Living with Intentionality

I spent the last week getting incredibly aware of when I was giving my personal power away.


I took a small bag and filled it with 100 pennies and I removed a penny each time I felt myself give away my power or when I felt myself react in a way that was out of alignment.


The goal was simply to become more aware of my habit to let external things "ruin" my day.


Honestly, the first few days were the hardest. I felt like I was giving pennies away like it was my job. And it was over such silly things. For instance, one of my kids would walk in on me in the bathroom and I'd lose it. As a mom, I should be used to this, but I was reacting in such a terrible way. Or I found myself giving my power away any time the thought of money came to my mind- I instantly sent into a worrying spiral.


By Thursday, I felt like I had a much better grasp on how reactive I was being. And instead of knee-jerk reacting to a whiny child or taking a comment too personal or letting money rule my emotions, I was giving myself space to decide how I wanted to react. Here are a few things I will do differently moving forward...


  1. Read a physical book in the morning. I found I had less patience with my kids on the days I checked my phone in the first 30 minutes I was awake. But on the days I started with a few minutes of personal development- my whole day was more of my own. This was a habit of mine for a while and then I fell out of it, so I'm bringing it back.

  2. Be prepared for an onslaught of questions. My kids ask so many questions and I can get annoyed pretty quickly, but I don't want my kids to feel punished when they ask questions, so I am working on breathing in between the array of questions they send my way.

  3. Laugh more. I was taking other people's comments too seriously and letting the little things really hurt my feelings. I can still stand in my power even when people make "joking" comments. However, I do let people know when they've gone too far with me.

  4. Let people in. To be honest, I was not expecting to learn this type of lesson this week, but it became vividly apparent once I saw where my power was going. I felt myself attempting to keep people "out" so I could retain my power. But the truth is, when I open my heart I can create more power than just what my mind is capable of seeing.

  5. Trust. This was something I needed to relearn. I talk about it a lot, but I had found myself trusting in God for the "unimportant" things and trying to handle the "important" things myself. God knows what is best for me and when I trust in His direction, I allow more joy into my life.


I am so thankful for the continued opportunity to learn and relearn without fear of punishment. While I am human, I desire to be a better version of me each and every day and this exercise brought back my desire for intentional living. I'm so excited to see what unfolds in the coming weeks.

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I deserve another chance.

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Roll with the punches