How To Live A More Intentional Life

There is a popular saying that life is too short, well, it’s a fact. People want to make every moment count and enjoy life. ‘Live a little’, they say. But, enjoying life doesn’t mean that we should be reckless or that we should care less about life. We can choose a unique way of enjoying life so that even when the time comes to leave the earth, we can rest with a smile knowing that we did everything to the best of our abilities. Unlike simply enjoying life, this choice, which can be referred to as living an intentional life, does exceedingly more for us. If you have tried both sides, living an unintentional and intentional life that is, you will understand this better. Just so we are clear, living an intentional life means making a decision as to what kind of person you want to be and what you want your life to communicate then purposing to align your actions, goals, and conversations with that dream. 

 

Let’s face it, we can live life the way we want without worrying about what others think as long as we continue to have ‘fun’, no rules whatsoever to guide us. But the fact is that most people rarely find fulfillment in that kind of life. An unintentional life can lead us to 'wherever the wind blows'. I'm sure you can guess that having to turn back and go against the wind and dealing with the bruises and consequences may be the hardest thing to do. Of course, this does not mean that an intentional life is perfect, and without challenges. But, there is one thing that we can be sure of. People who live an intentional life have so much that is protecting them against or giving them strength in the storms of life. On top of that, the life they live may also have a long-lasting impact on people in their circles. To them, life is not just about surviving, it is a purposeful journey on which each one of us has a role to play. If you are keen on living or continuing to live a more intentional life, you might need to do the following;

 

1.  Know your purpose – it gives your life direction. It is easy to forget goals unless they are founded in who you are and who you are determined to be. People who know their purpose are usually strong-willed and do not find satisfaction in anything that does not contribute to fulfilling their purpose. They are more likely to be solid in their planning. Thus, when we know our purpose, we do not do things randomly unless they help us reach our goals even if they came unexpectedly.

 

2.  Set clear goals – goals are targets that are markers of who we are and where we are going. To successfully live an intentional life, we need to consider our ultimate goal or purpose and the best way to achieve it. Thus, we will need to take into consideration the spirituality, type of life partner or family, type of job, the friends, the connections and schedules that perfectly align with what we want to achieve in our lifetime. Put simply, your goals align with your values and dream

 

3.  Have a solid foundation or reason for the life you want – How firm anything stands with or without storms is determined by how strong the foundation is. If you do not have a binding reason for what you want to be, you can easily be derailed from your chosen path. Find a passion to live for, something you cannot easily find peace if you were to let go. That could be the legacy you want to live behind for your family, changing the lives of poor children or, creating an environment full of love, care, and mercy around you, to mention just a few.

 

4.  Have principles and boundaries – Principles and boundaries must become a part of who we are in order for them to keep us focused and clear on how much compromise we can do. The goal here is to ensure that we are not lured into anything that is against purpose or goals. It is mainly about understanding what is good for you and your plans and staying on the path that leads to achieving your goals.

 

5.  Surround yourself with realistic people who understand your journey – the last group of people or individuals you want to give your attention if you are trying to live an intentional life are people who live a fast life or those who will make you think that your dreams are invalid. You need people who will always remind you that what you started is doable, people who will pick you up when you fall and encourage you when you lose strength. Have friends who will be willing to support you through it all.

 

6.  Do not compete with others – understand that speed is not what matters in the life race. The seemingly slow speed can get you to your goals fast enough, while a fast pace and shortcuts may take you back to the starting point. Be yourself, take your time, and run your own race. Competitions will make you feel that your dreams have taken forever or cause you to doubt if you made the right choices. 

 

7.  Accept a life of challenges and be persistent – the more you understand that life will always have its high and lows, the better you will be prepared to face them. All you need to do is make it a point that you always bounce back or rise above your storm. Yes, you can take advantage of some challenges you face. Keep your eyes open and look for opportunities.

Intentional Actions

Your life can turn out the way you want it to but only if you control your actions, watch your behaviors, and refuse to just drift along. Living with intention means taking deliberate steps toward reaching your desired goal and doing what needs to be done to begin living your dream life. Intentional actions give you control over your life and prevent you from living aimlessly or going wherever life takes you. 

 

For example, if your goal is to sing with your favorite orchestra, you take charge, enroll for music lessons, commit to your vocal training and take your lectures seriously instead of relying on fate to get you there. You do what needs to be done and act intentionally.

Taking deliberate actions is the only thing that can turn your life around and lead you to your destiny. There is a reason why academics are disciplined enough to graduate in their studies and keep advancing in their fields of expertise. They wake up each morning, study, go for lectures, work on assignments, complete projects, go to the library, and do everything required for them to graduate because they know that it is the only way of obtaining that Degree or Ph.D. they are aiming for. They continue with that routine for years and are disciplined enough to keep going because they recognize the power of living with intention in achieving your goals. 

 

Living intentionally means recognizing that turning your dreams into reality has nothing to do with your emotions or moods and so, you do what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like it. It means you plan your day right and say yes to taking the required actions toward your goal daily without cringing. 

 

Best Ways Of Ensuring You Take Intentional Actions Every Day

 

Keep your goal constantly in sight.

 

You can begin reaching your goals by taking intentional actions daily which is something that can only be achieved by keeping your goal in sight and reminding yourself of what you intend to accomplish in the long run. So, when you are confused about which route to take, start thinking “Is this step going to help me in my pursuit of ABC?” If yes, go ahead with it. If not, let it go and find something that will get you a step closer to your aim.

 

Plan your steps.

 

Drifting along, waiting to see how things will turn out, and waiting on life to take you wherever it sees fit is an example of a wasteful life. Therefore, have the upper hand and influence how your life turns out. The choice of living an intentional life that is governed by intentional actions is a smart choice that is crucial to your success because an intentional life gives you more control over your life and reminds you that you have what it takes to achieve your goals. 

 

Intentional actions include planning and analyzing every step you take. It means deciding whether or not what you are about to do is going to take you a step closer to your goal or further away from it. 

 

Form relations with the right people. 

 

Initiating contact with the right people, seeking advice from them, as well as forming relations with people who have already accomplished what you desire is a smart way of living with intention. Look for individuals who have already walked the road you are traveling and have succeeded. Learn from them, find out how they got to where they are, ask the right questions, and implement what works for you. 

 

Forming good relations with people you admire helps you make smart decisions particularly when you don’t know which route to take and assists you in moving forward.

Stay focused. 

The best way of taking intentional actions daily is by eliminating distractions and remaining focused on your tasks. You know your long-term goal, you have a solid plan in place, you have outlined all the necessary steps to take, and you have broken down those steps into daily to-dos that will have a huge impact on your end-goal. Distractions are the only thing stopping you from fulfilling your dream. That’s why minimizing interruptions or getting rid of them matters. 

Focus on getting things done and meeting your daily, weekly, as well as monthly goals. Learn to say NO to things that have the potential of hindering your progress and never allow good opportunities pass you by. 

 

Intentional actions may not always get you what you want and don’t ensure you get to do things your way but they certainly move you from where you are and get you steps closer to accomplishing your goal. So, be patient with yourself, expect to travel unexpected roads but realize that those roads will lead you to your destiny. 

 

Moving From Where You Are To Where You Need To Be

Almost everyone dreams of a better life or version of ourselves. We can see ourselves in houses we see in magazines and the television, we see ourselves having happy families, businesses, or good jobs. But, unfortunately for some people, these things will just remain what they are; dreams. Not all of us get to make our dreams come true even though we all have to potential and ability to. Why is that? It is because dreaming is easy. The challenge is with making the dreams a reality.

 

Moving from dreaming to living the dream requires so much from us. Sometimes we overthink it though. The world seems to believe that success only comes when we suffer and spend sleepless nights. Many success stories have that part. However, sometimes all we need to do is plan well, work smart, get enough rest, and stay healthy. We can follow these everyday steps to move from where we are to where we need to be: 

 

1.  Prioritize your mental health – you can have all the good plans in place but if you have mental health issues, your journey from where you are to where you need to be will be more than just a struggle. It is, therefore, necessary for you to wake up and remind yourself that you have and are all it takes to get where you need to be. This will require you to keep away from negative people or anything that makes you doubt your capabilities. 

 

2.  Be grateful for what you already have – gratitude is one way to keep us in a good mood and get motivation. Counting your blessings gives you the hope that you do stand a chance to get the things that you still dream of. Gratitude also shifts our focus from negative things which helps clear our minds and enables us to see things from a different point of view. 

 

3.  Remind yourself why you chose the path that you are walking – sometimes all you need to do to get yourself motivated is to remind yourself why you chose to be the person you are or want to be. Where you were starting to feel like giving up everything, this helps you find yourself back to your feet again. The thought of what you lose by allowing yourself to give up and be something else will not give you peace. You are then left with no choice but to soldier on.

 

4.  Revisit your set of principles and boundaries when you need to make a decision – when we keep our principles and boundaries in mind as we make decisions, we remind ourselves why other choices may never work for us.

 

5.  Do what you have to do – strategies do not implement themselves. Get up and work. Laziness is what fails most people. Good people with good plans included. Make it a point that you fight the spirit of laziness with all you have else your goals will be nothing but dreams.

 

6.  Get enough rest – one of the mistakes that we make is overworking. Learn the difference between working hard and overworking yourself. Yes, you can make more money and gain more experience when you overwork but you need to listen when your body starts screaming for help. Exhaustion can affect us mentally and physically. We might end up having to pay hospital bills with the hard-earned money instead of just enjoying it and investing in who we want to be. When we are well-rested we also function better. 

 

7.  Do not envy – there is so much that we see around us which appears like ‘good life’. Well, we will not bother to talk about whether it is real or not. The point is, real or not, it is not your race. Protect yourself from unnecessary heartache and feeling like a failure by staying in your lane.

 

8.  Trust the process and be easy on yourself – we do get moments where we feel as if our dreams are taking too long and we start doubting if they will ever come true. Be patient and remind yourself that you haven't failed yet. Life is not just about that one dream. We will always have things to work on. This includes character development and gaining work experience among other things. Find something to keep yourself occupied and growing as you wait for the 'bigger' part of your dream to start moving.

 

9.  Build or strengthen your connections – be it socially or in the workplace, we need people we can rely on when things are tough or we are discouraged. Make it a point to build and maintain good relationships who understand and believe in your dreams so that you can get the help you need when things get hard. Remember to not step on people on your way up. You might need them on your way down.

 

Own Your Life

So often people choose to settle for what’s safer and what’s more comfortable. They let life happen to them other than actually creating the life that they want for themselves. They paralyze themselves in safe places, living according to other people’s opinions and dreams. The safer choice is taking a traditional job in a billionaire’s company. That job which will take 40 years of your life, living paycheck after paycheck. You neither have enough money to take a vacation nor have free time to enjoy those few earnings you’ve made from the job. The comfortable choice is not having something to believe in. You waste time going after one doctrine after the other. You let your circumstances define you and simply life happens to you. This is called survival.

 

Living on the other hand focuses on the total opposite. When you’re living intentionally you have a set purpose to life. You own your life. You focus on doing things, on growing and achieving. While surviving centers around getting to the next day, living centers around the life and how to embrace life to the fullest. You’re aware of your health so you monitor what you eat, you exercise, and you go for regular medical checkups. You don’t let life happen to you as the survivor. You live life with a set of intent. Every financial choice you make is intentionally aligning towards gaining financial freedom or independence. You acknowledge what you’re passionate about and you take small consistent deliberate actions to fulfill your passion. This is owning your life. Actively participating in creating the life you want for yourself and the people in your life. That’s the power of intention.

 

The first step to owning your life is taking responsibility for the decisions you make and for your actions. We are the architects of our lives. Our lives are made up of a series of small and big choices that we make each day. When you don’t make the choice for yourself, it is made for you. The fundamentals of this journey are firstly finding your true identity. When you have understood your truth and sense of self, you then set your intent for your life. What you aspire to achieve. Your goals, dreams, or ambition. The last step is taking big or small purposeful steps towards fulfilling that purpose.

 

Everyone loves a good rag to the riches success story. One of my favorites is the life story of Oprah Winfrey. Oprah was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother. She was raised on a farm by her grandmother for the first 6 years of her life. Her grandmother was so poor that Oprah often wore dresses made of potato sacks and other children made fun of her. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14. Sadly, she lost her son and she was moved to Tennessee. Even at a very tender young age, she envisioned a much better life for herself. She got a job in radio at 16 whilst she was still in high school. At 19 she was hired on television as a co-anchor for the local evening news. She did not know how to write or act but deep inside she says she knew what she wanted to become, an actress. That was her truth.

 

When Oprah was 22 years old, she was making $22 000 a year. A lot of people were telling her that that was the best it could get. But even though she was doing well, she knew she could do better. In one of her many inspirational quotes, Oprah said,’ Everybody has a calling. And your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you were meant to be, and to begin to honor that in the best way possible for yourself’’. This is exactly what she went on to do, honoring her truth. When the opportunities were presented to her, she was ready and prepared to pursue her inner calling. Today we talk of Oprah Winfrey dubbed the queen of all media. She not only became an actress but also a talk show host, television producer, media executive, and philanthropist.

 

Your success is a result of owning your life. You should not allow your background or any sorts of limitations to stop you from following your truth, purpose, and intention. Refuse to be defined by the box that people put around you and fight any fear that may come your way. And finally, be prepared when the opportunity door is opened.

Self-Discovery: Figure Out Who You Are

One of my favorite professors back in university taught us an easy concept to learning something new, which became a life lesson to me. He described this as an important way to gather up all the important facts based on research work or learning in general. He said, “Whenever you came about a new lesson or concept to learn, make it your aim to be able to answer seven key questions concerning that topic”. It’s called the 5W2H principle. The key questions to ask are Who, What, Where, When, Why, How, and/or How much? I’ve put this simple principle in my day-to-day routines and whenever I come across some decision making, and this has helped me tremendously. In my journey in self-discovery, asking myself these key questions also helped me understand myself even better. Before we get to finding a purpose to live and living it intentionally, we should be able to give ourselves an identity first. Knowing who we are is a journey that requires a deep inlook into one’s life. Self-searching, self-questioning, and self-reflecting on our personalities, emotions, and lifestyle.

 

Who am I?

 

This journey of self-discovery begins by asking yourself this question. Who am I? Your name is your title but that is not your true identity. Your true identification lies in what you believe in and who you choose to become. The world we live in now has blurred the lines to self-identity and now encourages people to identify themselves however they wish to. Your identity is a choice that you make for yourself. People around you and your background may try and label you but what truly matters is who you choose to identify yourself as. A hundred people calling you poor when you have a million dollars hidden in your account does not make you a poor man. Waking up each day calling yourself a poor man and choosing to be lazy and not be productive will make you a poor man. That identity will stick to you because you accepted it and made it who you are. 

 

What defines me?

 

What is important to you? What are your values and needs? What thoughts and feelings do you stand by and are worth protecting? What you believe and fight for is who you are. Acknowledging your interests, your dreams, and ambitions is another crucial step in your journey to self-discovery. Our lives are driven by having a purpose. You cannot have direction in your life if you do not know what exactly you’re aiming for. Self-knowledge and self-appraisal are what pre-selects the values that make you who you are. Discover hobbies and traditions that stand out to you. The only way to know what gives you personal satisfaction and makes you happy is to try out new activities. You really never know what you like till you’ve tried it.

 

Where am I positioned in life?

 

Where you position yourself, the people you allow into your personal space, your colleagues and friends, and the places you choose to hang out in all influence who you are or who you’ll become. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch they say. The bad apple, the influencer, is someone who has made a distinctive identity of himself or herself. Even a dog raised by a pack of wolves does not make it become a wolf. Nobody can wrongly influence you if you stay true to your true self. Who you are and what’s important to you. Surround yourself with people that nurture the person you want to become. People that build your ambitions and goals and those that promote your intended lifestyle. 

 

When do I get to where I’m going?

 

Every goal, ambition or dream needs a time factor set to accomplish it. Where do you see yourself spiritually, intellectually, or financially being a week, month, or years from now? That big picture, when you’ve finally achieved those big goals, begins with making small intentional decisions. Making small purposeful acts one after the other, one day at a time. Once you’ve discovered where you want to be in your life, you set a time frame when you want to see yourself there. Knowing yourself, and staying true to yourself helps you in making attainable goals. When the goals are too demanding and time-consuming you might lose yourself to frustrations, anxiety, and depression. 

 

One of the important lessons I was taught growing up is how to celebrate the small progressions I make in my life. Firstly, I learned to separate my short term from my long-term goals. As I was achieving my short-term goals it gave me a drive and encouragement to keep pursuing all the other goals I had set for myself. It reminded me that I was perfectly capable of attaining what I was setting my mind on. I wasn’t focusing on the negative energies, what I was missing, or why it was taking long. I focused on what went right and how to make my next step forward. My journey continues, and this lesson proves to have made me a better version of myself.

 

Why am I alive today?

 

Why do you wake up every day and do what you do? Why do you push yourself to go to the gym every other day and eat healthily? Why do you keep disciplining yourself to stay on budget? How much are you willing to give to obtain your inner peace and happiness, and to experience the wholeness of who you are? The reason lies in understanding your life’s purpose. Those central motivating aims of your life guide your life decisions, influences your behavior, shapes your goals, and offer a wide sense of direction thus creating meaning to your life. What defines who you are is what you live for, your soulful purpose to life.

 

Sticking To Your Beliefs Even When It’s Hard

We all have beliefs or perceived truths that we hold dear to us. These truths shape our perceptions or our view of the world and make us who we are. They guide us in decision making, interactions, and determine our way of life. However, beliefs can be either true or false, good or bad, and positive or negative. False beliefs, for example, are those perceived truths that are drawn from a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of life events or phenomena. In some instances, our beliefs change as we mingle with people of different views and as we experience new or different things in life.

 

Our focus, for now, will be on sticking to our beliefs even when it is hard. Needless to say, this applies to those who hold good and/or positive beliefs. Beliefs can be deemed good if they cause us, above everything else, to value others and, they allow us to find our purpose and live according to it. Positive beliefs are those beliefs that empower us and make us feel good about ourselves without having to esteem ourselves of better value than others. The emphasis on the different types of beliefs is based on the fact that sometimes our beliefs can cause us to do unimaginable things to ourselves or others, and this indicates a need to reconsider our way of life. Cliff Young’s story is a good example of how sticking to beliefs impacts our lives and sometimes, the lives of others too.

 

In 1983, Cliff Young who was 61 years old at the time, joined the Sydney to Melbourne race snakes covering a distance of almost 550 miles and takes about a week to finish. To everyone’s shock, this old man with little competitive experience wore overalls and work boots to an event where he was to compete fit runners in their prime. Many thought he wouldn’t last and some, fearing for his health, called for him to be banned from partaking. But he had other plans, he believed with his heart and mind that he could run and complete the race. He didn’t have any self-limiting beliefs. When the race started, nobody was surprised to see Cliff immediately falling behind. However, halfway through the first day, Cliff overtook all the season runners and took the lead. Instead of stopping to sleep for the night, cliff continued to run while the other runners slept. When everyone woke up the following morning, Cliff had built an incredible lead. He set history by winning the race with a 10-hour margin!

 

The first lesson we can pick from Cliff’s story is that in some cases, we will face opposition and discouragement from people who may think that our dreams are impossible to achieve. He chose to stick to his belief that his background and strategy were enough to help him finish the race. What made him achieve the unexpected was that everyone doubted him and consequently, did not see his victory coming. Had they paid attention to him and expected him to do much, they would have tried his strategy too. Belief and confidence give us the strength to reach our goals, and in some cases, influence the world in the same way Cliff did.

 

Through sticking to our beliefs even when they are seemingly less likely to lead us to victory, we have a chance to change the perceptions of our critics as well as those who chose not to pay attention to us. If you stay true to your beliefs, you can still start that businesspeople thought was a silly idea and have relationships people thought are just a fairytale. Thus, sticking to your beliefs even when it is hard can lead you to a victory that can change your world.

 

Sticking to beliefs also boosts one's confidence. As you experience the joy of achievements resulting from one of your beliefs, your other beliefs will be affirmed. You will get the feeling that your beliefs are valid and you are headed in the right direction. As you remember what you achieved when no one else thought your way of life was what you needed to succeed, you get the understanding that your beliefs and mental state matter more than external influence. 

 

Further, beliefs help us cope with life. As we remember why we started believing in the first place, we get the strength to keep going and we are also reminded of why we cannot choose anything else. In that regard, sticking to our beliefs keeps us focused. And, not only do we stay focused but, we are also motivated to do more. Sticking to our beliefs when things are hard and we are tempted to try a different way of life protects us from making decisions we are likely to regret in the future and giving room to things that are against our values.

Understand The Significance Of Intentional Living In Achieving Your Goals

Intentional living enables you to achieve your goals by ensuring every choice you make and every step you take is in line with your end goal. Understanding the significance of intentional actions as well as intentional choices in accomplishing anything worthwhile and in improving your overall life will motivate you to continue working on your goals. It will strengthen your faith in your abilities, build your self-confidence, help you progress, and cause you to see that any goal you set is attainable.

 

5 Ways Intentional Living Helps You Achieve Your Goals.

 

1. Intentional living teaches you to take deliberate action. 

 

Intentional people recognize that the key to achieving any goal is taking deliberate action, having deliberate thoughts, making deliberate choices, as well as being deliberate when setting your goals. For instance, if you want to lose 80 pounds this year, you set daily, weekly, as well as monthly goals that will guide you in that direction and get you where you need to be. You break down 80 pounds into daily or weekly manageable targets. For example, aim to lose 5 or 10 pounds a week. 

 

Take deliberate action by taking the stairs, going to the gym, picking up an exercising routine, cutting off fatty foods from your diet, substituting fizzy drinks with plenty of water, avoiding fast-foods, and taking packed lunch to work. Deliberate goals encourage deliberate action, guide you in the right direction, and enable you to get what you desire. 

 

2. It strengthens your belief system. 

 

Living intentionally encourages you to stand by your values or beliefs and increases your faith in what you believe in. It reminds you that your life is your own, it’s important, and you don’t have to compare it to anyone else’s. Living with intention means you are not controlled by your environment or circumstances. You live by what’s inside you and your life is directed by what you believe in which empowers you to reach for your dreams.

 

3. It keeps your eyes on the bigger picture. 

 

“Which areas need improvement?” “Where can I improve?” are intentional questions you need to ask yourself time and again but most importantly after a failure. That is because they remind you that reaching your aims requires constant growth and improvement and that failing today doesn’t mean you have reached the end of your journey. 

 

The best way of accomplishing each goal you set is by keeping your eyes on the bigger picture and you can only do that by learning to live with intention. Let “Where am I going?” and “What do I intend to accomplish?” guide you whenever you fall. 

 

4. Intentional living emphasizes on your capabilities.

 

Knowing your skillset or what you are good at keeps your mind from straying or going with what seems “attractive” at the moment. It helps you realize your purpose, your worth, what you are meant to be, and focuses your attention on what you can do to begin reaching your goals. Living with intention makes you realize that you have what it takes to get what you are aiming for because each step you take is an intentional one.

 

5. It helps you make smart decisions that will benefit you in the long run.

 

“Will this help me to get a step closer to or further away from my goal?” is the most important question you need to ask yourself each time you are about to make a decision. This is because there are some choices you make, some steps you take, and certain things you commit to that can delay your journey to success or hurt your goal. So, let that question guide you when deciding on what to do next. 

 

Intentional people ask intentional questions which are the key to making smart and informed decisions. So, train your mind to constantly come up with deliberate questions that play a significant role in making intelligent decisions and in moving forward. If taking that next step aligns with your goal, don’t hesitate to take it. If it has nothing to do with what you are aiming for, don’t take the step because it will only delay your progress.

 

Being intentional in all things keeps you ahead of everything else. It gives you the strength to keep working, continue trying, keep believing, and never allow anything to stop you from going after what you want. This is because an intentional life is a life that is focused on what you believe in, who you see yourself becoming, what you are meant to achieve, who you are meant to be, as well as where you are going, not where you currently are. 

 

So, be deliberate when setting goals because being deliberate is important for the attainment of your goals.

6 Reasons Why You Need A WHY Statement

Most people do not know what their true calling in life is. Some people just don’t care about this and are happy to be a drifter in life and just “go with the flow”. Others do care about it but have problems with identifying their real purpose in life. So here will show you 6 reasons why you absolutely must create a WHY statement.

 

1. It will provide clarity about what your purpose in life is.

 

If you don’t know your true life’s purpose then you will end up doing things that you really don’t want to do. There are so many people working jobs that they hate just to pay the bills. They dread Monday mornings and always feel apprehensive on Sunday nights. This is no way to live your life.

 

When you know what your true purpose is in life you can take action to achieve this. You will have more confidence and can get a job that will align with your purpose. You will have more energy and be motivated every day.

 

2. A WHY Statement Sharpens your Focus

 

Without the right focus in your life, it is easy to set goals that you are not truly committed to. A lot of people follow their friends and other influencers in their life and end up setting the same goals as them. We are all different and this rarely works out well.

 

When you identify what you really want your life to be about this clarity helps you to work out your next moves a lot more easily. You can use your WHY statement to drive you forward each day and achieve what you really want from your life.

 

3. You will make the Right Decisions

 

Have you ever made wrong decisions in your life? Of course, you have we have all done that. When you have a strong and compelling WHY statement it will help you to make much better decisions in life.

 

A lot of decisions have serious consequences and if you don’t know your true purpose then you can dismiss these consequences in exchange for short term pleasure or gain. With a good WHY statement you will assess the long-term consequences and be able to make better decisions.

 

4. It Provides more Accountability

 

People that have no purpose in life tend to shy away from accountability. They are just happy to drift along but then complain bitterly when things go against them. It is never their fault of course and always someone else’s.

 

With a powerful WHY statement you will know where you are going in life and be accountable for this. You will think things through more and only take action where it aligns with your WHY statement. This additional accountability will make you a better person.

 

5. You will be Healthier and Happier

 

If you only want to consider one of these reasons to have a compelling WHY statement then this is the one to choose. There is nothing more important than your health and your happiness. When you are happy then you tend to be healthier. If you are unhappy then your resistance is down and you can experience all kinds of health issues.

 

6. Your Resilience will Increase

 

Everyone has to face problems in their life. For some people these problems are too difficult to handle and they become overwhelmed and stressed out. When you have a compelling WHY statement you can see these problems as opportunities for you to grow and attain fulfillment in your life.

 

Communicating Your WHY Statement To Others

When you make a commitment to create a truly powerful WHY statement, it is a good idea to share it with other people in your social circle. You can share your new personal WHY statement with your family members, your close friends, your employer and anyone else that is important to you in your life.

 

Some people are not going to know what a WHY statement is and why you have bothered to create one. Explain to everyone that you have now found your true life purpose and that you intend to stand by your WHY statement from now on. 

 

Sharing Provides Accountability

 

By sharing your WHY statement with the important people around you will make yourself accountable and more motivated to live by it. You may not feel that you need this added accountability because you have a strong will, but you will be surprised how much this can help you to be the person that you truly want to be.

 

Not everyone that you share your WHY statement with is going to hold you accountable. Some of your family members and friends may not even notice that you have deviated from it. Others may notice, but then show sympathy to you and say things like “well you tried and that was the main thing”. This is not going to help you.

 

Think about who will make a good WHY statement buddy. This is a person who will truly hold you accountable to your WHY statement and will let you know in no uncertain terms of you fall of the rails. They are not going to be sympathetic to any deviances and will give you a hard time if you do not live by your WHY statement.

 

Is it necessary to Share your WHY Statement with everyone?

 

There are going to be some people in your circle that just don’t get it. They may even laugh at you for creating a personal WHY statement and tell you that you have just wasted a lot of time and effort. 

 

Some people are going to tell you that you will never live by your WHY statement. They know you very well and feel that you will deviate from your WHY statement at the earliest opportunity. We all have these kinds of people in our lives who see the negative in everything.

 

So, should you share your WHY statement with these people? To be honest only you can answer that question. If you know that a person is going to hit you with a barrage of negativity when you share your WHY statement with them then you need to decide if you are going to be able to handle this.

 

Some people can handle this kind of negativity well. It actually makes them even more committed to their WHY statement. Others will find this negativity difficult to deal with and it may make them think that they are wasting their time with a WHY statement.

 

You need to assess what kind of person you are and how you will react to any negativity. If you think that any negativity will affect you badly, do not share your WHY statement with these kinds of people. 

 

The truth is you can never totally predict how people you are close to will react to you telling them about your WHY statement. Some will be enthusiastic and show encouragement. But others that you expect the same reaction from may be negative about it. You need to be prepared for any eventuality.