Life is full of them.

Sometimes they’re confusing, and other times they’re amazing. 

I’m referring to paradoxes. These contradictory pieces of life that can often hold kernels of truth and wisdom; especially where we least expect it!

All of our lives we have been exposed to one form of contradiction or another. “It’s a Catch 22.” “What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?”  “Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?”

The insanity of life!

Over the last 3 years I started to become more aware of my thoughts, my actions and ultimately the creation of my life.

As I approached my 30’s I began to see my life unfold before my very eyes, which is a very humbling experience.  More and more, I began to realize that I truly had control over my life and my destiny……well not exactly! My old belief was that if I could control my thoughts and turn them into actions that I would be able to control my destiny.

I later learned, this is only part of the equation! Keep reading…

Having awareness of one’s thoughts is a great starting point. Then, observing how those thoughts affect our actions (or inaction) is a powerful next step. But, is that it? Is that all there is to life? My experience, probably like yours, would say NO, it’s not that easy.

Life is full of surprises, unexpected challenges and twists that seem crazy enough for a Hollywood movie.

Over the last 3 years I have noticed a pattern that has become unmistakable. A force so intriguing I had to give it its own name:

Intentional Randomness

That’s right, as if the world didn’t have enough paradoxes, I had to go out and create another. So what is Intentional Randomness (IR for short)? Well IR is when you have been meaning to call that friend of yours and they send you a text to meet for coffee. Or when you get laid off and then you meet someone the next day who holds the keys to your dream job.

Some of you may say “those are just COINCIDENCES.” My issue with coincidences is that, by definition, they happen by CHANCE. Well chance is merely a fancy way of saying “luck,” and my friends, I don’t believe in luck.

Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe that everything happens to our maximum advantage. Every single thing in our life is put there for our greatest good. Every challenge and every victory has a lesson for us to absorb so that we can embody that teaching and become a better version of our self.

This Intentional Randomness can be viewed in many different ways; it could be an act of God, the will of the Universe or the law of Cause and Effect (Karma). Whatever you’d like to call this phenomenon, it seems to work in our favor when we let it. When we align our thoughts and actions with our heart, and serve others from a place of wanting to do good, I have found that we can channel Intentional Randomness into our journey.

Then we start to see synchronicities EVERYWHERE.

Synchronicity is just another popular word for Intentional Randomness.

I have had more happenings of IR in the past couple years than I can even count! Lately I have made a game out of it that I think helps expedite the process: Every time an IR occurs, I pay it forward to someone else. This transfer of positive energy keeps life moving and allows that energy to then return to me in the future!

If you’re skeptical of this, good, you probably should be. Up until recently I didn’t fully believe it myself. However, through conscious awareness and experimenting, I can say without a doubt that IR has positively affected my life.

Want to give it a shot?

Here are my 5 steps to experiencing more Intentional Randomness:

1. Listen to the internal voice that encourages you, not the one that is fearful
2. Commit to it. Whatever “it” is, fully believe it will happen
3. Surrender to the flow of life; be unattached to the outcome and have ZERO expectations
4. TAKE A C T I O N ! !
5. Pay it forward