I've always loved the idea of being intentional with every day. Life is short, after all, and I want to get the most out of it that I can.
The problem is that for me, I tend to assume that in order to be intentional, I need to start the day with clear goals, and end the day by marking every single thing off of my colorfully curated to-do list.
I have the best of intentions. I want to kill it at my job. I want to be a good wife, a good mom, a good writer. I want to be happy and healthy and fulfilled. Some days, that looks like waking up and working out, having time to put makeup on, easily getting Jack to sleep during the times I need to focus on work, and having time to write before making dinner and maybe even (gasp) doing the dishes.
And then there are days where I drag myself out of bed, exhausted from being up so much the night before, and put my phone on mute so that the work call I'm listening in on can't tell that Jack is being super vocal about not wanting to take a nap. If I'm lucky, I'll get a messy blog post typed up while he spits up on me and my pajamas that I've yet to change out of, and I'll sit in a messy kitchen for ten minutes trying to decide what to do before finally just ordering pizza and begging Jack to sleep for more than 90 minutes at a time.
Most days fall somewhere in-between those two scenarios. I think it's probably safe to say that's true for most of us.
What I'm learning is that on any of those days, it's still completely possible to be intentional and succeed at those intentions.
Being intentional doesn't always mean succeeding at every goal you have. Sometimes it plays out that way, sure, but most times, it's not about that. I think it's mostly about keeping your priorities in mind, and going about your day intending to hold those priorities true. A lot of times, that requires a big change in perspective. My change in perspective has been realizing this: If I get a blog post out, I'm a good blogger. If I feed my baby when he's hungry and hold him when he cries, I'm a good mom. And on and on.
Sure, every day can't have such low expectations. Some days, you're absolutely going to kill it at every single thing you set your mind to. Some days, you're going to count getting dressed and not succumbing to a day of only watching Netflix as a victory. And on some days, it will be a victory.
But on all of the days--the good ones, the embarrassingly bad ones, the in-between ones--you are amazing.
How do you keep your days intentional when real life strikes?
