrong choices to make about how to live: There is only making choices. So, why not live Life as an unabashed adventure by having fun living with positive intentions? Moreover, if along the way we feel that we have embarked on a wrong path we can change directions because we are in control of our lives. (Learning to be patient, persistent, and how to forgive myself were very important lessons for me to learn on my journey.)
Generally speaking, living with intention is neutral and therefore neither good or bad. As a result, we can just as easily live a negative Life with intention as we can a positive one. What is certain is that whatever it is upon which we spend our energy will manifest in our lives. If our view of the world is that the glass is always 1/2 empty then we will view Life through a lens of scarcity and unhappiness and therefore manifest those things in our lives. Beauty and abundance exist all around us and yet we create a world of more scarcity by holding a negative world-view which produces negative intentions, actions, and pure dread.
However, by simply changing the frame of reference with which we view the world we can alter our frames of reference from scarcity to abundance and unhappiness to happiness. It can also work the other way around when we are generally positive and begin holding negative intentions. In either case, we produce what we are looking for in Life just as easily as we walk and drive our cars where we are looking. Therefore, it is important to select positive frames of reference that will produce positive intentionality which then, in turn, produces positive outcomes.
How does intentionality work? Living with intention leads to actions that over time transform our lives. For example, living with intention to be a great parent, to find happiness, or to do something else magnificent requires commitment, focus and attention, and energy which then are transferred into the specific intentions we hold and result in the outcomes we produce through our actions. By holding the intentions we begin to place ourselves in positions where we attract the things we need in order for us to manifest what we intended. Precisely because we are looking for something we find it--it is that simple--all we have to do is to believe it.
Many years ago I was in Barstow, California looking at an old one room schoolhouse blackboard and saw the words, "If your mind can conceive it, and your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it." Obviously, I have never forgotten these words, and I live by these words, which illustrates beautifully the point about living with intentionality. My conviction to this positive intention has enabled me to find success as an executive leader where others found nothing but failure and to find the greatest joys with the Life I'm creating for myself.
Logically, if I want to become an auto mechanic, teacher, soldier, doctor, or executive I have to spend time learning my trade and craft. The more time and energy I put into mastering my craft the greater the payoff in terms of the opportunities that will manifest. (In his best selling book Outliers Malcolm Gladwell discussed the 10,000 hour rule that he calculated is required for anyone to master their craft.) The same is true for anything I create in my Life. I just have to exercise my brain knowing that I either have or can learn the skills to accomplish my Life mission by living with intention. In my own case, I had to develop the long-view of Life at a time when I was a fatalist believing that I was not going to live beyond a certain age--and low-and-behold--I surprised myself.
2. There is no daily stuff with Life that gets in the way. Only Life itself teaching us how to live (Pettis Principle #24).
Be kind to yourself by giving yourself time to transform into the new you. You are talking about morphing into
something anew which requires shedding the old. The serpent cannot show
you its new skin without shedding the old which takes considerable time
and effort to complete the transformation. The butterfly does not exist
unless it ceases as the caterpillar. Change can happen quickly.
Transformation occurs over the course of a lifetime.
5. Be aware that you are changing with intention while others may not be.
7. Life is a process of always Becoming. (Pettis Principle #21.)
The nice thing about living with positive intentions is that we get to choose what is meaningful for us in whatever way we intend to live. Whether or not we live with intentionality the fact remains that it is through our individual moment-to-moment acts that we ultimately determine whether our dreams as children match our destinies at the end of Life (Pettis Principle #26). Assuming a Life lived with positive intentions means that there really aren't any right or wrong choices to make about how to live: There is only making choices. So, why not live Life as an unabashed adventure by having fun living with positive intentions? Moreover, if along the way we feel that we have embarked on a wrong path we can change directions because we are in control of our lives. (Learning to be patient, persistent, and how to forgive myself were very important lessons for me to learn on my journey.)
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| (2011) Pt. Richmond, CA Tunnel |
However, by simply changing the frame of reference with which we view the world we can alter our frames of reference from scarcity to abundance and unhappiness to happiness. It can also work the other way around when we are generally positive and begin holding negative intentions. In either case, we produce what we are looking for in Life just as easily as we walk and drive our cars where we are looking. Therefore, it is important to select positive frames of reference that will produce positive intentionality which then, in turn, produces positive outcomes.
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| Copyright Butterfly Pictures |
Many years ago I was in Barstow, California looking at an old one room schoolhouse blackboard and saw the words, "If your mind can conceive it, and your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it." Obviously, I have never forgotten these words, and I live by these words, which illustrates beautifully the point about living with intentionality. My conviction to this positive intention has enabled me to find success as an executive leader where others found nothing but failure and to find the greatest joys with the Life I'm creating for myself.
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| (2011) Ferry Point Tunnel Pt. Richmond, CA |
Over the course of my lifetime (now spanning six decades) what I've learned about living with intention can be summarized in the following basic principles:
1. The path is one of striving towards perfection and not one of perfection.
My journey is teaching me about Life through the variety of experiences over the course of the lifetime. In the process my imperfections are illuminated on a regular basis enabling me to learn how to perfect various parts of myself. For example, one of my interests is to study Gung Fu. Gung Fu means perfection through practice and hard work over time. This avenue of study enabled me to not only lose weight, improve my overall conditioning, and to teach my body how to move in ways that were previously foreign to me, but it has developed additional self-confidence and reduced stress. Gung Fu also tests my patience and persistence.
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| (2011) Natatorium Pt. Richmond, CA |
No matter how perfect we want things to be in our lives there are always things that seem to interfere with what we are trying to do throwing us off our game. There are also lots of pressures for us to remain who we are because it is comfortable for everyone around us to keep their images of us as we are. In addition, as we are practicing holding intentions to behave differently we find ourselves reverting to old and less desirable behaviors. Those behaviors were developed over many years of conditioning and have become well-embedded in who we have Become. To change those behaviors is going to take time and consistent effort. Even then, under the right conditions those behaviors may continue to emerge albeit (and most importantly) much less frequently over time.
3.
Be patient with yourself.
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| Copyright Butterfly Pictures |
4. Forgive yourself for being human--mistakes are going to be made along the journey.
When you fall off the Intention Wagon forgive yourself. It often takes multiple attempts to get it right so allow yourself to make mistakes, knowing that through the mistakes come the lessons for improvement.
5. Be aware that you are changing with intention while others may not be.
As a result we might find ourselves in a different place while others around us
remain where they are. This is the hard part of transformation with
intention. It will produce frustration because the pull is to return us
to the old way of Being when our individual effort is to create a new way of Being. When we change, the world changes in how it reflects back to us what "it sees." Oftentimes, others like what we were rather than what we are Becoming
because it means that they too must change. Be mindful that some people who are there at the
beginning may not be there at the end.
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| (2011) Ferry Point Tunnel Pt. Richmond, CA |
6. Love yourself.
Unfortunately, many of us do not learn how to love ourselves. I am not speaking about narcissism which is classified as a mental disorder but rather a healthy love for Self as a living, breathing, creative, wonderful Being. Individually, learning to love ourselves as we are is crucial to liberating ourselves from the control exerted by others (with intention or not) and to enable us to develop healthy self-concepts. Loving ourselves for who we are and what we are trying to accomplish with intention in our lives provides the strength for us to overcome obstacles and to feel good about what we are doing regardless of what others think.
As long as we are alive we are in the process of Becoming who we are. Even if we do nothing we are changing because our cells are reproducing and dying, although the rate at which this happens slows as we age. Living with intention means actively engaging Life as we find it and transforming what we find into meaningful Life experiences.
Things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes what appears to be a problem provides wonderful learning opportunities for us to grow. Embracing what comes our way as we live with increased intention enables us to see things with new eyes giving us the chance to say yes when before we might have said no.
Things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes what appears to be a problem provides wonderful learning opportunities for us to grow. Embracing what comes our way as we live with increased intention enables us to see things with new eyes giving us the chance to say yes when before we might have said no.
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| (2011) Ferry Point Tunnel Pt. Richmond, CA |
Living with intention transforms a mundane Life into an exciting one because we are not sitting and waiting for Life
to simply happen. Instead, we are manifesting precisely what we want
and thereby creating for ourselves the meaning we always wanted but did
not know how to create.
Live boldly and without fear. Live with intention. Live to create a meaningful Life.
Reference
Live boldly and without fear. Live with intention. Live to create a meaningful Life.
Reference
http://www.butterflypictures.net/1-butterfly-pictures.html
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