"Vive menos por hábito y más con intención"

Living with intention rather than habit is about making conscious choices instead of just going through the motions. It’s easy to get caught in routines—waking up, going to work, coming home, and repeating the cycle. But this quote encourages us to break free from that automatic pilot. It’s a call to be more present and to make decisions that align with our true goals and values.

Historically, this concept has roots in mindfulness and various philosophical traditions that emphasize the importance of awareness and deliberate action. Think about the Stoics, for example, who believed in living in accordance with nature and reason, rather than just following societal conventions or personal whims. Or consider the modern mindfulness movement, which advocates for living in the moment and making thoughtful choices.

Imagine you’re at a job you don’t love. You go each day because it’s what you’ve always done. It’s a habit. But what if you started asking yourself why you’re there? What if you identified what truly matters to you—maybe it’s creativity, helping others, or financial security—and sought out a career that fits those values? A real-life example could be someone who’s always dreamed of becoming an artist, but stuck to a corporate job because it was the safe choice. When they finally make the decision to pursue their passion—maybe starting with evening art classes or selling work online—they start living more intentionally.

So, how do you apply this wisdom in your own life? Start by reflecting on your daily routines. Are your actions and decisions driven by habit or by a clear purpose? Take small steps: set aside time each week to evaluate your goals and reflect on whether your current habits are helping you achieve them. If they’re not, think about how you can adjust. Maybe it’s as simple as dedicating 30 minutes a day to a new skill you’ve always wanted to learn or spending more quality time with loved ones.

Let’s put this into a relatable scenario. Picture yourself waking up on a Saturday morning. Your habit might be to lounge in bed, then mindlessly scroll through social media for an hour. Instead, you decide to start your day with intention. You get up, stretch, and make a healthy breakfast. Then, you spend an hour working on a hobby you’re passionate about—say, gardening or writing. You reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while and make plans to catch up. By the end of the day, you feel more fulfilled and connected, all because you made intentional choices rather than following your usual routine.

To sum it up, the key takeaway here is to be more mindful of how you spend your time and make decisions that align with your values and aspirations. It’s about breaking out of the autopilot mode and living a life that’s true to who you are and what you want to achieve. So next time you find yourself stuck in a routine, stop and ask yourself: Am I doing this out of habit, or is this a step towards the life I want to create?