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Intentional Living in a World of Hustle Culture

Finding peace in the moments in between

By Emma Jarek-SimardPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Intentional Living in a World of Hustle Culture
Photo by Akemy Mory on Unsplash

Intentional living is a concept that can vastly improve our lives, but it can be challenging to actually live intentionally in our world of hustle culture. These are some easy ways to integrate intentional living into your day for more peace, freedom and an overall sense of wellbeing.

Intentional living is a beautiful concept, and one that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. The thing is, though, that most of us struggle to consistently practice intentional living. It’s no surprise, really, when we look at the society we live in -- one that prioritizes busy-ness over true productivity, and that focuses on the material instead of true wellbeing and fulfillment.

With this in mind, however, there are absolutely ways to ingrain intentional living into our lives so firmly that even the “hustle culture” of our world can’t shake it. We all deserve a bit more peace and slowness in our lives to allow us to focus on and enjoy the things that truly matter.

Why Practice Intentional Living?

Now, to get us started, why should we even care about intentional living? In other words, why should we take the time to slow down and simplify our lives? Ultimately, it all comes down to creating a sense of lasting happiness and fulfillment.

Slowing down to be more intentional allows us to focus our energy on what really matters in our lives — things that bring us joy, fulfillment and value as opposed to filling our time with meaningless “busy work”. This is so vital for not only making our schedules less overwhelming, but also for our mental health and overall well being.

As soon as you start living more intentionally, you notice things that you never did before. You can feel the space and time that you have in your day. You can begin to see new opportunities and ways of doing things that serve you better, both in the short and the long term.

In short, there are myriad reasons to begin practicing intentional living, whether for your health, mental health, fulfillment, or all of the above.

How to Start Practicing intentional Living Today

Now that we have that out of the way, how can we all begin living intentionally right away? There are truly countless ways to do this, but for our purposes here we’ll break it down into three categories.

Meditation

The first category we’ll discuss in looking at practical ways to live more intentionally is meditation. This can mean meditation in the more stereotypical sense of the word -- sitting cross-legged with closed eyes and a focus on nothing but the present, or it can mean any number of other things.

Meditation is really a term that we can use to describe anything that gets us into a state of flow; where we are focused only on the current moment. Not worrying about the future or dwelling on the past, but simply present.

Meditation is an important aspect of intentional living, as, by its very definition, slowing down to focus on the moment. This sort of focus creates a sense of spaciousness in our lives, and allows us to stay grounded through both challenges and ease alike. This could mean a formal meditation practice, or it could be painting or walking in nature, or even playing with a pet or your children. The important thing is to integrate more of these activities into your daily life and routine.

Movement

Next up is movement. Movement is extremely important for both our mental and physical health, and is an excellent opportunity to practice living intentionally.

Movement is a chance to get in touch with our bodies; to deeply feel the interconnectedness of our minds and our bodies. Movement can be another opportunity for meditation, even. By immersing ourselves in the experience of movement, regardless of how we choose to move, we have an opportunity to completely enter “the zone” and let our worries slip away.

By integrating mindful movement into your regular routine, your body and mind will thank you -- it feels so good to do nice things for yourself, and to be mindful of all the good you are doing through those actions.

Minimalism

The last element of mindful and intentional living we are going to touch on here is the concept of minimalism. This, like meditation, can mean a variety of things depending on your needs and your interpretation of the word.

In approaching intentional living, it’s helpful to simplify things. This can be things in your physical space, mental space, or ideally both. The important thing to keep in mind is that minimalism shouldn’t be about deprivation, but rather focusing on only what you genuinely need and what brings value to your life.

Here are some simple ways to get started:

- Declutter your physical possessions, one room at a time. Dispose of them responsibly by selling, donating, recycling, composting, etc.

- Cut down on any unnecessary obligations; things in your schedule that could be delegated, eliminated or reduced.

- Reduce the size of your to-do lists -- limit them to one to three items each day to avoid overwhelm.

By starting small, you will eventually be able to simplify so much of your life. This can have far reaching implications in terms of our mental and even physical health, by reducing the stress and anxiety we so often face with respect to just having too much (clutter, things to do, etc.).

In Summary…

Living intentionally has a host of benefits. It allows us to slow down and enjoy life, declutter our schedules as well as our mental and physical spaces, and focus on what brings us fulfillment. Let’s all break free of the hustle culture of modern society, and make choices that benefit ourselves and others.

I hope you found some value in this piece on living intentionally, and if you did, I’d love to hear your feedback! Be sure to connect with me on Pinterest and Instagram so that we can hang out! In the meantime, have a beautiful day.

Wishing you so much joy and light,

Emma

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About the Creator

Emma Jarek-Simard

My name is Emma, and I am hugely passionate about personal development and the environment. I believe that when we see the beauty and worth of the world that surrounds us, it’s a powerful motivator to become the best versions of ourselves!

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