5 Reasons To Engage In Intentional Wandering

Living a life of pain, or constant challenges, can send you on a journey where you begin wandering aimlessly around. The former life you so carefully constructed came crumbling down around you with little understanding of what steps to take.

Wandering can be dangerous and lead you down treacherous paths you do not need to travel. It can distract you from the important tasks in life and can lead you far from your purpose.

What is Intentional Wandering?

But there can be benefits to intentional wandering. Especially when your life has been turned upside-down and you are attempting to see how to live in a new place effectively.

Intentional wandering is specifically choosing a path with the intent of learning and growing regardless of the outcome. In other words, you are not taking whatever comes your way. You are attempting tasks or actions which can benefit your life, your purpose, and direction. Then you specifically engage in this journey, not to succeed, but to learn something you would not have endeavored otherwise.

You are choosing to write because you always wanted but never thought you could. You rebuild a car, make your own clothes, work with a non-profit, or start a project you have been putting off. By entering into this time period with no idea of the outcome you are learning more about yourself, your likes, dislikes, and abilities. All for the purpose of learning how to live life on your terms.

If you have found yourself in a situation where your journey seems unclear. Here are five reasons to engage in some intentional wandering to learn to live upside down.

Reveal Purpose

Intentional wandering has the uncanny ability to reveal a purpose. Part of entering a time of intentional wandering is choosing tasks which peak your interests. When you wander with intentionality you are engaging your journey with your eyes wide open. You are embracing new opportunities and attempting to get the most you can out of life.

Through this process a hobby, task, or even career might reveal itself in places you never dreamed. These revelations come because you chose to take a different path and embrace your current circumstances. You began to look for opportunities in new places. When this happens you never know what might arise.

Provide Focus

Intentional wandering can also provide focus. When you wander aimlessly you are attempting to see what sticks. By adding intentionality to your journey you are eliminating those pursuits which may not provide any production. By knowing yourself and understanding where you want to go, but not necessarily knowing how to get there, you can still make progress by saying “no.”

If you know you don’t like sitting all day then you want to look at more active pursuits. If you do not want to stare at a computer all day long then you want to eliminate jobs or hobbies which might be more stagnate. By understanding yourself better, you still may not know which path to take. But by saying “no” you understand which paths you need to avoid. This process adds to your focus while wandering.

Hone skills

Honing your skills can also rise to the top during your intentional wandering. When I got the bug to write, I started writing. I had no idea what I was writing, why I was writing, and no one reading what I was writing, but I was writing every day. Over the course of a year, after writing thousands of words I realized my writing was improving.

Even though I did not have an outcome or reason to write, by simply committing to the process, the quality was improving. I was honing my skills with content, grammar, telling a story, and composition. When you commit to the process during your time your skills in any given area can vastly improve. Which, in turn, can open up different opportunities not seen before.

Introduce you to new people

One of the greatest aspects of intentional wandering is being able to meet new people. Through the process of attempting something new you are inevitably going to meet people outside your normal sphere of influence. In this process you have the opportunity to connect, grow, and be influenced by some pretty awesome individuals.

It has been during these times I have met some amazing individuals who have offered me insight I would have have found otherwise. These people can have a tremendous impact on you because they are speaking a truth in your life you were not seeking. It was unexpected but they hit you on the target and created a tremendous opportunity for you. Never miss out on looking around when you are intentionally wandering to see who might be walking beside you.

Make the most of any situation

Intentional wandering can also help create a mindset of making the most of any situation. Remember, when you enter into this time of wandering you are doing this to learn, regardless of the outcome. This means even if you failed, you learned. This mindset can be extremely valuable if you learning to make the most of any situation.

I have seen time and time again, people who get frustrated or angry because the project or task did not go as planned. This did not mean it was bad or the project was derailed. We needed to make some adjustments in order to get the train back on track. But because of certain expectations about how the project should go, these individuals could not recover.

The only wasted task is one not reflected upon properly. This outcome of your wandering is not as important as your reflection. If you can learn this trait in the midst of your wandering it will be an invaluable resource no matter where you life takes you.

If you are in a place in your life where you are in pain, facing an unexpected challenge, or life is not turning out as planned. It may be time for some intentional wandering. But be specific, make a plan, be intentional, and open your mind to what you can learn through this journey. Your eyes may be opened in ways you never even imagined.