50 Intentional Living Quotes to Inspire a Life of Purpose and Meaning
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Are you interested in pursuing a life of purpose and meaning? Never underestimate the power of the written word. If you’re looking for daily motivation to help you on your journey, consider using some of these intentional living quotes as a reminder to yourself as you move towards your best life.
Intentional living doesn’t always come naturally, particularly in our hectic modern society. Quite often, it takes patience, practice, and a healthy amount of trial and error to be more intentional in your life and habits.
Every now and again, you might need to gently remind yourself about who you are and what you want to accomplish as you simplify your life. And that’s where these inspirational quotes about intentional living come into play!
Intentional Living Quotes
What if the secret to a happy life was to be more intentional with the life you already have? To align your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and actions with your deepest values?
There are plenty of ways to accomplish this ambitious goal, from clearing the clutter from your home to being more mindful about how you value your time, spend your money, and what you prioritize in your life.
It’s not always easy to go against the grain and cultivate this mindset, so here are 50 quotes about being intentional to inspire and encourage you to embrace the simpler joys in life.
1. “When your intention is clear, so is the way.”
– Alan Cohen
2. “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”
– Ram Dass
3. “You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience.”
– Michael A. Singer
4. “The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.”
– Tara Brach
5. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
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6. “You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”
– Wayne Dyer
7. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
– Lao Tzu
8. “Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except yourself.”
– Buddha
9. “This universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself: everything you want, you already are.”
– Rumi
10. “Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.”
– Thích Nhất Hạnh
11. “Surrender to your own self, of which everything is an expression.”
– Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
12. “If you don’t make peace with your past, it will keep showing up in your present.”
– Wayne Dyer
13. “Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make us.”
– Richie Norton
14. “The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.”
– Epictetus
15. “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
– Lao
16. “Slow down, you’ll get there faster.”
– Katherine King
17. “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn
18. “You can’t control the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”
– Jimmy Dean
19. “What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.”
– Viktor Frankl
20. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
– Lao Tzu
21. “Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
22. “Nothing is forever except change.”
– Buddha
23. “It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet.”
– Marcus Aurelius
24. “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will, then your life will flow well.”
– Epictetus
25. “All you need to know is that the future is wide open and you are about to create it by what you do.”
– Pema Chödrön
26. “Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
– Hermann Hesse
27. “These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”
– Najwa Zebian
28. “Only you can take inner freedom away from yourself, or give it to yourself. Nobody else can.”
– Michael A. Singer
29. “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness — it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”
– Brené Brown
30. “The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh
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Quotes about being intentional
31. “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.”
– Amit Ray
32. “Everything is created twice. First in the mind and then in reality.”
– Robin Sharma
33. “If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind, too.”
– Ivan Nuru
34. “Intentional days create a life on purpose.”
– Adrienne Enns
35. “Every journey begins with the first step of articulating the intention, and then becoming the intention.”
– Bryant McGill
36. “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
– Oscar Wilde
37. “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.”
– Eckhart Tolle
38. “How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience, and therefore, the quality of our lives.”
– Sam Harris
39. “We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
– Seneca
40. “Wherever you are, be all there.”
– Jim Elliot
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Living with intention quotes
41. “If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart.”
– Buddha
42. “Your life is far too valuable to be wasted on the life that everyone else is choosing.”
– Joshua Becker
43. “When we allow ourselves to embrace the moment, we allow ourselves to live.”
– Lisa Bien
44. “That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time.”
– Sharon Salzberg
45. “What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is?”
– Tara Brach
46. “Intention is one of the most powerful forces there is. What you mean when you do a thing will always determine the outcome. The law creates the world.”
– Brenna Yovanoff
47. “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn
48. “Remember the blue sky. It may at times be obscured by clouds, but it is always there.”
– Andy Puddicombe
49. “To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.”
– Buddha
50. “Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it… it’s just easier if you do.”
– Byron Katie
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Final thoughts on these quotes about being intentional
Mindful living is a process. Like anything else worthwhile in life, this requires dedication, commitment, and consistency. Still, with a passionate heart and the right mindset, you can get there in no time.
Which of these intentional living quotes had the biggest impact on your psyche?
If you have a favorite quote that didn’t make this list, feel free to share it in the comments below. Remember, the little things make up the big picture of our lives. So make today count and live with intention!
Here are more quotes you might enjoy:
- 101 Positive Thinking Quotes for Good Thoughts & Vibes
- Top 20 Be Yourself Quotes to Embrace the Skin You’re In
- 200+ You Are Amazing Quotes to Delight a Loved One (or Yourself)
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