Intentional living means choosing how you experience your life instead of reacting to everything happening around you. When you set your intentions, direct your energy, and decide who you are going to be in each moment, you create a different experience of life.
What is intentional living and why does it matter right now?
Intentional living is a choice and most people don’t realize when they’ve stopped making it.
Earlier this year, as the noise in the world was growing louder and more divisive, I caught myself spiraling.
I was reading something that frustrated me. Listening to conversations that stirred worry. Watching people I care about struggle. And I could feel myself tightening. Reacting. Absorbing energy and issues that weren’t mine to carry.
That was the moment I reconnected to what I knew to be true, but had drifted from it:
“If I did not consciously choose how I was going to experience my life, I would default into reacting to it.”
What are intentional living declarations?
These are the declarations I wrote on a sticky note and committed to because I realized I needed to lead my life, not react to it:
❇️ I choose how I experience my life.
❇️ I set my intentions.
❇️ I direct my energy.
❇️ I lead my experiences.
❇️ I stop waiting for life to change and become the person who shapes it.
That sticky note reminds me that I am responsible for how I show up in my life. Not my circumstances. Not the headlines. Not the loudest voice in the room.
Me.
It reminds me that I have agency.
That I can create my life with intention every single day.
That when I line up my thoughts, my words, and my actions with what I consciously choose, I create a different experience.
“I choose how I experience my life.”
Coach Joan Jakel
Why do we default to reacting instead of choosing?
Because reacting is automatic and choosing is intentional.
When something happens that feels stressful, uncertain, or emotional, your mind and body move quickly to respond. You absorb what’s happening around you, and before you even realize it, you’re in it. Thinking about it. Talking about it. Feeling it.
That reaction feels natural, but it also means you are allowing the moment to define your experience instead of deciding it for yourself.
There is a massive difference between reacting to life as it happens to you and the alternative: deciding in advance how you want to experience it.
Lately, this has been top of mind.
I’ve been in conversations with people who feel worried, concerned, and overwhelmed for themselves and for others. And listen, empathy matters. Compassion matters.
And there is a line between empathy and holding onto the energy that feels bad or unhealthy that is best not to cross.
Wayne Dyer once said that no amount of your feeling bad is going to make you or anyone else feel good. It will not change the circumstance causing the feeling.
And he was right.
When we sit in worry, anxiety, or feeling bad, we anchor ourselves in that energy and project it on others.
⛔ Talking about it keeps us there.
⛔ Replaying it keeps us there.
⛔ Projecting it onto others keeps them there too.
Energy is not neutral.
“The energy you put into a situation is what you amplify.”
Coach Joan Jakel
How do you stop reacting and start living more intentionally?
So instead of reacting, pause for a moment.
If you are feeling worried, anxious, or concerned about something, ask yourself:
Can I take action that meaningfully contributes to a solution?
If the answer is yes, then act. Act from a place of steadiness and support. That is powerful.
If the answer is no, then you have a different responsibility.
Your responsibility is to lead your experience of life. To decide who you are going to be in the middle of uncertainty.
If you cannot directly impact the outcome, you can:
✅ Choose to be optimistic.
✅ Choose to believe in the best possible outcome.
✅ Choose to hold yourself in calm rather than anxiety, worry or stress.
Ask yourself:
What do I want to feel or experience as I move through this?
What do I want the people I care about to feel or experience?
How about: Peace. Strength. Health. Stability. Joy. Courage.
Then choose that.
Send that.
Hold that.
What does intentional living look like in real life?
Intentional living is a practice.
And it applies everywhere.
First, refuse to get pulled into someone else’s emotional current. In a world that profits from outrage and division, this matters more than ever.
We are responsible for ourselves.
“Agency is not a personality trait. It is a skill.”
Coach Joan Jakel
Second, learning how to set your intentions, direct your energy, regulate your responses, and build your life with intention is something you can practice and strengthen every day.
This is the work I do every day, with myself and with my clients.
I help purpose-driven individuals move from reacting to leading. From absorbing everyone else’s energy to standing grounded in their own. From waiting for clarity to creating it.
Your next step
If you’re feeling the pull to stop reacting and start reclaiming your agency to build your life intentionally, let’s design a coaching plan to support you.
Learn more about coaching and the possibilities here 👉 Custom Coaching.
Remember: You are always creating your experience of life. The power lives in your intention.
I help purpose-driven entrepreneurs upgrade their mindset, eliminate limiting beliefs and reprogram critical, negative self-talk so they can courageously and authentically use their voice, gifts and talents to make a bigger impact.
If you're ready to thrive and develop an unshakeable belief in who you are and what you can achieve, let's talk!
Carpe Diem!
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