7 Characteristics of A Life Lived with Intention

You may have heard the phrase “intentional living” at some point, possibly in some motivational content or clickbait video title. If you are like many people, intentional living might fall into the growing category of catchphrases and buzz words that are thrown out there so often that their actual significance becomes watered down. However, living your life with a strong sense of intention in the things you do can yield above average results in whatever you choose to pursue.

Much like any other positive quality a person can possess, the way the quality actually manifests itself in daily life is going to vary from person to person. Everyone is working with a unique set of circumstances and abilities.

If you’ve decided to start living an intentional life but are unsure what exactly that looks like, keep reading! It can be difficult to replicate something you aren’t familiar with!

There are some relatively common traits present in the lives of intentional individuals. Below we will spend some time describing three of these traits.

There Is No Wasted Time or Effort

People that live intentionally are able to use the exact same amount of time available each day and accomplish more than their counterparts who lack intention. One of the primary reasons behind this observation is an optimization of time and effort.

Intentional people do not allow large chunks of their time to be spent on activities that are not beneficial, actions that do not directly relate to their goals. They do not fall victim to time traps such as reality television binges or incessantly scrolling through their social media pages. Instead, people who are intentional milk all of the productivity they possibly can in each day.

Similarly, the intentional life involves a high degree of efficiency when it comes to effort as well. Intentional people do not wake up each day in a state of hurried uncertainty because they realize that having a plan and sticking to it yields much better results. There is a very minimal amount of wasted movement.

Mistakes Are Only Made Once

Another common observation made in the lives of intentional people is the ability to process mistakes and make the necessary changes to move forward. The thing is, everyone makes mistakes on a relatively consistent basis, failure is a mandatory catalyst for improvement.

Without intention, however, people have a tendency to repeat the same mistakes because they fail to maintain enough focus and intention to be able to pinpoint where errors were made. Furthermore, a lack of intention limits the ability to reflect on mistakes and avoid repeating them in similar situations moving forward.

Mistakes have the ability to provide valuable lessons, but only if they are recognized and adaptations are put in place. People who live intentionally make mistakes just like everyone else, they just don’t make the same ones perpetually.

Gradual & Consistent Growth

The final trait that is found in the lives of intentional people to be discussed is consistent growth and progress. This is an important aspect to point out due to the fact that people who lack intention in life will often still accomplish things, but with a wildly unpredictable frequency.

You will often find individuals that blindly go through life and occasionally get on a hot streak and experience a high degree of success at seemingly everything, followed by long periods of stagnation or even regression.

On the contrary, intentional people don’t tend to go through these fluctuations of feast and famine. While they may or may not display extreme periods of crazy success, their attention to detail and focus allow them to consistently trend in the right direction. This tendency to play the long game yields far greater results in the grand scheme of things.

You Do What is Important to You

Living with intention means you intentionally choose to pursue the things you love in life. This means you are never doing things that you consider unimportant or doing something just to please someone else.

Additionally, you will feel happy and fulfilled when you pursue these things. You will never be left with a feeling of emptiness or uncertainty because you know all of the things you are doing matter to who you are.

You Are Never Confused

When you live with intention, you establish what is important to you and you are constantly pursuing your goals. You should never be clouded with confusion or unsure why you are doing something.

Because you are never confused when living with intention because living with intention is living with a clear mind and the underlying confidence to know you are doing what is right for you.

You Take Time For You

Many people think that living with intention means you are constantly pursuing your dreams and doing things that will better you. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

When you live with intention, you know that your mental health comes above all else. Therefore you will take the time you need to rest and recover, as this is all part of moving forward. This rest can be anything you need to recharge, from an evening on the couch watching TV or perhaps a weekend visit to the spa.

You Make Choices With Ease

Struggling to decide between options is never a part of intentional living. Those who live intentionally can always make decisions with ease because one choice will conform to their core values, while the other will not.

Final Thoughts

Overall, living an intentional life will look different to each person, depending on the core values you decide to live by. But you can expect that when you live an intentional life you will be doing the things that are important to you, you will not be confused, you’ll take time for you, and you will be able to make choices with ease. You will feel a strong a sense of purpose because you are not living autopilot, but instead manifesting what is truly important to you.

So stop drifting through life confused and start living intentionally today.