It was two years ago that my word for the year was “intentional.” While I do choose a new word every year, I do create a pathway to intentional living every year because I don’t ever want to lose sight of living intentionally.
My calling has become being more intentional in the way I spend my days. Rather than letting the day pull me along, leaving me to fall victim to whatever the day may bring, I am choosing to have a plan filled with things that leave me feeling refreshed, positive, and eager to embrace everything the day has in store.
Your route to intentional living may look different from mine, but the point is in the importance of establishing a plan. I cannot stress enough the importance of writing down your plan, too. My plan for intentional living this years was initially scrawled on an advertisement brochure I found laying around at the gym since I had forgotten my notebook. Yours can be written on anything you want, but just make sure you hang on to it. Every year I find that I need to read mine often just so I can maintain my focus as the fog of my “organized chaos” creeps in nearly every day at some point.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, organized, or even written in sentence form as you will see that mine is not. The important part is just having it down on paper. When things are just floating around in my head, that is where they tend to stay!
Here is what I have planned for intentional living in 2016.
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Begin and end each day with a focus on God, even if just a simple one sentence prayer
Read one chapter from three important books each day: one on marriage or parenting, one on prayer, one on growth of some kind
Memorize one Bible verse a week
Be a part of four online Bible studies of a relevant book this year
Participate with my Bible study at least three days a week
For each negative thought, verbally speak three things to be thankful for
Focus on healthy eating, drink 100 ounces of water a day, take vitamins, get restful sleep, even if only a small amount
Talk less, listen more
Focus on telling my loved ones that they are loved several times a day
Demonstrate love through physical touch
What are you waiting for? Reflect on what makes you feel refreshed and what brings you a sense of peace, fulfillment, contentment. Then, form complete thoughts on where you want this year to take you based on the decisions you made during your time in reflection. Come up with an overall game plan of how you want to spend your time while still wearing the many hats you have to wear.
Finally, write down how you plan to master achieving peace, fulfillment, and contentment in this coming year. This is what is at the heart of intentional living.
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