Are you living your life out of habit or intention? Is your daily routine an automated collection of actions that you have accrued over the years? Are your current circumstances a reflection of what you would choose for yourself? We are wired to automate as much of our daily routine as possible. Our amazing bodies are tasked with filtering through thousands of pieces of information in each moment. Routine and habit help us conserve energy. Sometimes the routines and habits we follow are not propelling us forward but instead holding us back.
This is where we find the power of intention. Living with intention requires that we prune away the habits and routines that no longer serve us. Intention shines a light on the incongruency between who we are today and who we dream of becoming. Some of our habits have been handed down to us from our caregivers. We may find some of our habits were developed to help us cope during challenging periods of our lives. Some of our routines may reflect culturally sanctioned ideals that we have blindly adopted. Living with intention allows us to question how each and every one of our moment-by-moment choices impacts us.
Living with intention demands our full undivided attention. It requires us to slow down enough to make mindful choices. Have you ever tried to learn something new? In the beginning it feels taxing. You are focusing all your energy on each action as you try to master this new skill. Living with intention is much the same. It will require energy and focus. We may find that we slip back into the well-worn groves of habit when we are not mindful of our goal. If we weather the discomfort of brining intention to each moment, we will start to see its power to create change in our lives.
The truth is that we are powerful co-creators of our reality. We may have been conditioned to believe that life simply happens to us, but the truth is that life happens for us. Life is our opportunity to wake up to the power we all hold individually and collectively. Power requires responsibility. Living with intention allows us to align with our power to co-create our life. If your current circumstances are not what you would choose for yourself, the good news is that you have to power to change. Your power lies in this moment. Your power lies in bringing mindful intention to how you respond to everything this moment is offering you. Your power is revealed when you choose to live less out of habit and more from intention.