You start your day with a cup of coffee and think… “this is literally my source of happiness for the day.” Before jumping in the shower and getting ready for your 9-5 job topped by a boss who still believes that women don’t work as productively or efficiently as men, you might debate if you are really living life to the fullest. Perhaps you are juggling work and college, and you think that maybe by the time you graduate, you will have actually felt alive in your 20s, not involving hard drugs or copious amounts of alcohol. Wherever you are in your life, ask yourself if you are really living life to the fullest. Do you feel fulfilled? If the answer is no, why not? What would you rather be doing?
So many people sit idly by while life passes through them. It is not really your fault if you are one of those people, as many of us were raised to follow the norm and the status quo without much question. Instead of watching life pass you by, try something new. Something you have always wanted to do. Do the thing that terrifies you. At some point, life becomes dull. It becomes less about work and more about family and friends. Less about what is in your bank account and more about experiences and memories. People always say, “I’m just waiting for the right time.” Don’t wait for time; make time wait for you.
The number one way to live life to the fullest is to stop complaining about your body and start taking care of it. How many times a day does someone ask you how you are, and you respond with I am tired. We live in a culture that markets exhaustion as an accomplishment. We surround ourselves with junk food while complaining about the state of our bodies. If you feel sluggish and unhappy, look at your diet and exercise. If you look at yourself in the mirror and decide to settle, I understand why you feel tired all the time. It is because you have accepted that this is your body, and all your energy goes to subconscious self-hatred.
Today’s society has really pushed for body positivity which is fantastic. We should love our bodies because they are unique, and everyone deserves internal love. With that body positivity also comes acceptance and normalizing obesity and weight maintenance. While loving ourselves is one thing, settling with your body in an overweight state is unfavorable. I know many of you will likely disagree with that statement, and that is because it hits trigger points that lie in the subconscious. Normalizing obesity is probably one of the worst things we can do for our bodies. Living life to the fullest means being proactive. If you proactively take care of your body with some form of exercise you love, that’s really all you can do. This form of body positivity release endorphins that make you feel good. It starts with a decision to live life in health. While this is not an easy task, it will help you live life to the fullest.
Along with diet and exercise, there are tons of ways you can live life to the fullest. One of my favorite forms of living life to the fullest is to stop giving a shit. Let some of that anxiety and panic go. If you think your boyfriend’s mom hates you, who cares. Your coworker called you a bitch behind your back; well sucks to suck. We get so wrapped up in the small things in life. If you have spent more than an hour freaking out about something, ask yourself if it will matter in 5 years. If the answer is no, and it usually is, let that shit go. Obviously, there are going to be things in your life where you need to care a little bit, but more often than not, we become an anxiety-filled mess over something that won’t impact us in the long run.
We currently live in a world of complete division. There isn’t a topic in the world that doesn’t have a flip side and someone shouting into a megaphone to share their not-so-wanted opinion. You can be the biggest Karen at home but for the love of God, be kind to the people you run into. Most of them go through things that are genuinely not deserving of your attitude.
Every day you wake up, you decide, do I want to be a raging bitch today, or do I want to be happy? While it seems like a quote from a movie, happiness truly is a choice. Many will rise and function at an average level. They will go through the motions of their everyday lives, not really straying from the routine. Others will raise and change their activity. It doesn’t have to be big, but they have something to wake up for that is different, unique, and exciting. When I say it doesn’t have to be big, I really do mean that. You might rise with an incredible excitement to put caramel into your latte instead of vanilla. Perhaps it is something drastic, and you are going to Arizona to find a new purpose. Whatever the reason is for waking up in the morning, commit to it. If your life seems dry, it is probably because you have fallen into the same routine with the same people.
We tend to hold on tightly to things we don’t want to lose. Items that have meaning and purpose in our lives. Try to think of these things as passing and appreciate the time they have committed to impacting your life. If we do not appreciate the things we have at the moment, it will hurt more when it’s gone.
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