Hey, readers!
It’s been quite a while since I wrote that! 😅
Talk about inconsistency in blogging. 😔
Oh, well. As always, there is an explanation:
You see, from November 1st, I took part in the Creative Writers and Influencers Network (CWIN) Writing Creativity Challenge. It was a 28-day writing challenge where writers had to consistently put out educational content with the aid of stories.
And although I didn’t make it to the top 5 winners of the contest, I certainly learned a lot about writing, consistency and intentionality. That contest pushed me to make research every day for my articles, it pushed me to think critically for my daily entry ideas and the way I would embed a related, original story into it, and it also taught me (even more) to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.
Now that I think of it, the deadline aspect of the competition was actually what made it so stressful. For the contest, there were two approval deadlines: for your entry to be approved early in the day, you would have to post before 11am, because by then, early entry approval would end. And for your entry to be approved in the evening, you would have to post before 11pm.
I usually settled for the evening approval, because of the time I get back from work. And so from 3:45 or so, I would begin to write, check word count, and then make my article’s image, rushing to get done before 6pm.
It wasn’t easy, really. 🐱👤
And because I met with so many amazing people who are doing big things with their lives RIGHT NOW, I became motivated to add more efforts into my craft and the things I’m doing now to prepare me for my career.
Because through Ọlaedo, I strive to inform, inspire and motivate, I have come up with the Intentionality Series, where I’ll be sharing lessons I’ve learnt from being around intentional people, lessons that have and are still helping me live my life more purposefully.
In the days to come, I’ll be publishing other articles in this Series. But before that, let’s understand the keyword, Intentionality.
What’s Intentionality All About?
Intentionality means the fact of being deliberate and purposive.
In simple terms, it’s all about purpose. Intentionality means living and taking actions with purpose.
Intentionality means not leaving anything to fate. Intentionality is all about planning and taking focused actions to prepare for your future.
A down-to-earth understanding of intentionality is, on discovering your purpose in life, on discovering that thing that’s so easy for you to do and that makes you happy, you begin to build around it. You begin to develop that interest or talent. You learn skills that can make it more refined and on-demand.
The origin of the need for intentionality comes from the simple reality that many people today are so unfocused about where they want their lives to go. They’re so undecided that they constantly make statements like: I really don’t know for now. Maybe one day I’ll know what I want to do with my life. For now, I’ll just wing it.
And the worst part of it is that such statements come from young people. How long would a young person ‘wing it’ before societal pressures would make him see the need of taking up a job just to quiet down the noise and ‘advice’?
And such a job may not necessarily be one he likes.
Long story short, though. It’s because many people – young people, especially – don’t plan the direction they wish their lives to take; that’s why at some point, they see themselves settling for anything they can find, not minding whether it will make them feel fulfilled or not.
People don’t know how beneficial it will be to them if they begin to take decisive actions about how they want their lives to go.
People see things like planning, goal setting, beneficial networking, personal branding, and all others, as boring topics.
Yeah, they are. Believe me, before I began the Creativity Writing Challenge and got into a network of purposeful people, I thought same too.
But now, I’m telling you that although they seem boring, when you begin to practice these standards, the results will really motivate you.
So, reader, which side of the table do you want to be on? Intentional or Unintentional?
Make the decision and look out for my next article in the Intentionality Series.
You can also take a look at my entries for the CWIN Writing Creativity Challenge here.
Do you have any questions on intentionality? Are you already on the path of a purposeful life and wish to share ideas? Have you ever heard of the Creative Writers and Influencers Network? Or is there anything you wish to tell me? Drop it all in the comments. I’d love to interact!
And if you want to connect with Ọlaedo on social media, check it out on Facebook.
Thanks so much for reading!
Stay motivated. 🔥
Ọlaedo 
Wow🥹
LikeLiked by 1 person