Don't Just Exist

Are you living or just existing? The only thing in this world you will never be able to repeat is Life. Life is a quantity of one for every living species on this planet – why would anyone want to waste it?

If you truly want to experience and enjoy life, instead of scraping by, then you need to break away from the mold that is deteriorating your enthusiasm for life.

This is only a list of ideas and is probably obvious ones that you could have thought of yourself. However, when we get stuck, some of the most basic principals are hidden from us. It’s only when someone clears away the pollution hiding it from our view that
we see it again. We all need reminders sometimes. If you find this useful, print it out, and tape or tack it to your wall as a daily reminder.

1. Love. Fall in love, if you aren't already. Whether it’s friendship love or heart felt love -- If you have fallen in love, fall in love with that person all over again. But again, it doesn't have to be romantic love -- Love all of humanity, one person at a time.

2. Go outside. Don't shut doors and windows and become a hermit, it’s horrible for your skin. Grab a raincoat and go out when it's raining. Kick off your shoes and walk on the beach. Slip on your hiking boots and take a walk through the woods or on a trail. Nature is Life’s battery recharge.

3. Savor food. How much favor does a two minute hamburger really have? Don't just eat food enjoy flavor filled scrumptious food. Taste the bursts of flavor and savor every bite. Don’t limit yourself to sweets try new foods you have never tried before.

4. Career. Drop the job and get a career. If you work an average job that consist of eight hours per day, than you are spending forty hours per week of your life doing something you don’t even like. Why? Find your passion and turn it into a career. There is no reason and there are no rules that say you must earn a living doing something you hate.

5. Mornings. If you hate mornings than wake up a little early and do something you enjoy. Watch the sun rise, tell yourself positive things, watch an early morning televsion show or a taped one. Stretch, meditate or exercise as part of your ritual. Enjoy some great coffee at home or meet up with a acquaintance every morning to help make the day better.

6. Take chances. I hate it when the phrase “what if?” creeps into my mind. Too many of us live our lives too cautiously. We worry about what might go wrong, what others will think of us or we tell ourselves “I’m too old for that”. Non-sense! Take a risk and see what happens. At best you’ll have fun, meet some new people or even be offered a career instead of just a job. Go up to that girl / boy you've liked for a long time and ask her / him out. What do you have to lose?

7. Find Enthusiasm. Find the things in life that wake up ideas in you. Adventures are not simply outdoors. New ventures, new friends and weekend travels are all adventures. Make life one exciting adventure after another

8. Out of the cubicle. When it’s time to leave, leave! Get away from computer, stop shuffling papers and taking phone calls and X out of the Internet. Your work will be there tomorrow, spend a few evenings cubicle free. At the very least do your work on a laptop on a boat or from a city park bench.

9. Turn it off! If you can tell me what the top ten television sows currently are, you watch too much TV. Stop wasting so many hours away in front of the Idiocy Tube. Every hour you spend in from it is an hour taken from our lives. How many hours do we have to live? Use the TV for DVDs, an occasional show or a weekly favorite series. Better yet, turn it into a cool artsy plant holder. This way your get more out of it than put into it.


10. Travel. Buy a local surrounding city map and look at all the cities you haven’t been to. Use a weekend to travel to a nearby city you have never been to. What festivals do they have? What is the local history? What’s the oldest monument or building in the city? Travel there and find out.

11. What's important. Go to a park or a local café and make a list of everything that's important to you. Than add to it to the list of everything you want to do in life. Than make time for them.

12. Eliminate everything negative. Get rid of the junk in your life. What is holding you back or discouraging you from being happy? If it is a person, consider if this person is simply unhappy or toxic. All the negative people and stuff is wasting your life and pulling your attention from what's important. Get rid of the junk and simplify your life.

13. Be positive. Learn to recognize the negative thoughts you have. These are the self-deteriorating and take away from enjoying life. No more self criticisms and consider why you dislike something before you criticize someone else. Stop yourself whenever you start to say I can’t. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to do but with practice, it will become easier. This is one I’m also still learning how to do.

14. Face your fears. What are you most afraid of? Whatever it is, recognize it, and face it. Afraid of heights? Go to the tallest building, and look down over the edge. Only by facing our fears can we be free of them.

15. Suffering. Sometimes, life just isn’t fair and sends us down a particularly bumpy road. Suffering is an unavoidable part of life. We lose our jobs. We lose our lovers. We didn’t get something we wanted. Something happens to everyone and that is just part of life. The key is to allow yourself to have those feelings, to feel the pain and grieve and than move on.

16. Charity. If you can read this, than there is someone out there who is currently experiencing worse than yourself. Charity isn’t just about giving money, it’s about giving of yourself. Volunteer an hour or two and help someone less fortunate, it can be a very humbling experience.

17. Play like a child. Why should children have all the fun? Play and learn to be carefree.

18. Talk to people. Talk to the young, the strange and the older. There is no one more experienced than those who have lived through fifty years of life. They may not always be wiser, but they’re definitely entertaining. Talk to someone you wouldn’t specifically talk to, you may learn how incredible insightful they are, maybe they will give you advice on making a marriage last or staying out of debt.

19. Learn something new. Constantly improve yourself instead of just standing still. It doesn’t have to be career focused, it can be a potential hobby or something that just sounds interesting.

20. Look inside yourself. For some, this means finding religion. For others, this means learning about our ancestors, or nature. Than again, others learn about their inner energy. Whatever spirituality means for you rediscover it, and its power.

21. Do nothing. There is tremendous value in doing nothing. It’s also called relaxation. Doing nothing as in sitting there, doing nothing can be just as inspiring as a weekend vacation or getting rid of a headache. Learn to listen to your inner voice.

22. Watch sunsets. Every so often or even daily, stop and watch the sun set. Nature creates the most beautiful backdrops that Photo Shop will never be able to recreate. Make it a weekly ritual to watch the sun leave during dinner or while sipping tea.

23. Stop reading artificial self deteriorating magazines. They're not real and they are a waste your time and money.

24. Laugh. Laughing is one of the best ways to live. Tell jokes or laugh until tears flow freely. Laugh at a politically incorrect joke, don’t take life so serious. Learn to laugh and the world won’t seem so nasty.

25. Tryism. Try something new. Seek out new experiences and adventures. Try a new restaurant, do something you haven’t done since you were fourteen years old or go someplace that sounds bizarre. The worst thing that can happen is you waste a few dollars. The best thing that could happen is that you like it.



"The proper function of man is to live - not to exist." -- Jack London