Living Deliberately

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of living deliberately. It's a phrase that a friend of mine used a few years ago, and I've adopted it as part of my general philosophy of life. I believe in living on purpose!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

In order to live deliberately, you have to examine your life. You have to look at things from the outside looking in, analyze them for what they are, and decide how you actually want things to be.

A lot of people simply live life. They go with the flow. They do what they were taught or what the people around them are doing. Never questioning. Never questioning if the status quo is the best way. And that's my tendency too, but as I get older, I've questioned more.

Part of it is my nature as a planner. I've been a planner ever since I was a kid. I remember sitting in the car on a long car ride as a 14 year old, and writing a list of approved toys for my future children. I saw things around me that I didn't like (especially those brightly colored alien-looking toys that make annoying noises), and I wanted to make sure that when I grew up I did things differently. My ideas have changed since then, but the principle is the same: I think about how I want things to be/how I think they should be, and I make plans. I do this in my occupation all the time, and I do it in my personal life. I am always reevaluating and making goals. I make things happen. I find great satisfaction and fulfillment in living deliberately. I am getting what I want to out of life. :)