Live Intentionally
I was first introduced to minimalism through an impulse purchase at Barnes and Noble roughly four years ago. I can’t recall what book I went in to buy but I picked up the Magical Art of Tidying Up for a ridiculous discount since I was a B&N member. That night I read the whole thing cover to cover. All these years later I still recall the feeling of looking around at my house and thinking I don’t need this much. Over the ensuing four years though, I realized that I am an intentionalist more than a minimalist.
What’s the difference? Minimalism is a pared-down way of living that strips out the excess and only leave the essentials. It’s helpful to grasp what truly matters to you in your space however, anyone who has seen my space knows that it’s not really sparse. I have a rule that everything in my home has to tell a story or have a purpose. “That’s a cool painting.” “Oh, thanks I picked that up when I was living in Mexico City.” You get the point. As I adopted the rule of storytelling with my items, I realized that I was no longer a minimalist. I had become an intentionalist. Intentional living means to live a life that’s aligned with your values, beliefs, and passions. That definition really spoke to me.
When you are first looking at living more intentionally there a few questions to ask yourself.
What do you want more of in your life?
What do you want less of in your life?
What do you want to experience?
How do you want to feel?
What matters to you?
What are you passionate about and why?
What are your priorities?
How attached are you to money?
What job are you in and why?
What’s your dream job and why?
I found it helpful when I was thinking through these questions to really think about them. I mean take a few days and live with them on your mind. Go on a long walk, do your daily errands, and think about them in the shower. When you start asking yourself why you are going in one direction in life, it becomes easier to answer why you want to change it.
Looking at the answer to these questions a crucial element will emerge, your core values. These core values are your foundation, the elements that make you who you are. An example from my experience with this is my desire to use beauty products that are cruelty-free. When I went through this exercise, I realized just how strongly I felt about this but, my bathroom was crawling with mainstream products and not a single one was cruelty-free. As I used them up, I became more mindful, more intentional, about replacing them only with items that adhered to my core beliefs. Does that mean I’m 100% dedicated every second and I don’t slip? No. Am I using a Chanel face wash (Chanel is not a cruelty-free brand) that I bought when I was out with a girlfriend because I got excited about being at the Chanel counter? I am. However, I know when it is used up, I’ll be more mindful in my next purchase. My core values are my home base for everything. The closer I stick to it, the more grounded I feel in all of my decisions.
As you begin to mold yourself and your life into the image that you want it’s important to remember that you can’t copy what someone else is doing. We are all impacted by various experiences in life as we are all looking at it from different angles. Therefore, it makes no sense to totally copy a Scandinavian-style living room from Pinterest, which will help you feel calmer in your space when you actually love color and various textures. You have to find what your own version of living intentionally looks like.
Intentional living has a funny way of sneaking into every aspect of your life once you become aware of it. You catch your inner Jiminy Cricket saying, “Are you sure you want to do that/buy that/go there?” I see it most in my shopping. When I am out, I find myself drawn to amazing pieces to add to my home, then my core values kick in. If I want to save money to buy a house where I move next and I know I can’t take this item with me in my suitcase when I move in a few months should I really purchase it? Of course not. Without having my core values defined my house would be full of items that I can only enjoy for another two months before I left it behind thus keeping me from my financial goal and stressing me out when it comes time to leave. In the end, it’s just not worth it. I avoid the purchase and continue to live out my priorities. A similar mindset applies to adding things to your life like new habits. When you begin a new habit make sure you are starting small with a habit you’ll actually do. If you have never been a morning person then starting out saying that you’ll wake up an hour earlier than normal is quite a jump. Start with a wake-up that’s five minutes earlier and take it from there. Baby steps are the best when it comes to readjusting our sails to the direction we want to go in life.
Remember the old adage, “The only constant in life is change”? It applies to who we are and who we are becoming too. Are you the same person from five years ago? Heck, are you the same person from the beginning of 2020? In some ways you are and, in some ways, you have evolved. As you change re-evaluate your core values to make sure that they are always lining up with where you are right now. Keep a growth mindset and revisit that initial list of questions to see where you are now. Has your dream job changed? If so, what new habits are you adding to your life to work towards that and what items do you need to leave behind? These re-evaluations will keep you true to yourself and keep you living your life with intention.
I would love to know what you think of living more intentionally. Comment below! If you looking for some resources to learn more, I highly suggest the following:
Michelle Kirsch | Intentional Living Create an intentional life.
REBEKAH JOAN Welcome to your life — to the fullest.
Abundantly Minimal Videos about decluttering, minimalism, and intentional living.
See you next week!
