14 tips for really living life. (Enduring is such a drag.)

Living life: I suppose we all do it, as long as we have a heartbeat. But really living, not just enduring, is something else entirely. If it sounds as appealing to you as it does to me, I have 14 valuable tips for you…

Take a look at our friend above. His expression tells me he isn’t too terribly pleased. But I get the impression he’s thinking about change. Who knows? Maybe that’s what it looks like when someone’s tired of enduring life and wants to transition to really living.

Well, that’s all speculation with a fictional character. What really matters is how it goes with you and me – in the real world.

14 tips for really living

If we’ve been long on enduring and short on really living, the first order of business is deciding if we’re ready to change. If we are, it’s time to get moving.

But you may wonder exactly how the transition is made. What do you do?

Actually, it’s custom work; however, I’m bringing you 14 tips that will surely lend a hand. Acting upon all of them isn’t necessary. And how you implement those you choose is up to you. But do yourself a favor. Act!

Okay, here we go…

1. Find the meaning of your life – its purpose. Let it play a leading role in all of your decisions. Viktor Frankl declared that the search for meaning was the primary motivation in his life, not a “secondary rationalization of instinctual drives.” And here’s Friedrich Nietzsche’s take: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
2. Establish a reciprocating and dedicated spiritual relationship. How could any of us really live without sharing our lives with a supernatural power that has our best interests at heart?
3. Quit fighting, accept. From psychologist Steven C. Hayes: “Acceptance, in the sense it is used here, is not nihilistic self-defeat; neither is it tolerating and putting up with your pain…Those heavy, sad, dark forms of ‘acceptance’ are almost the exact opposite of the active, vital embrace of the moment that we mean.”
4. Open yourself to loving others and to be loved – including by yourself. Its warmth will provide incredible comfort. And if one embraces love as a life priority, good things will automatically begin to happen.
5. Don’t lose the forest for the trees. It’s easy to understand why anyone wrestling with woes would want to do most anything to find and sustain relief. But we can get so bogged down in the trees of seeking, learning, applying, and practicing that we lose sight of the big picture – the forest. And that means losing life perspective.
6. Watch-out for expectation – past and present. As soul-building as healthy expectation can be, misguided expectation can destroy us. It’s important to gain insight into how early life expectation hurts us now. Of course, keeping it in check in the immediate is essential.
7. Maintain a ready supply of things you enjoy. And don’t wait for desperate times to dig-in.
8. Take good care of your mind, body, and soul. There’s no need to strive for the perfect yoga and meditation sessions, diet, exercise program, sleep habits, spiritual life, relationships, etc. But there’s every reason to do all we can to practice loving and consistent common sense when it comes to self-care.
9. Interact with others. Fact is, we’re human so we’re social. Isolation may be the preferred existence for many, but it isn’t natural. This isn’t about daily elbow-bumping sessions at the coffee shop. But it is about the value of human contact. Even if it’s just one person.
10. Give of yourself to others. The random acts of kindness verbiage may be overused, but the meaning remains strong. Make a habit of reaching-out to someone in a jam. You’ll both be glad you did.
11. Make it your business to learn what you can, whenever you can. Maybe it’s about yourself. Perhaps it’s about others – or how grass grows. Keep your mind vibrant, really alive. Absorb.
12. Find humorous things. And when you do, at least kind of smile. Laughter, however, is preferred. By the way, learn to laugh at yourself.
13. Be a thankful sort. Staying neutral, tolerating, and complaining can become nasty habits. Even in challenging times, there are so many things to be thankful for. Feel and express it.
14. Never, ever let go of hope, multiple tries, and forward motion. You know as well as I, at times they’re all we have.

Choose really living

Life can be hard and the price of living steep. Who doesn’t understand how easy it is to just endure our earthly existence?

But, seriously. who wants to declare they’re living based upon a heartbeat?

Choose really living. I mean, there’s way too much to be missed. I know making, and implementing, the decision may be difficult. But that’s why I gave you the tiparoos.

Use ’em. Act!

If you’re searching for more meaning from life, my eBook, Feelings & Rhymes Through Treacherous Times, may help you find it.

And I’d like to think any one of hundreds of Chipur articles would be of assistance.