Unintentional Living

Can you imagine a world where people were unintentional with their lives? A world where you didn’t aspire to grow or learn or dream? Can you imagine living in a place where your time was dictated by television schedules and your dreams were inspired by ads showing a fake world of fantasy?

Yes, I actually can.

It sounds ludicrous, but it is true - we are trained to live uninspired, unintentional lives dictated by messages to become some person around an infinity we may aspire to.

This world creates unintended outcomes because there is not intentional living.

Don’t believe me? Here is an example. What is the outcome of receiving random messages to eat certain “fun” foods like sodas, desserts, juices, candy, etc.? The answer: diabetes. The unintentional over-consumption of sugars produces large amounts of diabetes in our country. Whereas an intentional plan to eat in moderation dramatically lowers the chances of the disease.

Case after case and story after story reveal unintended consequences and the pain that go with them.

Maybe unintentional living is actually intentional when you stop to think about it. People have a tendency to replace pain with medication, boredom with activity and distress with distraction. Maybe we intend to live unintentional after all.

King Solomon told us to look at ants to get a proper perspective of life. Now that sounds funny, doesn’t it? And yet, he was the wisest man to have lived. The ant works with other ants and toward a goal of provision for the colony. I don’t recall ever seeing fat ants.

It is time to reverse unintentional living. It is time to stop and think about the outcomes of living unintentionally. The outcomes are uninspired lives, useless affairs, poorly raised children, untrained employees, and boring companies.

When you live intentionally, you will lead intentionally. You will begin leading your employees correctly and your family with excitement. The outcomes will show up in your organization’s fruitfulness and in your family dynamics.

Some of us need wake up calls. A reprimand from our doctor or dentist to change our ways. Perhaps in a small way this blog will do that. Maybe, just maybe, you will stop and ponder over the holidays as to ways you can live intentionally towards a purpose that is bigger than a television series.

To live intentionally is to lead intentionally. It is the best way to lead and the best way to live.

Posted on November 17, 2009 in Personal Growth