It sounds like the ultimate cliché, but it’s incredibly real. Life is short. This is not a rehearsal. You don’t just get to buzz through life and then go back and change the things you don’t feel worked out. We only get one shot at this, so you do need to be sure that you are living your life to the fullest. This isn’t meant to sound cheesy but thinks about it. You only get one go at being on this earth, so don’t you want to be able to enjoy it to the max?
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to live in a way that doesn’t align with what you want. Don’t go off doing big and bold things just because, but do live the life that YOU want. Not what anybody else wants for you, or a life that you’ve just accidentally landed into.
I don’t want to look back and only see my life as a step and repeat of going to school, getting a job, and paying off bills. I want to make sure that I’m living my best life and doing the things that I’ve always wanted to do, and I want the same for you.
1. Figure your life out
First of all, you’re going to want to sit down and figure out what you want. That’s no easy task, so don’t feel too pressured into working this out overnight. If you’ve put your life work into a vision board that’s awesome if you haven’t got a clue what you’re even doing tomorrow that’s alright too. Sometimes these aspirations will come to you suddenly, or you might know your life calling deep down, but for others, it may take a while (and some soul searching). As long as you are setting the wheels in motion, all will reveal itself in time.
2. Find your intuition and listen to it
Do this exercise with me right now. Clear your mind of everyone else’s’ opinion and ask yourself where you want to be in five years. What you want in five years; not your mom, not your dad, not your opinionated aunt who badgers you every time there is a family gathering, YOU. That voice that is inside your head right now, that’s your intuition piping up. We tend to keep those voices stuffed in the back of our heads because everyone else’s opinions and worries stand in front and its view.
Listen to your intuition – this will often be what helps you to figure things out. Make sure that you’re trusting your instincts and being present. This includes looking out for signs or seeking out life help such as understanding numerology which is something I tend to look to for simple guidance. You can find out more at Readings With Matt to help you along your route.
3. Take your first steps
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
Next, start moving forward. Once you know what you want, you have to get it. If you’ve been dabbling with the idea of moving careers and know that you want to make a move, then now’s the time to make it. To help you, uncover questions to ask yourself at Monster and see if you can work out how to get started. Maybe it’s a financial situation you would like to be in to make you feel a bit more stable. Set up a budget with some easily downloadable templates on Google. As soon as you start taking those steps, you will feel more settled.
4. Understand there is going to be a lot of freakin work involved
You are utterly naïve if you think that everything will fall into place right away. Wake up, Sista! When you want to live big, you have to work hard. Nothing good in life comes easy, but the universe wouldn’t throw anything at you that you weren’t equipped to handle. I find a lot of comfort in that when I begin propelling my dreams forward. Put the work in, and you will get the return that you want. But be patient, because it won’t happen overnight. As long as you’re taking action and trying to get there, you will.
5. Don’t make excuses, make sacrifices
When it comes to getting what you want, you will sometimes need to make sacrifices, but it is SO easy for us to block our struggle with excuses. Saying you can’t because you’re too young, not educated enough, not creative enough are all excuses keeping you from your goals. Whatever you have to sacrifice now, whether it’s time or a style of lifestyle temporarily, I bet it is so minuscule in the grand scheme of things making it all worth it because when you get there, you know that you made it happen with those struggles intact. That makes the prize even sweeter.
6. Don’t neglect your friends, hobbies, or personal life
As much as I want you to and you want you to put all of your energy into living your best life and being your best self, I don’t want you to forget those who support you along the way. You’re going to want to focus on your social life. This doesn’t mean that you have to put a lot of time and money into it, but you do need to acknowledge it. Make new friends, join a class, and catch up with that old colleague. I am the queen of sweatpants on the weekend because I don’t do ANYTHING during the day except for catch up on Grey’s Anatomy, for the fifth time. To achieve ultimate happiness, you need to be in the right place, and your social life can help you with that. Plus, what good is a Happy Hour if you’re drinking by yourself?!
7. Take care of yourself
Finally, you will want to make sure that you do take care of your health, mentally and physically. You get one life, so you need to nurture all sides of the health spectrum. Make sure that you’re motivated to work out and that you set aside some time for reflection. Journaling or meditating are prevalent practices that I tell ALL my friends and family to do. I’m even to the point where they don’t ask me anymore because they know what I’m already going to say haha. Start to put your health first. When you’re healthy and happy, you’ll be in the best place to get your life to where it needs to be.
12 Responses
This is so true. I feel like I am stuck with number one. But change is needed. Because life waits for no fool.
I just made a vision board last week. Its not one that is cute and put together like you see on Pinterest but its practical and I had fun creating it. Maybe you could try that!
My life blew apart last year and I have been putting it all back together. Some pieces I kept, brought some old ones left behind and I'm adding new ones that work better for me. This is a great post about steering effort in the right direction.
While I was trying so hard to really work on myself, I forgot no.6 along the way, and I was very unhappy and didn't know why. Glad I got that back on track.
Thank you!
Such a great, and very true, post! I’ve made a five year plan and have been working on it. I definitely need to work on taking care of myself more, though!
I feel like I need to print this out and tape it right next to my bed! I always feel frazzled when I think about what I want to do and how much I want to do (even in the short term). I definitely need to make a 3 or 5 year plan.
Love this! Yes, you gotta be willing to put work and effort in. No laziness!
This is such a good and insightful post. Being a university student, I'm kinda on the fence with where I want to take things after I graduate. All I know is that hard work and dedication are the only ways forward so I have to put the effort in. I have a rough 5-year plan but I think I'd really benefit from having it written down to check back on from time to time to see if I'm meeting my goals.
Great post!
Luce xo
I love the phrase 'live your best life' because it's so unique to every individual person. I hope through blogging and my counseling work that I can inspire others to be the best version of them, they can be. Definitely could refer them to this post – love it! 🙂
I need to follow these! This is such a great reminder to live my best life! Thank you for sharing!
I couldn't agree more! These past few years, I've kind of flitted around hoping for life to work itself out. I have dreams, but I wasn't putting in any work to make them a reality. I just liked the thought of them. Time seems to be passing faster with each year and then I finally realized that if I'm ever going to accomplish anything, then I need to start now. No excuses!
lifeslittlemusings.com
Love love LOVE this post!