How to Be Present and Purposeful

It’s been just over two months since we moved into our new house in Maine and we have just two pieces of artwork hung on the wall, both in my office. (That’s one of them in the pic over there.)

While we are completely unpacked (go us!), we’ve yet to decide on paint colors, area rugs, or what other décor will go where.

Melissa and I made a commitment to each other that we would wait on designing the interior until we felt we had energetically moved in. While you can load in all your physical belongings in one day, it takes time to infuse the space with your energy.

We want to be intentional about what we choose to surround ourselves with and not rush just to have it “done.”

We’re paying attention to how we live in the space, how we feel in each room, and the intention we have for our home.

Would I love to have some warmer tones on the walls? Sure. But it also feels lovely to be present with the space and invite it to tell me what colors it would like to wear.

I see lots of parallels in our home decorating process and the moves we make in our lives. I’m sure you can relate.

How often are you running from one thing to the next, whether literally and physically or in your mind, without ever slowing down a bit to be sure you want to go wherever it is you’re headed?

It’s so easy to fill life up with “busy” and fire extinguishing that before you know it, one, five, or 10 years have passed and you’re wondering where the time went.

Whenever I feel like life is getting away from me, I pause and take stock of my choices and decisions.

Here is a sampling of the process I go through:

1. I pull up my calendar and review how I spent the last two to three days.
2. I identify any errands, tasks, or projects I worked on that, in reflection, wasn’t the best use of my time.
3. I look for themes in what took my attention away from the actions that would have supported my vision and BHAGs (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals).
   1. Am I abandoning myself for others?
   2. Am I cluttering up my calendar to avoid actions I feel intimidated by?
   3. Am I getting caught up in busy work to quench my desire for immediate gratification?
4. I then have a look at the steps I avoided to see if they can be broken down into even smaller steps.
5. Finally, I re-work my schedule for the next several days and plan the specific times I will take those steps.

Occasionally, my discoveries in step 3 will result in some processing in my journal to help nip it in the bud in the future.

Overall, the process goes pretty quickly and almost always results in a few “ah-ha” moments.

Life is so precious that I want to squeeze every moment out of it, even if that moment is just sitting in the rocking chair on my back deck watching the chipmunks play.

Being as mindful and deliberate as possible with how I spend my time is a critical part of that intention.

Now I want to hear from you! Are you rushing around in your life with no stops to smell the roses? Do you think you’ll give my process a try to help you get back into the driver’s seat?

Reply in the comments and let me know!