You’re only given one life to make the most of. You’ve got one shot to go after your dreams, achieve the things you want, and find joy in your decisions. While you might not always have full control over the outcome, you can plan ahead to do things you’ve always wanted to do by starting that side hustle, spending time with people you care about, and doing things no one else has ever tried to do. In this article, we’re going to share how to make the most of life.
How to Make the Most of Life
1. Travel the world
Traveling the world is probably the most cliche way to make the most of life but it’s a cliche for a popular reason. This planet is filled with billions of people, cool creatures, and wondrous landmarks. Staying in the same town your whole life limits how much you can learn and explore. So, if you’ve been wanting to meet new people who think differently from you or see places that leave you in awe, you’ll need to explore unknown terrain. It’s easy to think that you know it all when you’ve lived a long time, but it isn’t until you start interacting with people from different cultures or seeing different ways of living do you realize that you don’t know it all. There’s so many languages, cultures, lifestyles, and cuisines to explore that you’ve never heard of or tried. Sometimes, getting outside your comfort zone to explore the world is a great way to make the most of your life.
2. Live in the present
You can make the most of life by living in the present. It’s so easy to time travel in our mind by living in the past or fearing the future, but when we actually live in the present we’re grounded in reality. When you complete a guided meditation, you’ll feel more at ease in your head allowing you to make better decisions and maintain a sense of happiness. When you’re in the moment, you can make the most of life because instead of being stuck in your head, you’re out there living life. You’ll be able to notice the beauty of the birds flying around in the sky, the smell of nature when walking in a forest, see the smile of a stranger beaming at you, hear the laughter of a happy person.
3. Build a legacy
To make the most of life, you should strive to build a legacy. Your legacy can be built in multiple ways. You might have a family to carry on the family genes for generations to come. Building a business into a household name can be a way to build a legacy and notoriety for yourself. Alternatively, you could become an activist or a peacekeeper and help people have their basic needs met. You could share a family recipe with the world so that everyone can try your family’s best dishes. Building an audience around you for your personal brand can also be a great way to have your memory live on, especially if all your content is out there on the internet to live on.
4. Develop new hobbies
Having hobbies is a great way to make the most of life. In your life journey, it’s crucial to ask yourself, “Am I getting better with time?” or “Am I still curious enough to learn new things?” The activities you involve yourself in can help you continue to grow as a person. As you learn more new things, you’ll feel challenged and fulfilled because you’ll notice that you’re evolving over time. You’re not getting stuck in the mundane moments of life but actively being a curious learner and building yourself up into a better version of yourself.
5. Host get-togethers often
Life without a sense of community lacks purpose. The people around you can make life so meaningful for you. If you want to make the most of life, spend time with people who uplift you, high five you, and make you feel good about yourself. Being around the people you care about while they’re all still alive and well is a great way to build lasting memories and happy moments. One day, you will lose everyone you love or they’ll lose you. To make the most of life, understand that you need to appreciate all your loved ones while they’re still kicking. Learning to let go of pain from childhood is a crucial part of life. Family drama happens in every family, no one’s perfect after all. So repair burned bridges, make peace with loved ones, and celebrate the bond you have with those close to you.
6. Celebrate your milestones
To make the most of life, you’ll need to celebrate your milestones. Throughout your life, you’ll embark on a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment where you’ll learn new things and grow larger than life. You’ll fall in love, maybe start a family, get promoted at work, develop new hobbies, and more. As you grow and evolve, celebrating all those milestones and wins along the way will ensure you’re enriching your life with happy moments. So, avoid neglecting those birthday celebrations, they’re worth celebrating. Host that party to celebrate your big wins and celebrate your friends’ wins too. In life, there’s so much to celebrate, even if it’s just the opportunity that we all get to be alive together at the same time.
7. Put yourself out there
So many people live small. They shrink themselves to better fit in. They’ll play it safe throughout their careers. They won’t ask the person they have a crush on out. And so, you spend your life fantasizing how things could’ve been different or better. And that’s on you. Making the most out of life involves putting yourself out there. Sure, you might land flat on your face, but is that even a new experience? Don’t we all stumble now and then. Taking a risk means being open to possibly getting everything you’ve wanted for yourself and your life.
8. Stand up for your beliefs
We all believe in something. And our beliefs don’t always align with other people’s beliefs. We all have our own experiences that shape us and guide us in our lives to become the people we are today. To make the most of life, we need to stand up for ourselves and what our values are. That might mean asking your boss for a pay raise when you over-deliver value for the team and company as a whole. Or it could mean going to a peaceful protest where you share your views with others. It could also be setting boundaries around what is acceptable and unacceptable around you. You don’t need to be a leader to stand up for yourself. You can do this in both big and small ways to showcase that you value yourself and that you do have some self-love.
9. Have children
While not everyone can or wants to have children, that’s okay. Like this list, there are many ways you can make the most of life. However, if you can and do want children, you can create a wonderful life for yourself by passing on those genes and helping raise children to become independent. Showering children with love and giving them the freedom to make mistakes is crucial to their long-term success. Watching someone you’ve created become a person making their own decisions is a fulfilling experience. It won’t always be easy and it is a life-long commitment, and it’s a fulfilling one.
10. Publish a memoir
We often think that our lives could be turned into movies. They’re eventful, challenging, chaotic, and mysterious. We go through the rollercoaster of emotions throughout our lives, experiencing an endless cycle of highs and lows. Putting pen to paper and writing your life story brings others into your world. You can have your voice heard, your pain felt, your experiences remembered. You can build towards a legacy of your life by having others learn more about you. You can make the most of life when you share your story with others. And you can untangle all those messy moments by telling your story in its completion so people are inspired by your perseverance of never giving up, of overcoming obstacles, and defeating the odds.
11. Help people in their journeys
Life is partially what you get, but it’s mostly what you give. You can’t just go through life expecting people to help you without ever helping people along the way. You can share your support, uplift others, introduce people to new friends, hiring managers, or romantic partners, or show up for them in various ways. Helping others achieve their goals or manage their life lessons will allow them to be at peace with themselves. By helping people feel a sense of fulfillment and peacefulness in their lives, you’ll be able to move forward as well. Sometimes, life tests you to see if you’re willing to show up for people ahead of yourself.
12. Create lasting memories
Every month, plan one activity that pushes you to do something new. A new place you’ve never traveled to, a restaurant you’ve never had the chance to try, an activity you’ve never done before. And do it with a person you’ve just met. Take strangers on these wild adventures with you and create lasting memories to make the most of life. You don’t need to go skydiving or on an adrenaline binge to create memories. Something as simple as stargazing while having deep conversations can create a truly memorable experience for two people.
13. Take photos of all the people you love
Sooner or later, you lose everyone in life or everyone loses you. You don’t know how many times photos I’ve taken of relatives, such as uncles or aunts have been used by cousins when one of their parents die. When you take countless photos of people at family events or friend meetups you have all these lasting memories of the two of you really happy. When you lose someone you love, you hold onto those photos with all you’ve got, especially in those early days of mourning. Force people to smile in photos, even if it’s uncommon for them. One day, you’ll be happy they did.
14. Focus on improving yourself
Improving yourself is crucial to making the most of life. If life is anything for you, let it be a journey towards becoming the best version of yourself. Learn from your mistakes, challenge yourself to grow as a person, and try to be as kind as possible. You can become the leading expert in your field. Or the most loving spouse to your partner. Ideally, you want the people closest to you to tell you years from now that you continuously get better with time. You want to evolve so much that people around you notice the good changes in you.
15. Volunteer for a cause
To make the most of life, you’ll want to get involved in a cause that you support 100%. You can volunteer for a local charity or organization that does a lot of good in your community. Most people on the internet will write mean comments to politicians asking them to do more, while they’re doing absolutely nothing for their own people. You don’t need to donate exuberant amounts of money to make a difference. You can volunteer for a charitable cause and help them fundraise, plan events, or manage their workflows. When you walk the walk, you’re more impactful than someone who just talks the talk.
Conclusion
You can make the most of life by doing all the things we’ve talked about in this article. From traveling the world to hosting get togethers to going on an endless self improvement journey, there’s so many ways to make the most of your time while alive. If you’ve been thinking about becoming more present and mindful of your actions, you can check out our meditation courses to help you live more compassionately during your time here on Earth.
