Wow! The school year has barely even started, and I’m already feeling overwhelmed. From being involved in a ton of different organizations to preparing my senior thesis, to planning my wedding, to figuring out how to be a real adult in a few months, I’ve got a lot going on. However, when I start to get overwhelmed, it’s very easy for me to fall into treating life as a habit, just doing things the same way every single day, mindlessly. But that’s not the way I should be living life or the way I want to live it. I want to fully live every moment that I’m given.
I’ve never really done this before, but for my senior year of college, I’ve decided to live by a word: Intentional. The dictionary definition of the word intentional is “done on purpose; deliberate.” I want every action I take, every word I speak and every moment of time I spend with someone to be intentional. And I want to be fully present in those intentional moments. I am starting to realize that pretty soon my life will completely change as I know it or have ever known it, so I want to take in every second of my life the way it is right now.
So, how can I be intentional and present every single day? It can be hard to do that all the time. I mean we all get tired, but that’s the point. Even in those exhausted moments in which we feel like there’s nothing left for us to give, those are the moments that we need to be the most intentional and present. So, throughout this year, I am going to live intentionally, and I hope you can, too.
Ways to live intentionally:
- Be Purposeful
Actually make plans to go get coffee or dinner with someone, and follow through with those plans. Don’t just cancel for any little reason.
2. Be Present
When you do get the chance to spend time with someone, be fully there! And in that time, PUT DOWN THE CELL PHONE! We get so caught up in other people’s lives on social media that we forget that our own life is just as important. Have a nice old fashioned conversation and foster relationships with the ones that you are fortunate enough to see and spend time with.
3. Live Your Life
Don’t be concerned with what everyone else is thinking about you or what you’re doing. It’s your life to live, so live it. If you feel like acting crazy and weird, then act crazy and weird. If you feel like having a movie night with the girls instead of going out, then have a movie night. Do whatever you can and all that you can in the time that you have.
4. Have a Purpose
Don’t live your life mundanely. You’ve only got one, so live it up and give it purpose. Do something that will make you happy every day, or do something to help someone else. Do great, and be great.
5. Pause, Breathe and be Thankful Every Day
As I said earlier, we all get overwhelmed. When you start feeling like you’ve got too much on your plate, just stop for a second, take a breath and be thankful for what you have and for the people that surround, support and love you. Because at the end of the day, the people around you are all you have, and they’ll be there with you through thick and thin.
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