People who smile in public have been through every bit as much as people who cry, frown, and scream. They just simply found the courage and strength to smile through it and enjoy life in the best way possible. Life is short, and we only live once. Learning to live life to the fullest is an important step in making the most of every day. Here are 9 ways you can try.
1. Decide What’s Important to You
Whether it’s taking care of your children, working hard on your career, writing a new blog post each day, or baking up fabulous creations, you get to decide how you enjoy spending your time. Your parents, friends, community, and society in general all have their opinions, but at the end of the day, you’re the only person who will be around for every moment of your life. Do what makes you happy, and everything else will fall into place. This may not mean finding your perfect job if you’re limited by education, location, or job openings. However, you can still do what you love by engaging in hobbies, volunteer work, or mentoring. Want to discover what’s important for you? I recommend you make use of this 3-Step Guide To Break Free And Design the Life You Want. It’s a free guide to help you figure out what truly matters to you so you can align your everyday life with it and start to live the life you want. Grab your free guidebook here.
2. Take More Risks
Sometimes there’s danger involved in life, but every reward carries risk with it. If you never take risks, you’ll never get anywhere in life, and you certainly won’t learn how to live life to the fullest. Staying in your comfort zone is the fastest way to become discontent[1]. Without stepping outside what you’re already comfortable with, you will cease to learn and stagnate in both your personal and professional life.
While it may feel uncomfortable, taking a risk can be as simple as saying yes next time your friends want to go out instead of staying at home alone. It can mean going out on a blind date, buying plane tickets to a new city, or dragging out those paints that have been stuffed away for years. When people look back on their lives, they regret the chances they didn’t take more than the ones they did, so find something new to try today and set goals beyond what you currently believe possible.
3. Show Your Love to People You Care About
Family and friends will always appreciate hearing that you love and appreciate them in everyday life. It will brighten a stranger’s day to hear a random compliment. If you like someone’s shirt, tell them. If you notice that they’re doing a great job not losing their temper while their kid screams in the supermarket, let them know. If you have a romantic interest in someone, just go for it. There are a lot of ways it may end, and only one of them keeps them in your life forever. In the end, you may look back and wish you had asked them out.
4. Live in the Present Moment
Your past is important to learn from. Your future is important to work towards. At the end of the day, though, the only thing that exists outside of your head is the present. In order to ground yourself in the now, you can practice mindfulness, which involves learning to live in the moment by noticing what’s around you, how you’re feeling, why you’re feeling that way, etc. Meditation can also help with this as it helps you get in touch with your thoughts and feelings. Gratitude is another amazing tool for living in the present[2]. Each day, practice gratitude by writing down three to five things you’re grateful for. You’ll be amazed and how quickly this helps place you in the moment and start to live life to the fullest.
5. Ignore the Haters
No matter what you decide to do with your life, there will always be someone around to point out the many ways you’ll fail or what you’re doing wrong with each step you take. Know that every winner loses, but not every loser wins. Successful people don’t start out successful. What makes them successful is that they keep pushing through failure. Next time you run into a hater, work on placing boundaries and practice self-love to build your self confidence and make it impenetrable to the outside forces trying to break it down. Take a look at these 10 Famous Failures to Success Stories That Will Inspire You to Carry On.
6. Don’t Compromise Your Values
If something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Don’t compromise on your internal code of ethics, as this will leave you feeling empty and full of regret. Life doesn’t work like a movie. It’s filled with gray areas. Trust your instincts, and do whatever you want so long as you can look yourself in the mirror with appreciation and love.
7. Be Kind to Others
Every day, you’ll see someone who could use help. While you may not be at a place to help them financially, offering a smile or a kind word can do wonders to help someone feel better about where they’re at in life[3]. When others see you practicing kindness, they’ll also be more likely to do so, which can help everyone learn how to live life to the fullest. You can also try these 29 Ways to Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness Every Day in order to live life to the fullest.
8. Keep Your Mind Open
Having an open mind is important for your growth. Just because you’re right about something doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to look at it. Listening to ideas you don’t agree with or understand keeps your brain active and healthy. You’ll continue to learn as long as you stay open to difficult conversations. Don’t assume you know everything about another person, as they always have more to teach you. Here’re 5 Ways to Cultivate a Growth Mindset for Self Improvement.
9. Take Action for What Matters to You
You’ll hear people say, “I had that idea,” every time you see someone create something great. Everyone had the idea for Facebook first. The reason Mark Zuckerberg got rich off of it is because he went out and did it while everyone else was talking about it. Ideas are useless if you don’t act on them. Less thinking, more doing.
The Bottom Line
Learning to live life to the fullest is a big step in discovering a path that will lead you to your greatest sense of happiness and accomplishment. We all need moments to rest and relish in a sense of contentment, but staying in one place too long will leave you feeling a lack in life. Discover what makes your life feel meaningful and go after it.
More on How to Live Life to the Fullest
10 Strategies to Keep Moving Forward When Feeling Stuck How to Get Unstuck and Get Back On Track to Achieving Your Goals 18 Basic Rules to Lead A Fulfilling Life
Featured photo credit: Jakob Owens via unsplash.com
