6 ways to Create a Life of Intention and Mindfulness
So, what is the value of time? What is it worth to you? I wonder where does time go, where does time go after you get out of bed everyday? I’m always wondering where does the year go at the end of the year? What have I accomplished this past year? What do I have to show for it all?
Daily, I’m thinking I don’t have time to meditate for 20 mins twice a day. I don’t have time to make my lunch, actually take my lunch at work, drink water, or use the bathroom at work. I don’t have time to fix and troubleshoot everyone else’s problems at work. I don’t have time to live my life, to figure out what God’s purpose is for me in this life. There has to be something more than this. There has to be more than every minute being run by numbers, by the clock, every minute of everyday. So, what is the value of time and what does that mean to me?
I consistently have thoughts of “if I do this by then and make it here by then, then I can do this in this amount of time. Then, if I finish this by this time and start that by that time, then I can go to sleep by this time. Then, I can get this many hours if I get up by this time and then I can blog in the morning for this long.” I’m tired just saying all of that. This is how I believe I’m valuing my time more.
It all leaves me exhausted and fearful I’m missing my life. I’m trying to time everything out and plan every minute that’s available. Where does it stop? When do we start being more mindful about how we value our time; even down to who we spend our time with? When do we begin our life of something more? We know there is more and we should move forward with intention in order to find it. Below are a few simple ways you can be more intentional and value time more.
Be Mindful/Setting Intention/Value your time
1. Get up early and incorporate some exercise into your daily routine.
I like to walk outside and I love that living in Texas gives me the opportunity to do it all year long. You can get your daily dose of vitamin D from the glorious sunshine and get some fresh air which helps clear your head.
2. Learn to meditate and perform deep breathing techniques.
I always liked the breathing technique where you breathe in through your nose for an 8 count, hold your breath for a count of 8, then release your breath slowly for an 8 count. It has always calmed my anxiety while slowing my heart rate.
3. Eat Mindfully.
Eat in silence, slowly nourishing your body with each spoonful instead of swallowing your food whole. I have a hard time with this. I never leave enough time to eat before heading out for the day. So, I am running around the kitchen trying to warm the food and shoveling it in my mouth since I only leave maybe 8 mins and 32 seconds to eat.
4. Writing in a gratitude journal.
I’m not perfect by any means at this, but this does exactly what it says, keeps you grateful. You spend your time at the end of the day thinking about the things that went right. After awhile you go through your day mindfully looking for things to be grateful for.
5. Who you surround yourself with.
You always hear, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. There has been many times where I have taken this to heart and systematically needed to remove people from my life that didn’t make the cut. I personally need to be surrounded by someone that is motivated, a go-getter, positive, kind-hearted and 20 more things that would also describe my perfect match! Ha! Time is precious and you want to surround yourself with people of value. People that also understand the value of time.
6. Positive thoughts and words.
I hear all the time your thoughts and words you speak determine the life you lead. These days you can listen to podcasts or Youtube on the go and get motivated or spiritually fed. Speak life into your life.
This list is far from complete! In what ways do you stay out of the time warp? What do you do to be more intentional and mindful in your own life? What is the value of time?
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