The Power Of Intentional Growth

“If you don’t go after what you want, you”ll never have it. If you don’t ask the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward , you’re always in the same place.”

-Nora Roberts

This Wednesday makes four year since the start of my blogging journey. What a journey this has been. My whole purpose in writing was to share the things I have been learning through my everyday life, as I began my journey of being intentional about my personal growth. Intentionality is so powerful because with it you really have the ability to create exactly what you plan to see. My journey started with me getting to a place in my life where I felt unsatisfied with where I was. I was at a place where I felt like there was so much more to life than what I was experiencing. I look back over the years and I am overwhelmed with gratitude at the amount of growth I have experienced. There really is so much power in being intentional with your life. 

One of the biggest things this journey has taught me is that, every next level of your life will require adjustments and shifts to take place in order for you to thrive in each season. Think about your high school graduation. That is one of the biggest shifts you experience in your transition from childhood to adulthood. Everything shifts: your mindset, focus, confidence, responsibilities, etc. You quickly begin to realize that in order to thrive in the next season, you need to grow. This new level of your life requires a different you. Graduating high school is one of the most obvious shifts that take place in life but when seasonal shifts happen, it’s easy to miss it due to the lack of being intentional. Or maybe, the focus is on the more urgent daily responsibilities of life. 

It’s easy to just go through life aimlessly but when you are intentional about your life you position yourself to see many of the dreams in your heart fulfilled. In order to see those dreams fulfill you have to grow into the person who is able to accomplish them. My health journey this year has taught me the importance of being intentional. When I take time to plan things out and do the actions that will help me to stay on track to reach my goal, I will most likely reach it. Being intentional doesn’t mean you have to be perfect it just means you are doing things with a purpose in mind. 

My goals is to always keep the purpose behind what I am doing in mind. This is what drives me to be intentional with my everyday habits and actions. The word intention means, an aim or plan. Intentional means done on purpose; deliberate. If you truly want to live the life that you dream of  you have to be intentional. This journey has taught me that you have to do things with a plan and on purpose. If you aim for nothing you will get nothing, but if you aim with purpose you are more likely to get what you intend. 

Sometimes life happens and you can lose your way and your sense of direction. That’s ok, because no one is perfect and that’s apart of life and growth. Growth is sometimes very painful, messy and the process is often time hard and imperfect. Your greatest growth comes through the biggest challenges you face in life. Many of the challenges are often used to keep you growing and going. That’s why it’s so important that you are intentional about how you shift and grow through each season of life. So you don’t end up going in a direction or a place you never intended to be.  

Being intentional gives you a reason to hope. John Maxwell said it best, “Growth is the only guarantee that tomorrow will be better.” When we are intentional about our lives and how we are growing it helps us to see that what we want is possible. 

These are some areas of life I have learned to be intentional with:

1.Be intentional with growing your mindset

One of the biggest areas people fail to grow is the mind. If we continue to think about the same things we will continue to develop the same results. We have to learn to cultivate our thinking, allow God’s Word to renew our minds. We must educate ourselves in areas where we are weak. We can do this by, reading books, listening to podcast, watching videos, taking classes and more. Whatever it takes we must strive to get better in our way of thinking

2. Be Intentional with how you grow

We are only going to go as far as our capacity to grow. I personally love growing and I’ve been learning so much, that I am compelled to help others do the same. Take time to discover how you want to grow and the areas you need the most growth in. Take classes, read books, and develop the skills you need to help you be successful. 

3. Be intentional with evaluating and make changes when needed

When we are growing and constantly evaluating ourselves, we are making huge investments that will have a great payoff in the future. Everyday I challenge myself to get better and I want to challenge you to do the same.

“Don’t just go through life, grow through life.” Every season of life that we go through is for a purpose. We serve a God who is so intentional in all His ways. What you are going through and what you have been through is not a mistake. God makes no mistakes. Most of the situations that we face are a product of our decisions. God is such a merciful God. Even when we make the wrong decisions, He still loves us enough to draw us back to Him and create a testimony out of our lives.

He has a way of turning around our situation for His good. The challenges that we face in life were never intended to destroy us, they are intended to keep us growing and relying on God’s wisdom. Don’t allow the hopelessness of your situation to keep you from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope for you. Fight through the depression, anxiety, stress, guilt, confusion and failure. Love yourself enough to get the help you need to grow. You have a unique purpose that only you can accomplish, generations will be impacted by the decisions you make today. Be intentional, and work to get better everyday. One step at a time one day at a time. Don’t give up on who you are becoming. Thanks for reading!

How has being intentional helped you grow?  Comment below. I would love to hear.