Why Intentional Living Matters (and How to Find Your Why)

So you want to bring more intention into your life. That’s wonderful. But before we dive into the how, let’s pause for a moment and talk about the why.

Here’s the thing: one of the most common reasons people start something new and don’t stick with it is because they don’t know why they’re doing it in the first place. Everyone can start. But only those who understand what they want to get out of it — and what it will give them if they do it consistently — actually stick with it.

This applies to almost anything in life, and it absolutely applies to intentional living.

My personal why

For me, the reason I keep coming back to intentional living — even after I slip out of it from time to time — is simple: it allows me to stop being a human doing and start being a human being.

It gets me off the hamster wheel.
It keeps burnout at bay.
It helps me live as closely aligned with my priorities as possible.

That’s the magic of intentional living. It’s not about squeezing more into your day. It’s about making space for what truly matters.

Image courtesy to Jasmin Chew.

The individuality factor we forget

We’re surrounded by tips for “perfect” routines, “perfect” diets, and “perfect” workouts. And while these can work wonders for some people, they don’t work for everyone — even if they’re science-backed.

Now, don’t get me wrong: science is one of the best tools we have. My background is in science, and I even earned my PhD in it. Research helps us progress, learn, and understand the world better. But scientific studies are often based on the average of a certain population.

That means two important things:

1. You might not fit the study population. A lot of long-standing health recommendations come from studies done mostly in men. That’s changing, but the legacy is still there.

2. You might not fit the average. Most mainstream routines are designed for neurotypical men. As a woman — and someone who is most likely neurodivergent — I’ve learned first-hand why many of these “rules” never worked for me.

What’s missing is the individuality factor.

Think of it like personalized medicine. While generic treatments are great for making progress in a field, personalized medicine gets the best results for the people they’re actually suited for. The same goes for life advice: science-backed information is a great starting point, but it isn’t the whole truth for everyone.

That’s where intentionality comes in.

Intentional living is about taking what’s proven to work, adding your own self-knowledge, and creating something that aligns with your unique needs and values.

A reminder to be

I want to leave you with a poem by Erin Hanson that beautifully captures why this matters — why being a human being is more important than endlessly being a human doing:

Let me tell the tale
Of a girl who didn’t stop,
Who climbed up every mountain
Without a pause upon the top.

She’d dance until each blade of grass
Was clothed in drops of dew,
And the sun knew her by name
But the silver moon did too.

For a fear had settled in her bones;
A fear of sitting still,
That if you’re not moving forward
It must mean you never will.

So in time her dance got slower
And she looked at all she’d seen,
But found gaps inside the places
That she’d never fully been,

For she was a human doing
Human moving, human seeing,
But she’d never taken time
To simply be a human being.

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Maybe that’s the heart of it: intentional living gives you the chance to fully be in the moments of your life — instead of just moving through them.

Lots of love,

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