My son recently sent me a text with a big question about how to live an intentional life. As moms, we’re all trying to figure out how to make the most of this experience. How to balance all of the different stressors and demands while also enjoying the process.

You’ll Learn:

• The big question my son asked me (and what I told him)
• Some of the goals and feelings I’ve chased over the years.
• How to figure out what you want (so you can actually get it)
• Why you may not be following through on what you want (and how to overcome those hurdles)
• The time I got jealous and climbed Half Dome

In this episode I’m sharing his question, my response, and how to embrace intentional living and motherhood.

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This is the text I received at 2:11 am…

Hey. This is a pretty random text, but I've been really wondering - How do you live every day to its fullest without wishing you had done something? In life, we only get to live every day once, and I can't seem to grasp how to make each day the best it could be, because regardless of what I do, there's always some alternative thing I could think of that I should have done.

I really just wanna make the most of my college years, because they're flying by. Before I know it, I'm gonna be 21… As someone who's lived through college and has a pretty fulfilling life, it seems to me, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. ..It also just seems so hard to stay rooted living in the present and feeling gratitude for what you have.

Wow.

I’ve talked to a few moms about this same thing recently. There are so many things that we feel like we should do, but yet we might be missing out on the richness of the moment and living life to the fullest.

The key to making the most of each day is intention - understanding what you want, how to get it, and bringing yourself back to the present moment over and over again.

There are four ways I’ve cultivated more intention in my own life. These are all things you can do right now to start feeling better about the way you spend your days.

Work toward a goal. To me, living intentionally means having really specific goals. When I have a goal, it gives me clarity about what I'm supposed to be doing each day. I like to know what I want and where I'm going. I’ve noticed that if I don't know what I'm working toward in my life, I end up in a restless no man's (or no woman's) land, this mindless haze of nothingness.

Some of my goals over the years have been to be a really present and loving mother. To have a good marriage. To have a strong body. A beautiful home. A meaningful career. To make money. To travel. To have good friends. To be honest with myself and others. To be helpful to others. To grow as a person - especially in feeling less insecure. To have fun.

Having a goal, meaning, and purpose helps me to structure my days.

You don’t need to think of yourself as a super ambitious person (I’m not). Intention doesn’t have to be big. But it requires that you look at what you want, and how you can make it happen. And sometimes you have to ask yourself really hard questions to figure it out.

Chase a feeling. In addition to my goals, I’m also really intentional about how I want to feel in my life. The most common feelings that I chase are joy, fun, and lightness (though I love seriousness, too). For a long time, I had a lot of anxiety, so I was chasing calm. Now, from that calm place, I want to feel joy.

I also want to feel proud of myself and my work. I want to feel grateful. So I work a lot on my mindset - practicing thoughts that...