10 Habits For An Intentional Life

Habits are repeated action or an unconscious pattern of behavior. They affect all areas of our lives and determine how we make use of each day. We all know of good and bad habits and are probably struggling to let go of some bad practices. Unfortunately, there is nothing as hard as fighting against self. It is who you have been for a while and it takes time to let go of something that has become a part of you. However, if we are to live an intentional life and be successful in what we do, we will need to cultivate habits that are in sync with the life we want.

 

An intentional life is one where we carefully choose what to do and how we do it in order to achieve certain goals. It is a purposeful life. Needless to say, one needs to be principled to be able to live such a life. Below are ten habits that can help us stay principled as we seek to live an intentional life.

 

1.  Self-introspection – make it a habit to do a self-check. Sometimes we are our own stumbling blocks and we do not realize it. We behave in a self-sabotaging way. Therefore, we must learn to first look deep inside ourselves before we find anyone or anything else to blame for anything that is not going right in our lives. Look for your own weaknesses and areas that need to be improved and work on yourself. This will improve your relationships and your approaches as you work on your personal goals.

 

2.  Recite your life goals – this reminds you where each plan for the day is meant to take you. Remind yourself what you want to achieve every now and then. In other words, keep your eyes on the goal to avoid wasting time on things that do not bring value to your life.

 

3.  Say no – learn to say no to anything that is not in alignment with your goals. This includes saying no to your desires, your friends, and everyone else. Teach them to respect your routine and working time, and that your interests and goals matter too. Also, do not embrace excuses, they help you feel comfortable in your weaknesses. 

 

4.  Draw a lesson from each challenge you face – challenges happen for a reason. They could be from our own miscalculations of or from external forces. Regardless of the cause, there is always something to learn from them. These range from misunderstandings to failed businesses. Identify opportunities too where possible.

 

5.  Listen more and talk less – when you learn to listen more you learn more from others. You do not only get valuable information related to your dreams, but you also understand them better and improve relationships. Listening also gives you enough time to think before you talk or react. It also helps you understand the contents of a discussion and lessens the chances of a misunderstanding or conflict.

 

6.  Show appreciation – be grateful for your achievements and growth and learn to express genuine gratitude to others. An intentional life is nearly impossible to follow if one is ungrateful. The person tends to be driven by their desire to achieve more and they are never content. Such an attitude can drive a person to do anything including things that are out of character. Following a straight path feels like a burden. Appreciating what we have helps us stay calm and takes away focus from a single goal.

 

7.  Reward yourself for good work – we need to be easy going and not make everything about the future while forgetting to live in the present. Reward yourself when you achieve a goal or finish a task. It makes you feel good and motivates you to do more as you realize the results of committing to your goals. This further encourages you to cultivate more good habits. “When we give ourselves treats, we feel energized, cared for, and contented, which boosts our self-command — and self-command helps us maintain our healthy habits.” Gretchen Rubin.

 

8.  Do not spend more than enough time on the phone or television – social media, television, and games can be addictive. We should learn to limit the time we spend on them to avoid losing work and study time. 

 

9.  Rest when you need to – your body and mind require you to rest. Sometimes we stay up late trying to finish a task. Taking time to rest helps us refresh our minds such that when its time to return to the task our brains will function more efficiently and makes you more productive. Resting helps our muscles recover, reduces stress, gives us more energy, and improves our mood.

 

10. Control your spending habits – know how much you need to spend and on what. It is necessary to have a budget and controlling your spending habits can help you stick to it. Budgeting helps you keep in mind what is worth spending on. As we master how to control our spending habits, it becomes easier to reach our financial goals. 

Be An Intentional Person

“When I grow up I want to be a doctor. I like this job because it serves humanity in the most phenomenal way. Every day will be an opportunity for me to learn more about diseases and their cures. I see myself become so excellent at my job that people will refer each other to me for the best medical attention. Seeing my uncle parade the hospital in his white coat, stethoscope around his neck, and with a determined look on his face inspired me towards this dream. Seeing my dad recover and be discharged from the intensive care unit in a few days sealed it. I am going to study hard therefore to achieve this goal and then buy a big house in the suburbs and raise my beautiful, big, and happy family there.”

 

This is an extract from an essay I wrote at age eleven and I must say this was the style for most of my peers at that time. Some wanted to be accountants, teachers, soldiers, nurses, and so forth but the common ground for all of us was that we were made to imagine ourselves years into the future. That insight of oneself in the future was in no doubt a good thing, there is only one problem that I got to realize when I was older and that was the fact that this exercise which we repeated almost every year always only focused distant future. What if we had been asked to write about our future in the next five, two or one year? What would have been different had I been made to create an image of myself in a year or a school term? If the topic had been, “This coming month” instead of “When I grow up”?

 

The major goals of self in the next ten years are exciting, they show you that indeed you can create anything you want in this life. They revive hope for a future far ahead of the present but if they are not accompanied by smaller ones aiming at the nearer future, they are of no use. Most of those kids who said they wanted to become doctors including myself never became so. It all stayed put in our composition books. 

A few days ago, I listened with sadness as a grown woman who was soon to be evicted from a rented apartment said that she was waiting in hope for a solution concerning where she would go next. The more I tried to question her plan the greater the stress I seemed to put her under so I gave up. It was right then that it struck me how important it is to be an intentional person. I quickly realized the importance of a plan, not just a fantasy about the future in the next five or ten years but a plan that affects one’s choices and actions today.

 

Intentional people don’t collide with their destiny, they create it; block by block. They are strong-willed and determined to get the best out of life. These are the people who wait for nobody to help them, they strategically gather the help they need and use it. This is the breed of winners that train their emotions to follow their actions and not the other way round. Rarely are these people surprised by the turnout of events because every day they take calculated moves towards their clear goals. 

 

Be that person who is intentional. Become that person today who has plans for today, tomorrow, the week, and the month in an effort to reach your epitome in the next three, five, or ten years. Refuse to let life constantly take you by surprise, fight to sit on the driver seat of yours every day, and head towards your most excellent self. Have answers for the whys around your behavior and circumstances. If you are on a job you dislike, let it be because it pays your bills now as you strategize on how to get the one that resonates with your soul.

 

Permission and validation from someone else may never come, give it to yourself today. What if you started by commanding joy into your day and your life as a whole? Let me assure you that you would lose your temper less often if you did. You would be less confused, less discouraged, and less frustrated. Intentionally smile at that person who gets on your nerves and watch as your relationship evolves into something pleasant. Deliberately give to the poor even while you feel that you are also going through a rough patch in your financial life. The law of giving and receiving will not let you down.

 

In all this, set out to be fruitful and progressive. Make false starts, run out of breath, and then pause to take a break, head in the wrong direction sometimes and then bring yourself back to your lane. The adventure involved in doing all this is worth it. Just because you have structure doesn’t mean you will get it right all the time. Be willing to make the moves, all the same, if you have a clear intention of where you are going you will definitely reach there. 

 

Contributed Article

Be Intentional In The Goals You Set

Here is one thing most people love the sound and idea of but struggle to make a reality. Goals! We all know that goals do get us somewhere. Well, if followed through. Goal setting has become a popular theme for the first two months of each year. However, the energy eventually dies down as the year progresses. Then the question is, is what we normally do at the beginning of each year goal setting or just excitement and, simply writing down wishes? And yes, there is a difference between wishes and goals. A wish is a desire or hope for something to happen whereas a goal is defined as the ‘object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result’. Or, maybe it is goal setting and the only problem is that we are not being intentional about it.

 

We need to be intentional in our goal setting. Being intentional in goal setting means going beyond setting targets. Instead of starting from what we admired from other people, it starts with self-searching and establishing who we are now, and who we want to be in the future. What is its significance? We may ask. Well, here is why we need to be intentional when we set our goals.

Goals as we know them – goals are aims that are meant to connect two points of our lives; where we are in the present and where we want to be in the future. Therefore, to make sure that our path to who we want to be is clearly pronounced, our goals must be set with the intention to direct our steps towards the route that will help us reach our destination. In other words, our goals must be drawn from our purpose and not the other way round. Without being intentional in our goal setting, we would go back and forth and sideways.

Pressure from family – we have families that are doing well in life and it is a blessing to have them support us in everything we do. However, sometimes family including spouses can be so controlling to a point that we lose our individuality and as a result, we give up some of our dreams or temporarily put them aside. We need to learn to be in control of our lives. No one knows better the desires hidden deep inside our hearts than we do. Also, family may not always be there to take care of things and fix our lives for us which may force us to only learn to figure out the reality of life at later stages of our lives or when we are left with no other choice but to get up and act. To maintain our individuality, we need to be honest about who we really are and set goals that best suit our personalities. It allows us to live life to the fullest and reduces the chances of having regrets about the time lost while living in the shadow of other people. 

Pressure from social spaces – the world has become more like a global village. Everything happening all over the world and in our communities is easily accessible. We can’t lie about this, our social media has the most beautiful things we can see and the most inspiring stories in the world. The content is captivating. But we shouldn't ignore the fact that some if not all the posts we see are just captured moments and not the entire truth about life. Being intentional in the goals we set reminds us of who we are and protects us from social pressures. Setting goals based on other people’s ‘achievements’ or ideas may confuse and depress us. We may not have a connection with the goals besides that it might get us money fast or help us fit in. When you are intentional in the goals you set, you are content with your part and you are not easily enticed by other people's lifestyles, which may not even be real.

Finding the meaning of life and appreciating the journey – as mentioned previously intentional goal setting gives life a direction. Knowing what we are living for and what we are aiming at gives us determination and persistence. These help us connect to our life journey and find fulfillment in each and every achievement. Intentional goal setting allows us to experience life for what it is and face challenges head-on. There is no better teacher than that. In the end, the journey is traveled with a clear conscience. An intentional life is a sure ticket to learning to appreciate life and experience genuine happiness. 

Motivation and strength to do your daily activities – when your goals are intentional, you have a good reason to wake up and do something with your life. You know what you are working for, if it’s a relationship, you know why you are in it and don't struggle to prioritize your goals. You cannot afford to waste time or give less. When your goal setting is not intentional, it gets easy to put them on hold and focus on other things.

Commitment – when your job or relationship has a strong link with who you want to be in the future, you feel compelled to commit and give it your all. It is your future after all.

Gain Freedom By Living Intentionally

If I was to compare intentional living to a sport, I would say it is like playing a game of chess. This game is full of choices to make. You choose what you want to play, how and when you want to play it. Every move is well thought of and strategic. Whether it’s a one-step or a five-step move, it’s purposeful, and every action you make has it’s counteracted consequences. When one is living intentionally, the gain to it is the freedom of choice. One obtains the power to choose how they want to live their life. You gain the opportunity to set your own identity. To define yourself by pre-selecting what resonates with your lifestyle the most. Freedom of choosing right from wrong, good from the bad. 

 

When you decide to live purposefully you gain the liberty to decide which path you want to take in your life. You decide which crowd you want to associate with. Which people you want to gain influence from and those you wish to block from your personal space. That power of choice is what separates you from all the norms of this world. It sets you apart from the cultures that monitor your life. You’re separated from the cultures created within our societies because you choose what you want to believe in and what aligns with your soulful purpose to your life.

 

Gain financial freedom by living intentionally.

 

Last night whilst browsing through some literature I came across a very insightful motivational writing by Robert Kiyosaki. He was explaining another gain to living intentionally which is financial freedom. He said something very profound that had me thinking about all the financial choices I’ve made in my life. He explained himself saying, ‘The philosophy of the rich and the poor is this; the rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left. This also reminded me of something I was discussing with my sister last week. How people don’t have the patience to build a business for 3 years, but they have the patience to go to work for 40, 50, or 60 years. If we follow the societal laws wherever we are around the world, you’ll see a trend of people getting comfortable with taking a traditional 9 to 5 job. Where their soul goal is earning enough to cover the bills and maybe purchasing a few prestigious assets. They get comfortable with earning enough to get by till the next paycheck. There is no financial freedom or independence. 

 

Financial freedom means that you get to make life decisions without being overly stressed about the financial impact because you are prepared for it. If your ultimate goal is gaining financial freedom, it means every choice you make with your finances should be purposeful and strategic. Your choices become intentional. You don’t spend more than you earn. You create a savings account. You plan, you budget, and you invest to make more profit. Money is an important part of financial freedom but it’s simply a vehicle to pursue living your best-intended life.

 

Time is of great essence to life. It is the greatest gift to mankind which is life itself. You can always make more money but you can’t make more time. Rich or poor we all have 24 hours each. With no direction or purpose to your life, time will quickly slip through your hands like quicksand. Before you even know it, your body is no longer able to do what you wished you had started 25 years ago. You don’t have enough money to invest, to travel around the world, or even take a weekend vacation. This happens to people who live with no purpose. They don’t have the liberty to do what they want to do because they have to do what they need to do to survive. A life with no plan will have you working for 40years with zero savings like what Richard Branson once said. But when you’re living intentionally your actions are meaningful.

 

Embracing freedom means taking control of your life. Your schedule becomes purposeful accommodating all your needs and wants with more time to spare. You prioritize what actions to take that will add value to your plan. I remember a friend of mine who once told me that, there’s nothing like not having enough time. People make time for what’s important to them. Making intentional choices will get you that free time. Time freedom, meaning having time to move deliberately. It will allow you to wake up in the morning without an alarm clock. You can have lunch at 3 pm, dinner at 11 pm and go to bed at 3 am. Not because you have to but because you want to and you can. You gain extra time to spend with your family, take a walk alone, read a book, or travel. By intentionally planning every day in advance you will create enough time to invest in what’s important to you.

 

How To Choose A Life That You Love

A man is defined by the decisions he makes. Life as we have come to know it, is made up of decisions that we make, either wrong or right. These decisions at the end of the day, combined, give direction to the life that we lead today and have a bearing on what is to come tomorrow. They determine who we become and have an influence on our position in society. So vital is the process of decision making, that man was given the free will to choose. And we can only know what is right and what is wrong if we have knowledge and information to make informed and wise decisions.

 

So important is the process of decision making that sometimes, one bad decision can ruin not only one's life but it can also have a great impact on the lives of those around that individual, the community, the nation and even the world at large. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that as we develop ourselves as individuals, we dwell on decision making and equip ourselves with the skill, tools, and wisdom to make wise, sound decisions. Many scholars, writers, and researchers have put forward a lot of literature and theories about decisions and the decision-making process, all in a bit to educate you and l on how to make wise decisions. In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. 

 

A lot has been said around the subject, however, to date, as individuals we still struggle when it comes to this part of our lives and find ourselves making poor decisions, some that go on to ruin our lives. The bottom line is with little or no knowledge at all, it is very difficult to make an informed decision. When decision making becomes more of a lottery than an informed choice, it becomes suicidal. 

 

A lot of great men and women, including kings and queens, have seen their kingdoms tumble down all because they failed to master the art of decision making. I say it is an art because it is an expression of oneself, one’s knowledge on a particular subject, and one’s boldness to make a choice and stand by it. Allow me to put forward 3 simple steps that can aid you and l in making a wise and informed decision. These simple 3 steps when mastered will help you develop to be a better decision-maker. Before l give you these 3 simple steps, allow me to state that when a decision is made, it can either be right or wrong. The moral standing of a decision made at any particular time depends on who is analyzing it and what impact that decision that has been made has on them immediately or soon. It is all about perception and this fact makes the procession of decision making even more important for the individual. Therefore, try and equip yourself with the following 3 steps or you can also view them as skills.

1. Gather as much information as possible 

 

Before making any decision, learn to equip yourself with as much information as possible about the decision you are about to make. It could be the various choices or options that are at your disposal. It could be the impact, effects, or the consequences that each of these choices has. Before making a decision, gather, research, assess, and be in a better position than you were before to make a decision. One can never get to a point where they have exhausted all the avenues or possibilities surrounding a decision but they can make an informed choice relying on work that they have done prior.

2.    Make the decision

 

Once you have equipped yourself with information, be brave enough to make the decision. Decisions will not make themselves. They need one to stand up and make a choice. This is not an easy thing to do but it must be done. Many successful men and women are where they are today because they were brave enough to stand up and be counted. They were brave enough to make that decision that many were afraid to make. 

3.    Lastly, stand by it 

Learn to always stand by the decision you make whether it turns out to be right or wrong. Learn to have a backbone, to trust your judgment, and stand by it. When a wrong decision is made, and as a result, a glass is broken, learn to apologize where an apology is due, clear the mess and pick up the pieces and move on. We learn from the decisions that we make. We will not be perfect overnight but it is in practicing and applying these 3 steps that we get better and grow to master the art of making decisions.

 

Always remember the 1..2..3 of decision making: gather information, make the decision, and stand by it. 

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. 

 

Live A Life That Is In Alignment With Your Values

Values are principles or standards of behavior. They determine what is of interest to us, our attitudes, preferences, needs, opinions, and personalities. They help us make decisions that are right for us and choose what to prioritize. Living a life of value is becoming increasingly difficult in a world where most people are chasing after popularity, protecting their spaces, and 'freedom'. The things we do and say sometimes are unbelievable such that you wonder how people manage to sleep at night knowing how they treat others or portray themselves in our social spaces. If it gives them satisfaction and peace, good for them. It is refreshing, however, to know that some people still have values.

 

Living a life that is in alignment with your values simply means that in our daily lives we marry our plans or activities with our values. We are not to adjust our values based on what we want to do at a particular point in time. Rather, our daily life should fit into the requirements of our values. Values must only be changed if the adjustments are an improvement. This is why you should live a life that is in alignment with your values;

 

1.  Values pave a clear path for us to fulfill our purpose – as mentioned previously, values are principles or standards of behavior. Boundaries and limits are set to ensure that we do not get derailed. Therefore, values help us determine what we can or cannot do as we walk our life journey and try to maintain who we need to be as per our purpose. As we remain on this path, we are guaranteed that we will live out who we should be regardless of what we face along the way. In other words, aligning our daily activities with our values puts us in a better position to or improves our chances of achieving our goals.

 

2.  It helps us to determine what is important to us – this keeps us focused on things that matter and Guide decision making. For example, our values will determine what things to pay attention to from the conversations we engage in with friends. As a result, anything else that is against personal goals is not given room to influence us. This further determines the way we respond as we interact with others. The importance of what we do, see or hear should be dependent on how it draws us closer to what we want to be. Our choice of what jobs, family, and hobbies to have among other things, must be based on our values. 

 

3.  It helps us build better and functional relationships – having clear values and living according to them helps people understand us better and vice-versa. As we align our life with our values, we come to an understanding that we are who we are by choice and that others have the freedom to make their own choices and be who they want to be. Consequently, we appreciate diversity better because we understand that we are all running different races and will not finish at the same time. This minimizes misunderstandings and unrealistic expectations. Also, our intentions as we interact with others are guided by our principles which also compels us to know where to draw the line as far as discussions are concerned. This keeps us from saying things we shouldn’t say and from doing things we shouldn’t do.

 

4.  Staying true to ourselves and experiencing genuine happiness – when we do things that are aligned with who we really are, we are not under pressure to please others. We do not feel the need to try and fit in or make sacrifices for the sake of social status. We know what we are doing and why which gives us feelings of contentment. Living according to our values also keeps us from doing things that are likely to be regretted in the future. We find life more fulling when we know that all we are and all we have was acquired without the need to do anything that is out of character. We do not feel like we owe any human being for it and we do not live in fear of the possibility of any of our deals coming back to haunt us. 

 

5.  It helps us grow – we mentioned previously that our values set a clear path for us as we try to fulfill our purpose. This keeps us from taking any other route. This means that we face all the challenges that come our way without running away from any of them. As we do this, we gain more experience in dealing with challenges and take lessons that improve the way we do things, our planning included. Those who have faced challenges and did not look for an easy way out know that we come out of trying times wiser and stronger.

“If you don’t stick to your values when they are being tested, they’re not values, they’re hobbies.” Job Stewart