Are You Living Intentionally?
I had the night all planned out. My husband was out of town, so I was going to put dinner away, get our son to bed, and spend the rest of my night writing. The discipline of writing does not come naturally to me, so I purposefully reserve blocks of time to work. And I needed the time. Every minute of it.
As I was turning off the kitchen lights, feeling accomplished that my dishwasher was loaded and running, my teenage daughter asked if I would sit with her and watch Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls has been a fun opportunity for us to bond. She has already watched the entire series, but she is watching it again with me.
At that moment, I had an internal struggle. My head wanted to write; after all, I had scheduled the time—and time was short. However, my heart wanted to be with my daughter. How often does a sixteen-year-old girl really want her mom to hang out? Well, maybe yours does, but mine often does not.
We are pulled in many different directions, but that is no excuse. It is up to us to choose our priorities. I believe we can all be intentional with our time by answering these three questions:
Question #1: What Do I Want?
What do you really, really want? If you had all of the resources you needed and knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do? Knowing what you want is the most important step in reaching your goals. Without clarity about what matters, we have no end point; we can’t identify what to include and what to eliminate. Every time we say yes to something, we are saying no to something else.
I know that I want to impact lives. I want to help others be their best selves. I want those around me to feel like I add value to their world. I want to encourage them to step out, take risks, and look fear in the face. I want to show the love of Jesus to others so that they know what unconditional love looks like. I want to travel the world, grow and cultivate friendships, and leave the world a better place.
Question #2: Who Matters Most to Me?
Who is a priority in your life? Do those who matter most know they are your priority? Would they be able to say that they know unequivocally that they matter most to you?
The Lord. My family. My friends. When I invest in these relationships, I know I am living my life on purpose. When I am clear on who matters most, I can more easily make decisions about how I spend my time.
When my daughter asked me to sit down and watch the awards ceremony with her, I was able to say yes. Even though my mind wanted to be responsible and follow the schedule I had created, my heart knew that being present with and impacting my family must come first, before impacting the world.
Question #3: What Do I Need to Do?
Now that you know what you want and who matters most, what do you need to do? Where do you need to make changes? Where do you need to invest more time? What do you need to let go of? What do you need to say no to?
I find I must constantly refocus my priorities so that I am saying yes to the commitments and events that align with my values. Like gardeners, it’s as if you must prune back the rose bushes so that you can have healthier, stronger, more colorful roses.
Our time on earth is limited. Many days we forget this reality, but we all have limited time. When your time on earth is complete, what legacy do you want to leave behind? We make daily decisions that affect those we love and, thus, we affect our legacy.
Let’s be purposeful about choices, decisions, and actions. Let’s be clear about what we want. The more intentional we are, the more likely we are to achieve our unique purpose. As Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
You are created for more.
You are amazing! Now start living like it!
