You have probably realized through your journey with addiction how powerful it was to take back control of your life. Before entering recovery, you likely felt controlled by your addiction. It dictated most of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Fortunately, by freeing yourself of active addiction, you have begun regaining control of your life.
Unfortunately, you cannot control every aspect of your life. Unexpected events and situations can occur at any time to any individual. With this information, it can be easy to succumb to despair. Although, by choosing to live intentionally in life, you can find inner peace through a balance of control in your life.
How to Live Intentionally
Living intentionally is a practice that requires time and effort. In order to begin taking specific actions to intentional living, you need to first identify personal beliefs and values that are meaningful to you. Some values can include things like:
- Being honest with yourself and others
- Practicing self-awareness
- Finding inner peace
- Taking care of your body
- Being kind to yourself
- Being kind to others
- Practicing self-care
- Freely expressing your thoughts and feelings
- Making meaningful connections with friends and family members
- Compassion for yourself and others
Some examples of beliefs that can guide you to live intentionally can include things like:
- Failure is a way to learn and grow
- I do not need to be perfect; I just need to be me
- My personal best is enough
- This too shall pass
- I am not my emotions
- It is okay for me to not feel okay all the time
- I deserve good things in life
- Just because someone else is succeeding does not mean I am failing
- Success means something different for everyone
- Beauty takes many different shapes and forms
- Healing is not linear
Once you have identified your own values and beliefs, you can begin to figure out ways to live these out on a daily basis. Remember to start small initially. Lasting change takes a bit of time to develop, so be patient with yourself throughout this process. Small daily changes can help you commit to these values and be intentional about your choices and your life.
For example, consider your daily routine. Try to pick out and identify things that you do throughout your day that do not align with your values and beliefs. One such thing could be getting mad at yourself for not feeling happy all the time. This directly goes against the value of self-compassion and the two beliefs that healing is not linear and that you are not your emotions. Once you are able to recognize behaviors and actions throughout your day that do not align with your values and beliefs, you can slowly and thoughtfully begin swapping them out for things that do align with them.
In the example of getting mad at yourself for not feeling happy all the time, you can choose to tell yourself a different narrative when those feelings arise. If you begin to experience feelings of sadness throughout your day for seemingly no reason, try telling yourself something like, “I am feeling sad right now. This is just a feeling, and it is not me. It is okay for me to feel sad, and it does not mean that I am failing in my recovery or in life.” You can even write new narratives like that on paper or in a journal. Writing it down as many times as you need to can be a visual reminder of the beliefs and values that you are now living out.
Be Patient
No matter what your beliefs and values are, you must remain patient with yourself during this process. Even by practicing this patience for yourself and your life changes, you are being intentional. This is because when you try to rush yourself, you are self-sabotaging your recovery.
It is true that all good things take time. There is no need to put unnecessary pressure on yourself to implement new life changes perfectly all at once. Instead, remind yourself that practicing being intentional is a slow, methodical process. Even reminding yourself of this is actively living an intentional life and can open the door for even more intentionality to occur.
Reach Out for Help
One of the most effective ways to live intentionally is to reach out to professionals for assistance. This process is difficult, to say the least, and requires plenty of external support. In order to gain the proper tools and encouragement that you need to live intentionally, reach out to trusted professionals to help you live out your values and beliefs.
Living intentionally while in recovery can help you stay sober despite external triggers you may experience. To begin doing so, you must first identify your values and beliefs. Once you have done this, you can begin planning out ways that you can implement small daily changes in your day that allow you to act out of your values and live intentionally. While doing this, be sure to remain patient with yourself, as this process takes plenty of time. If you need help with living intentionally, reach out to us at West Coast Recovery Centers. We can help you begin living more intentionally so that you can achieve your goals in your recovery journey. Living intentionally takes time and plenty of dedicated effort. You do not have to tackle this challenge alone. Call us today at (760) 492-6509 to get help.