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Written by Melissa O’Carroll
Melissa O’Carroll is a Certified Coach, Senior MarCom Leader, and Change Maker. She founded Live Consciously, where she helps clients connect to their uniqueness, emphasising that "No one is you and that is your power." With over 20 years of experience, Melissa excels in human behaviour, coaching, communication, marketing, and strategic growth and is dedicated to creating connections that drive change.
As a coach, I've supported clients to be more intentional in the way they approach and make decisions. I have also seen and personally experienced the profound impact of intentional or conscious living on subsequently shaping realities and futures for the better. An approach that is applicable in both personal and professional settings.
Coaching aligns perfectly with initiating and sustaining this approach; it provides safe spaces for reflection, access to relevant clarity conversations, profound growth in awareness, and eventually choice with conviction, leading to a life aligned with core values. The journey towards intentional living, rooted in consciousness, can be truly transformative.
The Importance of Intentional Living
Intentional living involves making deliberate choices that reflect our core values and beliefs. It’s about understanding ourselves deeply and aligning our actions with this understanding. Living intentionally can release us from much of life’s complexity, as intent brings clarity, and clarity in turn fosters intent. When we live intentionally, we experience a stronger sense of purpose and by association usually greater fulfilment. The feeling of ease, alignment, positivity and gratitude that we then feel can impact all areas of our lives including how we show up in our relationships, at work, and play.
Intentional living also encourages mindfulness and presence, allowing us to engage more fully with each moment. Almost as if the heavy lifting is done, and we can show up, be present and enjoy how things unfold. It empowers us to prioritise what truly matters, reducing the noise and distractions that often lead to stress and dissatisfaction.
By consistently aligning our actions with our values, we build resilience and authenticity, fostering deeper connections with ourselves and others.
Ultimately, intentional living is about making conscious choices that honour our true selves, leading to a more harmonious and enriched life. When we are more at ease and our para-sympathetic nervous system is running, we are at rest and not in distress so our system for care and compassion ignites.
Coaching Facilitates a Purpose-Driven Life
Coaching is a powerful tool for unlocking the door to intentional living/loving/working/ & playing. It provides a structured space for exploring values, setting meaningful goals, and taking steps toward achieving them, with accountability when needed. Through coaching, clients develop heightened self-awareness and a clearer vision of their desired life, or business path.
Knowing our values is a critical starting point in an intentional life, yet many of us have a vague idea as to what these are:
Aligning Actions with Core Values
Identify Core Values: Reflect on what truly matters to you. What principles guide your decisions? What brings you joy and fulfilment? What is your ‘code’ for living? What are you growing towards?
Set Clear Goals: Once you understand your core values, set specific, achievable goals that reflect these values and align with your long-term vision.
Create an Action Plan: Break down your goals into achievable steps to stay motivated and take consistent action. (Don’t forget to celebrate your milestones and wins!)
Regular Reflection: Assess your progress and reassess your goals at regular intervals to ensure alignment with your values.
Coaching for Conscious Living in Action
One client, dissatisfied with their career, discovered a passion for environmental conservation through our coaching sessions. By aligning their career goals with this new purpose and their core values, they transitioned to a fulfilling role that positively impacts society, and that quite simply makes them feel useful, engaged and happy.
Another client, overwhelmed by responsibilities and imbalance in life, learned to prioritise self-care and set boundaries, resulting in a more balanced and satisfying life, free from feeling pulled in all directions. Learning to say no, creating these boundaries, and becoming their own best friend was part of their conscious living journey.
By better understanding their own needs and using coaching to connect the dots and identify gaps, these clients—and many others—have been able to clear the noise, connect with their purpose and make decisions that create the life they truly desire.
Supporting Life Transitions and Personal Culture
As a Culture Coach, I help individuals, companies, and families explore their personal culture; the things that make them who they are. Understanding these unique aspects allows clients to align their actions with their truth, ensuring more fulfilling and purpose-driven decisions and experiences to unfold.
My coaching journey has been one of continuous growth and self-discovery. Each client teaches me something new about the human experience and the power of intentional living. Staying true to my values has profoundly impacted my life and those I coach.
Coaching to empower individuals to design lives of purpose and fulfilment by aligning actions with core values, setting clear goals, and reflecting regularly, can create a ripple effect of positivity and gratitude. I am passionate about supporting others on this journey and look forward to continuing this work with the Yes Futures community.
For more information on our programmes and to find out how we could support your students, please visit our Programmes page.
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