Be in love with your life. Every minute of it. -Jack Kerouac
Hello my peeps. A quick question for the new year. Are you really enjoying your life? What would it be like if you thought nobody was watching – no cares about what you do for a living, or how you do it…what if you didn’t have nine million and one responsibilities? Just think for a minute, not about your vacation time and weekend fun, but life overall. Are you really having fun? Are you doing what you really want to do? And why not? Are you excited at all? If you answered no to any of these questions, then it’s time to re-evaluate.
OK my pretty petunias, let’s make a decision right now. January 2017. Let’s decide together, that from today onward, enjoying life is a priority. I’m not suggesting any reckless behaviors, such as selling it all, renting a Winnebago and road tripping ad infinitum, but maybe, just maybe, we all need to put our own enjoyment first for a while. Put that higher up on your TO DO list- come on- right now! Are you with me on this? Good. So, let’s look at life revisited 101.
When truly enjoy life, you’re having fun. You are of course, working towards your goals, because life is about more than weekend binges of AHC and Stranger Things on Netflix. I’m all for fun as much as (or maybe more than) the next chicklet, in fact, I love having fun. To really enjoy life to the fullest you MUST combine your fun with things that you find meaningful and challenging enough. For example, participate in the charity walk/run for cancer or Alzheimer’s, get dirty planting something in your garden, pick up a new sport or exercise class- it doesn’t matter, the list is endless. Your list could be short or have 10 things on it. Just make it relevant and stimulating and fun (of course). It can be weird and creative too. Maybe you like smashing yard sale china to bits and creating mosaic masterpieces, or you like to create with clay, squishing it through your hands to create something from a lump of nothing, or maybe you need to be active in a sport. It should be challenging and meaningful to you in order to equate to “fun.”
Let’s talk about minimizing the clutter. Enjoy life more by taking things out; stop doing things that make you feel miserable. You know what I’m referring to lovelies, the things you feel roped into doing, and sometimes, things you don’t even realize you can change. Let’s declutter. We all fall into that people pleasing trap, even for a while. Admit it, you know it’s true. You feel like you must help at the PTO fundraiser, but you have a choice. Stop and think for a minute – do you really want to be doing that extra “thing,” or is it habit and wanting to please someone else? If you’re gut answer is NO, then stop. Politely excuse yourself, or just neglect to sign up. Remember the nine million and one responsibilities weighing you down? Well minimize those right now!
Here, I’ll make it easy for you:
- Don’t want to volunteer for that committee? Stop. Say no.
- Don’t want to be the proverbial punching bag for your “friend” who is an emotional vampire? Set boundaries.
- Don’t want to be the one always responsible for pulling together that team report? Talk to your boss.
Alright, so let’s get back on track. We all want to lead happy, fun lives. And we have been encouraged by society to believe that if we aren’t doing something epic, then we aren’t living fun, enjoyment filled lives. I hate to break it to you, but you and me, we’ve all be lied to. By all means, live the biggest, most epic life YOU want to live, but I’m sure for all of us it doesn’t entail scaling Everest or skydiving into shark infested waters. My friends, it’s all about living a life that YOU enjoy, every day. Whatever floats your boat, be it adventure, family, art, volunteer work or something else. You decide. No magic, but there are some rules.
Morning Bean Blog’s Unbreakable Rules For Enjoying Life
(Violation means you’re in jeopardy of maximizing enjoyment)
- Make your own choices. Remember that you’re in control of your decisions. Be authentic in every aspect of your life, even when the road is bumpy.
- Consciously set your goals. Revisit these on a regular basis, but keep in mind that until you have a life plan in place, you won’t know what’s important to focus on. You’ll know what’s fun, but too much of a good thing gets boring after a while. If you know what your life goals are, it will be easy to schedule your fun stuff.
- Stay positive. Make a point of surrounding yourself with positive people. Let go of vampires – the ones who suck your energy and don’t focus so much on the negative. (If you need to give up the nightly news, do so)
- Practice Kindness. Essential point petunias…kindness to self and to others. When you practice self-kindness, you’re taking care of your mind and body, good things happen in your life and positive energy flows. Being kind to others, showing compassion, generosity and thoughtfulness is a no-brainer feel good energy booster.
- Never lose your sense of adventure. This means just stepping out of your comfort zone. A lot or a little – that’s up to you. Remember that it should always be kept light, and fun, sort of like learning to play dodgeball as a kid. Spend your time focusing on experiences and relationships, not stuff, and you’ll enjoy life way more.
So back to my original question…are you enjoying your life? Never underestimate the power of positivity. Happiness is contagious. That makes life more fun. Sad people are not fun people. If the purpose of life is to enjoy it, then I must concede that if you’re not enjoying life, you’re sort of missing the point. I hope this post challenges you to move your own life enjoyment to the top of your priority list.
Stay motivated and caffeinated!😉☕