3411: 5 Ways to Live More Intentionally by Anthony Ongaro with No Sidebar on Mindfulness and Alignment

[00:00:00] It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily. 5 Ways to Live More Intentionally by Anthony Ongaro with NoSidebar.com and I'm Justin Malik, the guy that reads to you every single day of the year.

[00:00:13] Now today's post is from Anthony Ongaro. I regularly narrate from his site BreakTheTwitch but this one is a guest article from him on the site NoSidebar. So with that let's get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:00:31] 5 Ways to Live More Intentionally by Anthony Ongaro with NoSidebar.com

[00:00:37] I often find myself referring back to the quote from Annie Dillard,

[00:00:41] How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.

[00:00:45] It is an excellent reminder that every day is a thread that weaves the fabric of our lives.

[00:00:51] Each thread is just as important as the next in creating the life we imagined.

[00:00:56] Unfortunately, that hasn't always been obvious to me.

[00:00:58] The trouble started when I signed up for Amazon Prime, the online superstore's two-day delivery service.

[00:01:04] I started out ordering a few books here and there and it was incredibly convenient.

[00:01:09] I found it amazing that I could order something and it would show up on my porch two days later.

[00:01:14] It saved time and allowed me to get the things I wanted without even leaving the house.

[00:01:19] Eventually what started out as an occasional convenience became a not-so-occasional habit.

[00:01:25] Individually, those small daily purchases didn't seem like much.

[00:01:28] Maybe $10 on a book, $15 for a cable, perhaps $50 for a new kitchen gadget every now and then.

[00:01:35] With an effortless tap of the one-click purchase, money flowed out of my bank account while a brown cardboard box was prepared and shipped to my home.

[00:01:43] Not even the monthly credit card statements set off any warnings.

[00:01:46] In the worst months, they were a few hundred dollars at the most.

[00:01:50] While it was never an issue to pay off, the purchases steadily ate into my income each month.

[00:01:55] Whenever an opportunity came to join my family or friends on a trip, I never seemed to be able to go.

[00:02:01] I loved traveling and spending time with people I care about.

[00:02:04] It was what I always talked about wanting to do and it puzzled me why I wasn't able to do it.

[00:02:09] Small daily actions can work for us or against us.

[00:02:13] It's up to us to choose which.

[00:02:16] One day I needed to look for an item that I purchased over a year earlier and in doing so, started digging through my Amazon purchase history.

[00:02:22] At that moment, I decided to download four years of purchase records from the site.

[00:02:27] The result was shocking.

[00:02:29] Years of small daily actions added up to create a massive impact.

[00:02:33] For me, this was quite damaging to my bank account and the lifestyle that I dreamed of.

[00:02:37] Over the course of four years, I had spent thousands of dollars on various Amazon purchases, most of which I didn't even remember buying.

[00:02:45] Those small purchases were the epitome of unintentional living.

[00:02:49] On the plus side, I learned something from the experience.

[00:02:52] I saw how small daily actions create substantial change over time.

[00:02:58] If the actions are constructive, they will produce fantastic results when the collective impact is tallied.

[00:03:04] How to live intentionally.

[00:03:06] If you want to leverage small daily actions for the better, you have the power to do it.

[00:03:11] When you look back, you'll see it was the small but consistent actions that made the most significant impact.

[00:03:17] You can make considerable progress in your life by addressing these five ways to live more intentionally every day.

[00:03:24] Number one, consider an ideal day.

[00:03:27] If you were able to design your perfect day from beginning to end, what would it look like?

[00:03:32] Imagine a productive, meaningful way you might spend your time.

[00:03:36] Working on projects, spending time with loved ones and friends, etc.

[00:03:40] Take note of the things that are included, and more importantly, what wasn't included.

[00:03:45] I rarely hear people mention spending time on Facebook during their ideal day.

[00:03:49] Number two, create a foundation of small daily actions.

[00:03:54] Once you have some ideas for your ideal day, create some quick and easy actions that reflect that ideal.

[00:03:59] While it may sound counterintuitive, the smaller the action, the better.

[00:04:03] Whether it's one minute of meditation, slow breathing, one push-up, or reading a few pages of a book,

[00:04:09] consistent action is more important than immediate results.

[00:04:13] Number three, express gratitude every day.

[00:04:16] Whether it's writing down three things you're grateful for in your notebook,

[00:04:20] sending a text to a friend, or a letter to a family member, expressing gratitude simply makes us happier.

[00:04:26] By acting on it daily, you begin to establish an attitude of abundance and gratitude.

[00:04:32] Number four, make the bed every morning.

[00:04:35] While it may seem a bit strange, making the bed every morning can lead to more success throughout the day.

[00:04:41] This is traditionally known as a keystone habit done first thing in the morning

[00:04:45] and can trigger other successful habits to come after it.

[00:04:48] By making the bed every day after waking up, you establish an early win and a pattern of success.

[00:04:55] Number five, pause and breathe.

[00:04:58] Before every action you take, there is a moment.

[00:05:01] In that moment, you have the opportunity to pause and process whether the action you're about to take

[00:05:06] is well aligned with your ideals.

[00:05:08] A two-second pause can be the difference between living in alignment

[00:05:12] or bouncing from impulse to impulse.

[00:05:15] Each day is just as important as the next in creating the life we imagine for ourselves.

[00:05:20] While each day may seem small,

[00:05:22] years later, you'll find that progress was made one small day at a time.

[00:05:27] After all, how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.

[00:05:36] You just listened to the post titled

[00:05:37] Five Ways to Live More Intentionally by Anthony Anguero with NoSidebar.com.

[00:05:43] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:05:45] The holidays can really strain your wallet.

[00:05:48] We've all been there, me included.

[00:05:50] It could take months to rebuild those savings,

[00:05:52] but holiday spending doesn't have to derail your financial progress.

[00:05:56] With Chime, you can actually stay ahead of your expenses.

[00:05:59] I discovered their spot me feature when I nearly overdrafted buying last minute gifts.

[00:06:04] Instead of getting hit with a $35 fee like my old bank would charge,

[00:06:09] Chime spotted me up to $200 with zero fees.

[00:06:12] Plus with no monthly fees and early direct deposit access,

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[00:06:56] Thank you to Anthony.

[00:06:57] I've been tracking every single penny that comes in and out of my life since 2010.

[00:07:02] And while that's helped me be more mindful of spending,

[00:07:06] I can definitely relate to those small purchases adding up.

[00:07:09] Even with tracking, it's amazing how quickly those little Amazon purchases can snowball.

[00:07:15] And when you talked about not being able to travel or spend time with loved ones

[00:07:18] because of all these small purchases, it reminded me of one of my favorite books.

[00:07:23] It was actually required reading in business school.

[00:07:26] It's called Your Money or Your Life.

[00:07:29] The authors talk about thinking of expenses in terms of life energy.

[00:07:34] So for instance, if you're making $25 an hour and you spend $100 on random Amazon purchases,

[00:07:41] that's four hours of your life that you traded for those items.

[00:07:46] When you think about it that way, it really changes your perspective.

[00:07:50] And that relates to pausing before making decisions,

[00:07:54] something we talk about here pretty often.

[00:07:56] That tiny pause between stimulus and response,

[00:08:00] it's a big part of what meditation teaches us.

[00:08:03] And speaking of meditation, I noticed he mentioned starting with just one minute.

[00:08:07] That's exactly what I recommend to people who are new to it.

[00:08:11] It doesn't have to be hours of sitting in silence.

[00:08:13] Just start tiny and build from there.

[00:08:16] But that should do it for today.

[00:08:18] Thank you for being here every day and optimizing your life along with me.

[00:08:21] Have a great start to your week and I'll see you tomorrow

[00:08:24] where your optimal life awaits.