What Intentional Living Actually Means (It's Not What Influencers Say)
For those close to me, they'll tell you that I am a minimalist. And this is not the old "I only have 30 pieces of clothing," even though I do believe in a good capsule wardrobe to minimize my daily decisions. I'm more so intentional about the things I have to schedule and what I require out of life. You see, being intentional is actually very unconventional. It's not an aesthetic; it's choosing to be clear about your life. And honestly, a lot of people might not understand. I think about Dave Ramsey, and as much as people harp on his practices, the man practices a simple concept: live off less than you have. I started listening to Dave Ramsey big within the pandemic, and honestly had consistently saved the most amount of money I ever had. But the kicker: I practiced intentional living PRIOR to even thinking about being financially literate.
Truth be told: I realized that intentional living came from two spaces for me. The first: I am not a collector. Honestly, seeing people pass continuously made me think about how you cannot take stuff with you, but the memories are what sustain. The second: I did not want to haul stuff that I would need across the country. Hell, I didn't even want to do it when I moved dorm rooms. I got really smart about what I wanted to keep. Have you ever asked a person, "Would you rather live in a house with no car or a car with no house?" I have always chosen the car (trust me, my friends have looked at me crazy). I came to that conclusion because the pandemic opened my eyes to the ways people were uncomfortable in order to not be a slave to the lender. If I had a tiny bit more delusion, I probably would have done it. But I'm born and raised in Atlanta, so I'm realistically not doing that.
Intentional living has seasons in your life; IT WILL look different. I am currently reading Emma Grede's book and I agree with everything she's said thus far (I think I'm in chapter 4): comfort will essentially get you nowhere. I also have recently started purging my social media follows and realized that a lot of my algorithm is people who are experiencing intentional living (more specifically financially) and getting really honest about the life they want to live. If you follow selmamakessense, trust me: a lot of stuff will start to make sense for real. Side note: I love how honest she is and laugh at the delivery, because sometimes you need the honest "well, stop eating out so much and take your lunch" side eye.
I am in a season where, while I do have my immediate family to worry about, I am growing my professional social capital and propelling my career forward, because your girl has goals. And the way I'm chasing them is intentional too. Speaking of goals: I realized that I am a generalist in my career and not a specialist. I think that is my superpower, because something can be ambiguous as all get out and I am going to make it make sense. As aggravating as that can be for people, I think it serves as a really good connection between teams and collaborative work across organizations. I often think about it as intentional living, because I could have put myself in such a rabbit hole early in my career but I decided not to (my educational background is a testimonial in itself).
