Everyone is given this wonderful opportunity called life. We live through our lives with a multitude of experiences, from the bad ones to the good ones. There’s the option to wallow in defeat and live each day languishing, and with all the craziness happening in the world, it’s easy to do that. But living a happy life is a choice. It’s the summation of good choices, that will all coalesce to living the best life.
But let’s face it: living your life to the fullest isn’t easy. You don’t just wake up one day magically optimistic and see the good in everything. You need to put in work, make efforts to actually live your life to the fullest. The process is slow, and the results take a long time to come, but here are some practical bits of advice to start living your life to the fullest:
Learn a Martial Art
It’s common for many people to have learned martial arts at a young age. After all, it’s a good extracurricular activity and it’s especially convenient to keep kids occupied after classes while the parents are still at work. But being young isn’t a prerequisite to learning martial arts. As an adult, you can take advantage of its many benefits: discipline, agility, strength, and many more. It empowers people and teaches a sense of discipline and self-reliance. Being a part of a community that fosters spirit and even good sportsmanship can be what you are looking for in your fast-paced and busy life.
Work on Your Personal Issues
Each individual carries hardships, trauma, or unresolved issues with them. As they say, nobody’s perfect. However, that doesn’t mean you should just let toxic traits and habits fester. It’s great that a lot of people are becoming aware of self-care and self-improvement, and are spreading this knowledge to each other through social media.
This means you are not alone in facing your problems, and that it’s okay to seek professional help. There are many facilities and therapies available to help people who are dealing with various matters, from mental health issues like depression and anxiety to getting reliable treatment for alcoholism or nicotine reliance.
Start Investing in Your Health
Another way to increase the quality of your life is to really start focusing on your body’s wellbeing. It’s great to start from a young age, but it’s never too late to take a turn for the better. Cut down on bad calories like chips and sweets, work on eating healthier food options like fresh greens and unprocessed meats, and start taking exercise more seriously. It should also come as a no-brainer to quit bad habits like smoking or binge eating.
Join a Class
Just like learning a martial art, joining a class can also open new opportunities and avenues for you to live a fuller life. It can be a newfound hobby like pottery or baking, which can blossom into an art exhibition or small business once you get comfortable and confident. Or it can even be an entirely low-commitment thing, just looking for something fun to do or learning something new for a change.
The important thing here is that you’re trying your best to learn and add to what you know currently. Studies have shown that we can keep our mental faculties sharp by constantly learning something new. This means that when you’re learning, not only are you enjoying your life, but you’re actually maintaining good mental health when doing so.
Go Out and Enjoy Life
Nothing beats real-life experiences and the joys of being able to conquer your fears to overcome challenges. Even if you have a lot of apprehensions or inhibitions, staying within your comfort zone will not let you grow as a person. Sometimes, what you have to do is go to that “stretch zone”, where you are outside your feelings of comfort but still close enough that you can pull back a little when it gets too much. If you keep going out to that stretch zone, you’ll slowly build up resilience and strength.
Before you know it, you’ve already gone far ahead than when you started. Try to practice this in different aspects of your life: your social, professional, personal, even your dating life. It’s an effective way to keep improving and to prevent your life from stagnating.
There’s no one way to live your best life. And that’s perfect. This just means you can set out and forge your own path. As long as you’re happy and feeling fulfilled, you’re on the right track.
