HappyLifestyleJournal
Do you have friends who always seem to get so many things done? Looking at the lives they lead, it’s as if they have a kind of leverage we don’t know about—like an extra hour out of the 24 hours we have all been given in a day. We look at these people and are in awe with the quality and quantity of the lives they live.
Which makes us ask ourselves the question—how do these people live their lives to the fullest and how can I get in on that?
Well, here’s how.
- THEY START THE DAY EARLY
The reason why these people can pile on meetings, deadlines and killer workouts day in and day out is because they start their days early. No snoozing that alarm and definitely no sleeping in until the weekends.
Starting your day early means that you can do more with your time compared to if you had postponed errands until the afternoon. You are also more likely to put off more things when you come home tired in the evening, making it ideal to do most things when you are still refreshed.
- THEY DON’T PROCRASTINATE
Everybody procrastinates. The only exceptions to this rule are quite a rare breed. These rare creatures however move on to become the movers and shakers of this world. They get things done and in the least amount of time possible.
If you would really look at how you spend your days, you would realize that half of the time you are just procrastinating. You are procrastinating the article that’s due tomorrow, you are procrastinating seeing a doctor about your health, you are procrastinating about asking that girl out to dinner. Procrastinating is often a product of fear and anxiety more than anything, so take a cue from Nike and “JUST DO IT”.
- THEY SET GOALS
People who live their lives to the fullest believe that in order to achieve their dreams they must turn it into goals and that goals are but wishful thinking unless you write them down and take steps towards them. People who are making the most of their lives are constantly achieving goals because they set a lot of them. They are constantly motivated because there is never a lull in their personal development.
These goals may start out small but they will celebrate their completion anyway and then move on to conquer even bigger goals. Do as these people do, and chase your dreams, even if that means taking a tiny little step every day.
- THEY MAKE PLANS DURING THE WEEKEND
People who live their lives to the fullest are just as enthusiastic about leisure as they are about work and productivity. One of the greatest productivity hacks used by most high achievers is using the weekend to fully recharge so that they can deliver optimum results during the workweek.
Make the most out of the weekend by making plans—if you don’t, the whole weekend will pass you by and you will enter the new workweek tired and unmotivated.
- THEY HAVE HOBBIES THEY REALLY ENJOY
Social media has allowed us to take a peek into our acquaintances lives with just a tap on a screen. Looking through dozens of your friends’ pages everyday you begin to notice that you have friends who always seem to be doing something interesting any given day. One day they’re surfing, the next they’re at a book club with friends or just walking at the park with their dog.
These types of people get to enjoy the rich lives they live by really taking the time to cultivate their hobbies. Whether it’s skydiving or knitting, these people take the time to learn a craft that exponentially adds enjoyable value to their lives.
- WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Living life to the fullest does not only deal with the extremes. A lot of it is about balance. When we say balance we don’t mean a “work hard, party harder” or “YOLO” type of mentality. No, we mean finding a balance between going hard at work and during leisure time, but never pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion or fatigue.
- THEY CULTIVATE THEIR RELATIONSHIPS
Another way to make your life even richer is to cultivate relationships. Studies show that what centenarians all have in common are close knit ties with a support group. This further proves the point that life cannot only be made richer, but also longer by great relationships, romantic or otherwise.
- THEY SPLURGE ON EXPERIENCES NOT THINGS
Most extremely happy countries (Scandinavians for example) have very low materialism in their societies. The Danish for example, despite an average gross capital higher than most countries, tend to spend most of their money on eating out, meeting friends and travelling, not on acquiring things; which is vastly different from materialistic countries like China and the United States.
- THEY ARE GENERALLY POSITIVE
People who live their lives to the fullest cannot be bothered by negativity towards themselves and others. Negativity requires too much time and effort, effort they’d rather spend doing productive things.
While these people are generally positive, it does not by any means imply that they are naive. It is just that they focus their energy more on the solution than on the problem.
- ALWAYS STRIVE TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES
Whether by earning another degree, learning a new language or by understanding that they can be kinder today than they were yesterday, people who live their lives to the fullest are always involved in their own positive development. Their mindset is that regardless of the things they have already achieved there is always room for improvement and they are eager to better themselves.
