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Your Weekly Dose of Real Talk. Raw Truths. Radiant Growth.
In this Issue:
Living with Intention
Aligning Your Daily Choices with Your Core Values
Have you ever felt like life was happening to you instead of for you?
You wake up, check your phone, rush through your day, answer emails, run errands, juggle responsibilities and before you know it, you’re crawling into bed wondering: “Where did the day even go?”
It’s so easy to get stuck on autopilot; the truth is, every small choice you make, what you say yes to, what you say no to, how you spend your energy, is shaping your life. If those choices don’t reflect your values, you’ll always feel just a little off, even if everything looks good on the outside.
That’s where living with intention comes in.
Living with intention doesn’t mean having a perfectly color-coded calendar or a flawless morning routine (though those can help). It means knowing what matters most to you, your core values, and making daily decisions that reflect those priorities.
Today, we’re diving deep into what it means to live with intention, how to identify your values, and how to create a life that actually feels like yours. Let’s begin.
What Does It Mean to Live with Intention?
Living with intention is about moving from reaction to creation.
Instead of letting outside influences, social media, peer pressure, family expectations, or the endless “shoulds” steer your choices, you take the driver’s seat. You pause and ask:
- Does this align with who I am?
- Does this reflect the kind of life I want to create?
- Does this honor my values?
When you live this way, even your smallest decisions carry meaning. Drinking water instead of that third cup of coffee, calling your friend instead of scrolling, or leaving work on time to be with family. These aren’t just actions, they’re reflections of what you’ve chosen to stand for.
Living with intention is about quality over quantity. It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing what matters.
Why Core Values Are the Compass of Your Life
Your core values are like your personal North Star.
They are the guiding principles that shape your beliefs, influence your behaviors, and reflect what matters most to you. Values are not goals (which you achieve and check off). Values are enduring; they are the heartbeat beneath your goals.
For example:
- If one of your core values is connection, your goals might include spending more time with loved ones or joining a community group.
- If your core value is growth, your goals could be learning new skills, reading personal development books, or seeking mentorship.
- If your core value is freedom, you might prioritize financial independence, flexible work, or creative expression.
When your daily choices align with your values, you feel grounded, authentic, and fulfilled. When they don’t, you feel drained, restless, or stuck.
How to Align Your Daily Choices with Your Core Values
Step 1: Identifying Your Core Values
Let’s be real, most of us think we know our values but when pressed, we often rattle off generic answers: family, honesty, health, success. Those are good, but they’re not always the real heartbeat beneath the surface.
Here’s how to dig deeper.
Reflection Exercise: The Peak & Pit Method
Think of two moments in your life:
- A peak moment—a time you felt fully alive, proud, or at peace. What values were present?
- A pit moment—a time you felt disappointed, angry, or betrayed. What values were being dishonored?
For example, if you felt hurt when someone lied to you, it reveals that honesty is a core value. If you felt proud after mentoring a colleague, it suggests growth, contribution, or leadership matter deeply to you.
The Values List
Here are some to get you started (but remember, yours might be unique):
- Authenticity
- Compassion
- Connection
- Creativity
- Faith/Spirituality
- Family
- Freedom
- Growth
- Health
- Integrity
- Joy
- Kindness
- Service
- Simplicity
Choose 8–10 that resonate. Then, narrow it down to 3–5 core values—the non-negotiables.
Step 2: Bringing Your Values into Your Daily Life
Naming your values is just the beginning. The real shift happens when you translate them into action.
1. Align Your Morning
If your value is peace, don’t start your day by diving into emails. Maybe you meditate for 10 minutes or sip tea while journaling.
If your value is connection, send a quick voice note to a friend or hug your partner before rushing into the day.
2. Check Your Calendar
Look at your schedule for the week. Do your commitments reflect your values or someone else’s? If your value is health, but your week is crammed with late nights and fast food, it’s time to shift.
3. Audit Your Yes and No
Every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else. Before agreeing, pause:
- Does this align with my values?
- Am I saying yes from guilt, fear, or obligation?
- Will this choice bring me closer to or further from the life I want?
4. Create Rituals
Rituals anchor your values into your daily rhythm.
- Value: Gratitude → Daily gratitude journal
- Value: Family → Weekly family dinner, phones off
- Value: Growth → 30 minutes of reading daily
Small rituals repeated consistently build a life that feels like you.
Step 3: Navigating Misalignment
The hard truth? You will not always live 100% in alignment with your values. Life is messy and that’s okay. The key is noticing when you drift and gently steering back.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I living out of alignment right now?
- What’s one small shift I can make today to realign?
Maybe you’ve been working 70-hour weeks and neglecting your health. The shift might be committing to a daily walk. Maybe you’ve been avoiding hard conversations, compromising your value of authenticity. The shift could be scheduling one honest talk this week.
Living with intention is not about perfection. It’s about awareness and course correction.
Step 4: Designing Your Life Around Your Values
Now it’s time to zoom out. Beyond daily choices, how can you shape your overall lifestyle to reflect your values?
- Career: Does your job reflect your values or conflict with them? If growth and creativity are values, are you being challenged and allowed to innovate?
- Relationships: Do your friendships and partnerships honor your values? If not, what boundaries or shifts need to happen?
- Environment: Does your home, neighborhood, or digital space reflect your values? A cluttered home might clash with a value of simplicity.
- Money: Are you spending in ways that reflect your values? For example, if generosity is a value, does your budget include giving?
Your life will never be a perfect match, but when your core values are visible in all these areas, you’ll feel anchored and aligned.
Step 5: Living Your Values Out Loud
Here’s the fun part: when you live with intention, you inspire others without even trying.
Imagine:
- A friend sees you consistently set boundaries and feels empowered to do the same.
- Your kids watch you prioritize kindness over competition, and they carry that lesson into their own lives.
- Your coworkers see you living authentically, and it gives them permission to drop their masks.
Living with intention is not just for you; it ripples outward. You become a living, breathing example of what alignment looks like.
Soul Scribbles...
Ink and Intention
Journaling is where your values meet the page. It’s a space to slow down, listen inward, and discover what alignment really looks like for you. These prompts aren’t about finding the ‘right’ answers, they’re about uncovering the truths already living within you. Let your pen move freely, and see what wisdom rises when you give yourself permission to explore.
- What are my top 3–5 core values? Why are they important to me?
- How do I feel when I’m living in alignment with these values? How do I feel when I’m not?
- Which areas of my life (work, relationships, health, money, home) are most aligned with my values? Which areas are least aligned?
- What’s one daily ritual I could add that would honor my values?
- What’s one commitment, habit, or relationship I need to release because it conflicts with my values?
- If I lived fully aligned with my values, what would my ideal day look like from start to finish?
Soul Speak: Aligned Words, Aligned Life
Living with Intention
Speak these words aloud, write them in your journal, or whisper them to yourself throughout the day:
- I live each day with purpose and clarity.
- My values are the compass that guides my choices.
- I honor my truth, even when it’s difficult.
- Every small decision I make shapes the life I desire.
- I release what doesn’t align and welcome what does.
- I am the author of my story, and I choose alignment over autopilot.
Carry these affirmations with you as quiet anchors. Let them remind you that every choice, no matter how small, can reflect your values and bring you closer to the life you’re meant to live.
Your Weekly Soul Challenge
The Value Check
This week, try this simple but powerful practice:
Write your top 3–5 values on a sticky note and place it where you’ll see it daily (bathroom mirror, laptop, fridge).
At the end of each day, pause and ask yourself: Did my choices today reflect these values?
If yes, celebrate! If not, gently ask: What can I do differently tomorrow?
By the end of the week, you’ll have a clearer sense of where you’re in alignment and where you’re not and that awareness is the first step to living with greater intention.
From My Heart to Yours
Living with intention is a Journey. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being present.
It’s about remembering that your time, energy, and choices are precious resources and you get to decide how to spend them.
Some days, you’ll drift. Other days, you’ll nail it.
Over time, your intentional choices will add up.
They’ll create a life that reflects who you really are—a life that feels authentic, joyful, and deeply aligned.
Here’s my gentle reminder: don’t just survive your days.
Shape them. Honor them. Live them with intention, because your life is too sacred to live on autopilot.
Let’s honor every choice of our becoming…
…the hesitant pauses, the brave yeses, the sacred no’s, and the aligned steps that carry us closer to our truth.
If this newsletter stirred something within you, forward it to a friend who needs the reminder that their values matter and that they have the power to live a life in harmony with them.
Until next week...
With love and light,
Robyn
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