{"id":9886,"date":"2016-03-02T16:04:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T22:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/?p=9886"},"modified":"2016-03-02T16:43:23","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T22:43:23","slug":"7-ways-to-live-more-intentionally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/2016\/03\/7-ways-to-live-more-intentionally.html","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways To Live More Intentionally"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My life has gone through a series of ups and downs over the last year. I\u2019ve had incredible high\u2019s and have experienced some deep, dark lows. I attribute my ability to bounce back from situations in life to living intentionally.<\/p>\n<p>But what does that mean?<\/p>\n<p>Well\u2026I guess it means, in simple terms\u2026knowing what you\u2019re doing\u2026at all times.<\/p>\n<p>To me it means, being <em>with<\/em> yourself\u2026feeling your breath on your lips when you breathe. Feeling the rise and fall of your chest. Feeling the ground underneath you when you walk. Watching your thoughts as you think and enjoying the moment of being\u00a0alive.<\/p>\n<p>Doing things intentionally isn\u2019t nearly as common as you think.<\/p><div class=\"themi-content_11\" id=\"themi-2207333834\"><div id=\"ld-8755-6417\"><\/div><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:9217690065945446,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-8755-6417\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/div>\n<p>Studies show that about <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2012\/06\/habits-why-we-do-what-we-do\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">45% of what we do every day feels like decisions<\/a>, but they\u2019re actually habits.<\/p><div class=\"themi-content_15\" id=\"themi-1312978413\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/themindunleashed\/subscribe\" aria-label=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px.png 1920w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-696x392.png 696w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1068x601.png 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>That means almost half of the actions we take every day are actually happening on auto pilot.<\/p>\n<p>Well, when we live on auto-pilot, we\u2019re certainly not in full control of our lives, meaning that we\u2019re giving a percentage of our control and power away to habits that we\u2019ve formed in the past.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a great chance that the habits you have either<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Aren\u2019t serving you to the highest potential<\/li>\n<li>Possibly Destructive<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The reason I say that is that there is a fundamental truth about Humans: We aren\u2019t perfect. Even people performing at a very high level could always improve at something. There\u2019s always a way to be more efficient in our lives. And there is always room for improving our mental game.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve also heard about the concept that 70-90% of our thoughts are the same as yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Well\u2026if you\u2019re in it to win it. Having the same thoughts over and over again probably isn\u2019t serving you either.<\/p>\n<p>So&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Here are 10 ways To Live More Intentionally so that you have more control over your life and ultimately become happier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a01.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Write Things Down<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Make lists. Write things down. It truly works wonders. People often overestimate some abilities while they underestimate others. Most people overestimate their ability to stay organized, remember things and follow through on tasks or goals they need to achieve. Writing things down is one of the key\u2019s that has helped me accomplish many of the things I\u2019m proud of in my life. Don\u2019t underestimate the power of a pen and paper. If you don\u2019t usually write things down and you start the habit, you\u2019re making a conscious decision to do something that is outside of your normal routine and pattern. By writing things down like your inner thoughts, feelings, daily tasks and goals you not only gain a better understanding of yourself through self-reflection but you also now have some additional motivation to follow through on the things you\u2019ve written down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Notice The Finer Details In Your Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When life becomes routine, our surroundings start to blend in and we start overlooking some of the little things. Ever wondered why moving to a new place, seeing a new site, or traveling is so gratifying or exciting? As humans, we\u2019re predominantly visual creatures and our eyes play a big part in everything we feel. Consciously choosing to notice different things in your environment that you wouldn\u2019t usually look at brings you back to yourself. It brings you back into your body and allows you cut the pattern you might be in at the moment. Our eyes are one of the greatest gifts we have as human beings and it\u2019s important that we use them consciously and in a way that serves us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Drink More Water<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Water plays an incredibly important role in your health and unfortunately in today\u2019s society, most people are dehydrated. With the abundance of processed foods, sugary drinks and restaurant options available, many people aren\u2019t getting proper nutrition and still neglecting their water intake. By carrying around a large water bottle with you\u00a0at all times, you\u2019re not only contributing to your health (more energy, a clearer mind, better skin, more functional cells and better detoxification) you\u2019re actually creating a positive habit that\u2019s going to serve you well beyond most other habits you could form.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a drink of water from your water bottle a few times per hour not only hydrates you, but also allows you to live consciously by breaking the pattern you are in and consciously choosing to do something positive for your health. Each positive thing you do builds momentum and momentum is the secret key\u00a0to creating sustainable positive change.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. \u00a0Learn To Say No<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-Power-No-Abundance-Happiness\/dp\/1401945872\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learning to say no<\/a> to is like a muscle. And with any new muscle that you haven\u2019t worked out and strengthened, it\u2019s going to be weak at first. Learning to say no can be one of the best things you can do for your life in the long run. Because it\u2019s easy to say yes to the things that aren\u2019t that good for you. And it\u2019s easy to say yes to things that would distract you from what you need to be doing. Learning to say no allows you to take control of your life so that you can live more intentionally and more consciously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Take Deep Breaths Often<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let alone the fact that many people aren\u2019t engaging In some type of moderate or vigorous exercise regularly to get their blood flowing to oxygenate their muscles and cells, many people just don\u2019t breathe deeply. By consciously taking deep breaths every so often, you bring yourself back into your body and break your pattern. Taking a moment to take a deep breathe is also a perfect time to be grateful for your health, the oxygen of the earth that is always there keeping you alive, and the moment you\u2019re in. Because the truth is, that moment won\u2019t last forever\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Stand Up For What You Believe In<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All of us have things we feel strongly or are passionate about. And we\u2019ve all been in a situation where we didn\u2019t quite speak up about something, whether it was to fit in, not cause an argument, or we simply let it pass as \u201cit\u2019s not THAT important.\u201d The problem with that is, is that every time you don\u2019t say something when you want to, you end up walking away feeling a little dis-empowered. And feeling disempowered is never good for our growth.<\/p>\n<p>The problem most people encounter when trying to stand up for what they believe in is that it opens them up to possible attack and criticism. In other words, haters. And most people are scared of that.<\/p>\n<p>The flip side is, when you stand up for what you believe in, your life has the possibility to improve beyond your wildest dreams. Everything people want is on the other side of fear.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Do Something You Feel is Out of Your Character<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Living intentionally doesn\u2019t just mean breathing deeply and drinking more water. It means congruency between your thoughts and your actions. It means being in control of your life and the direction it\u2019s headed.<\/p>\n<p>That means that if you have thoughts about taking an action, take the action.<\/p>\n<p>The world needs more action\u2026from everyone.<\/p>\n<p>You might have heard of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Cooley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charles Cooley\u2019s Looking glass Self<\/a> which describes \u201cOther people\u2019s views build, change and maintain our self-image, and thus, there is an interaction between how we see ourselves and how others see us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To reduce this drastically, we could say that our personalities are a reflection of our \u201cthoughts\u201d about our environment. We might act, behave and think in a certain way as a result of us imagining that that is how our friends, family and acquaintances perceive us to be.<\/p>\n<p>And so in turn\u2026people create a box for themselves and for their life. They believe they can only do certain things and that other things are out of their reach.<\/p>\n<p>But all that is false.<\/p>\n<p>Doing something out of your character is one of the best ways to live intentionally. Because none of us have accomplished 100% of what we want in life and many people have things that they want to do, but are afraid of what might happen.<\/p>\n<p>Doing something you think might be out of character is only in your head.<\/p>\n<p>People accept you for who you are at face value.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that people aren\u2019t in your head.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t know your inner dialogue and every detail of your past.<\/p>\n<p>They understand what you present them. So if you want to start acting \u201cout of character\u201d just do it. And you\u2019ll find that people are far more accepting about it than you might have thought.<\/p>\n<p>Living Intentionally through some of these practices are just some of the ways you can start taking control of your life, your health and your destiny. This post was inspired from my recent experiences and remembering that we are here on earth only for a short period of time\u2026and that every moment is a gift.<\/p>\n<div class=\"themi-after-content_2\" id=\"themi-994062873\"><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1747048\"> \r\n <\/div> \r\n <script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\"); \r\n <\/script> \r\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My life has gone through a series of ups and downs over the last year. I\u2019ve had incredible high\u2019s and have experienced some deep, dark lows. I attribute my ability to bounce back from situations in life to living intentionally. But what does that mean? Well\u2026I guess it means, in simple terms\u2026knowing what you\u2019re doing\u2026at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":9934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,238,33,28,30],"tags":[1400,195,1399,274,489,199],"class_list":{"0":"post-9886","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-consciousness","8":"category-featured","9":"category-inspirational","10":"category-paradigm-shift","11":"category-spirituality","12":"tag-conscious","13":"tag-consciousness-2","14":"tag-living-intentionally","15":"tag-mental-health","16":"tag-perception","17":"tag-psychology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9886"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9935,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9886\/revisions\/9935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}