Work, school, food, friends, party, sleep, repeat. This is how many of us live our lives. Busy rushing from one duty, activity, or role, right on to the next. Sometimes during this hectic day-to-day living, we actually forget to live. Of course we’re breathing, eating (ramen noodles still counts as food, right?), and sleeping when we can, but are we truly living life? Are we taking out time to stop and realize that this is it? We have to make this one shot at life count. We have to seize the day, the night, the thing we call life.
Take a breath.
I don’t mean one of those short breaths you take when you’re panicking, but a deep breath. Fill your lungs with air. This helps calm the body, the mind, and the spirit. Taking a breath also helps you to prepare you to make your next move in life. It also helps remind you that you’re still here and kickin’.
Set goals for yourself.
After you’ve finished your deep breathing, set a goal or goals for yourself. Whether it be for the day, week, month, or year, setting goals will help you feel like you’re making accomplishments in life. It could be as small as finally cleaning under your bed where all the scary rag dolls and old VHS tapes live. Or it could be as big as graduating college or finding an awesome job.
Travel.
Whether it be chilling on a beach in Brazil, watching the cows mosey along in Kentucky, or shopping in Shibuya, traveling will change the way you view the world and people. You can try things you’ve never done before and meet people you never thought you would.
You have to jump sometimes.
Not literally people. Have you ever gotten an awesome opportunity, but you thought it over for so long that it passed you by? Sometimes you just have to jump head first into the deep end. Talk to your crush on the last day of class, chop all your hair off and get highlights, ride a roller coaster. You may only get one chance to do it.
Talk to people.
Speaking of people, you know you have about 7 billion to talk to, right? Talking to people is one of the coolest experiences life has to offer. Everyone has a story, something to share with the world, and something to share with you. Socializing helps us to learn, grow, and thrive as people. Strike up a conversation with a stranger one day, you might be surprised at what you learn (I never said surprises we’re always a good thing, so be warned).
Give back.
Whether it’s to charity, the environment, or animals in need, giving back is awesome. Not only are you able to make someone's day or support a cause that truly needs it, you get to be apart of something greater than yourself.
Have fun and do what makes you happy.
Fun means different things to different people. It may mean going to the bar with friends to sing drunken karaoke, or kicking someone’s butt at Super Smash Brothers. It could mean curling up with you kitten and binging on Netflix, even taking stupid pictures with you web cam (yes, we all do it.) Whatever it means to you, don’t forget to have fun.
Don’t hold yourself back.
Being realistic is good, but telling yourself you’re not good enough, or that you would never be able to accomplish something isn't. You’ve gotten this far, who is to say you can’t accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself or have yet to set. You have to go after what you want in life, fight for your dreams, and believe in yourself. Sure, sometimes you’ll fall short, fail a test, not get the job that you wanted, or completely suck at learning how to play the guitar. Life doesn’t always go as planned, but after it’s all said and done, you went for it.
Live your life for you.
Of course we all care what people think to some extent, but you can't let people's opinions stop you from living your own life. At the end of the day, most of those people whose opinions we hold so high, won't be in our lives forever. To quote Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
Now get out there and live your life.
