Are you someone who wants to do more in life but doesn’t know where to start? Or perhaps someone who regrets certain things in life and wants to start anew?
I've been there.
"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." — Mae West
Every moment we live here on earth is just but a privilege. To be able to wake up another day, live and breathe with complete limbs and fully working organs is nothing short of a miracle every day. What more is living with a roof over our heads, having enough food to eat in a day, and being surrounded with family—well and whole. Some people are in hospitals, some are in pain and suffering, some have missing limbs, some have none at all, some live on the streets, some have to beg to be able to eat a single meal, and some don’t have anyone with them. Some of these people don't have the same privilege as us, yet some of these people are happier than most. We may be in different situations, even difficult ones, but as long as we are alive, there is hope for us to maximize our life to the fullest. It’s one thing to be alive, but a completely different thing to “live”.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed. If you will be gone tomorrow, will you be fulfilled? Or will you be filled with regret?
How Do I Make the Best Out of Life?
Embrace every moment! Here are 6 Secrets to Making the Best Out of Life.
1. Live Life with Purpose.
The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose. Some people live and breathe on this earth not knowing what they're living for, waking up and walking each day, merely existing and staying alive. But what are you living for? What makes you get out of bed in the morning? What keeps you focused during the day? What keeps you on your knees praying at night? What keeps you giddy in the wee hours of the morning when you get a sudden jolt of ideas? Why do you do what you do? Purpose. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose. Each and every one of us has a God-given purpose. To live each day knowing what you're living for will maximize what you can do with your life without wasting your time. People who know their purpose don't need to be pushed, nudged or reminded by other people. It's what pulls them, motivates them, and keeps them going.
I used to be a person who lives life without purpose, striking anywhere, heading nowhere, living life in circles, and having an endless pursuit of things without value. I used to waste my life with wrong people and connections, doing things that weren't worth my time—the usual teenage rebel story. During that phase in my life, I flunked classes, I was destroying my body with vices, I didn't have goals for myself, and I just wasn't going anywhere with what I was doing with my life. I was like a ship without a rudder. But when I knew Jesus, I discovered my purpose. I realized that there was more to life. I had fun before, I'm not denying that, but there was indeed more to life than that. I discovered that I had gifts and talents that I was purposed to do. I realized that my body is capable of so much more things for good purposes, that I only was destroying for a few hours of 'fun'. I never thought I'd be able to do a lot of things in my life at this age. In knowing my purpose to serve God and people through the gifts that I have, it's what drives my passion to stay on track and keep going. Purpose will drive your passion.
Always go back to the purpose and why you do what you do. It will spark a passion in you to do what you need to do in life without regrets, without wasting time, without burning out, without compromise, and without losing track or losing sight of what's necessary. When you know your purpose, you start to do things with intention, particular with managing your time and priorities, surrounding yourself with right people, and not settling for less. Live a life of purpose!
“The two most important days in life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
2. Live Life with Vision.
Great leaders, thinkers, inventors, and scientists in the past and even modern-day businessmen were consistently visionaries. They had a vision of 'what could be' and passionately devoted their lives towards it. Some sources say Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein weren't the best students and had their fair share of challenges before their remarkable discoveries and life-changing works. Thomas Edison made thousands of attempts at inventing the light bulb before it resulted to a design that worked. Alexander Graham Bell was ridiculed at the idea of his invention of the telephone as simply a toy when he tried to sell the patent to Western Union in the late 1800s. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were college dropouts before creating their global empires leading to technological breakthroughs. And so many more. One thing they had in common? Vision.
A person without a vision is like a person who embarks on a journey without a destination. Vision allows you to see ahead of you, keep you on the right track, and will direct you with discipline to reach your goal. Vision allows you to have hope, courage, and perseverance even in the midst of difficulty. People with vision are unstoppable and will do everything in themselves to make it into a reality. If those visionaries gave up at a certain point in their life, stopped at the 999th attempt, and quit, we wouldn't have experienced the discoveries that led to breakthroughs right now. What do you see ahead of you?
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller
3. Live Life with Wisdom.
People say pain or experience is the best teacher, but I believe that we don't have to experience certain things that could cause pain and scar our life forever for us to learn. It's wisdom. I regret a lot of things that I've done in the past. Yes, I learned from it, and it made me better in the long run. But knowledge is readily available to us. From a young age, we were taught certain things; proper manners, how to behave, and how to be a well-rounded individual. Although, some of us may not have that kind of upbringing. But in one way or another, we have been taught by our family, and have heard their experiences. In school, we learn the negative effects of vices to our bodies, we learn how to do certain things, and we also see experiences of others. Not everyone had the same privilege. But the point is, there's so much we see around us. But even in the limitations of our knowledge, I believe that true wisdom comes from God and there are several profound principles in His Word—the bible—that is freely made available to us. It's what helped me in my journey and still guides me continually everyday.
Looking back, I am filled with regret knowing I was raised well, in a healthy environment, went to a prestigious school that taught good values and received adequate education, but I still had to taste and see what it's like to experience certain things that don't benefit me and even caused me harm. And I realized, I never needed to experience those things in my life to learn. I knew the repercussions of doing certain things from what I was taught, seeing it firsthand by the experiences of others, and yet, I was still stubborn enough to fall into the same trap everyone else fell into. There is so much we can do in life, but wisdom will protect us and watch over our steps. It takes wisdom to apply what we know and maximize what we can do in life without having to compromise. You're not too young or inexperienced to be wise. Wisdom is available to those who seek it!
"Wisdom prepares for the worst, but folly leaves the worst for the day when it comes." – Richard Cecil
4. Live Life with Right Connections.
I truly believe in the proverb, "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble" (Proverbs 13:20). I was raised and was surrounded by such an amazing family, and I believe I was the good child everyone loved and believed in. However, I stumbled and got knocked off into a different life when I made the wrong decision of surrounding myself with people who weren't connected to my purpose. They led me astray and made me cross forbidden paths that ultimately led to my downfall early in life. I disappointed a lot of people who believed so much in me. It wasn't until this stage of my life that I understood and agreed with the statement, "You become who you spend the most time with." Now, I'm still surrounded with my amazing family, right connections that believe in me and want the best for me, great people who never make you feel small, and relationships that are connected to my purpose and vision, that allows me to maximize my potential and more of what I can be or do in this life.
Surround yourself with the right people. Those people you surround yourself with can either pull you down or bring you higher than you could ever go. Those people must inspire you and challenge you to more than who you could ever be. Those people must add value to you and your growth and look out for your best interests. Your relationships are tied to your destiny. Who do you surround yourself with?
“If you have great people around you, they will take you higher than your dream will. Leaders are never self-made. Those closest to you determine your level of success, so choosing the right companions as partners in pursuit of your vision is an important decision. My advice is to surround yourself with talented people who will challenge you, help you grow and inspire you to maximize your potential.” – John C. Maxwell
5. Live Life with Gratitude.
I saw an interview online and the host asked, "If I gave you a million dollars cash right now, how would you feel?" The guest replied, "I'd be extremely grateful." The host continued and asked, "What if I said I'll give you the million, matter of fact make it 10 million, but you couldn't wake up tomorrow...would you [still] take it?" But then, the guest replied, "Absolutely not." The host concluded with the question, "So you're saying, that just waking up tomorrow is worth more than 10 million dollars? Why aren't you feeling that way every time you wake up?" What can we get from this?
Gratitude is an attitude. Sometimes, we overlook how blessed we are with what we have and the people we're surrounded with. Sometimes, we focus on how great our need is and how small our supply is. Sometimes, we belittle the "little" things that we have right now. The fact that we're alive is already something to be grateful for. There's so much we have in life to be grateful for and there is always a reason for us to have joy; for the air we breathe, for being well, for our family, for the shelter above our heads, for every single thing we have that sometimes goes unnoticed. For instance, a man walking can complain about wanting a bicycle, a man with a bicycle can complain about wanting a motorcycle, while a man with a motorcycle can complain about wanting a car, yet there are so many people without their lower limbs, paralyzed, are on a wheelchair, but are happy and grateful for being alive and making the most out of their life. If we focus on things we don't have, we will always have less. To make the best out of our life, we must have an attitude of gratitude. A grateful person is a joyful person!
“It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.” – Anonymous
6. Live Life with Humility.
As a leader and mentor of some people in church, I would often tell them to soar high but always keep their feet on the ground. I believe that this is a very important quality and value one should possess in the path of maximizing and making the best out of life. This shows a test of character and integrity in your journey that secures your success. As the adage says, "Humility is not denying your strengths. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses. (Rick Warren)" We don't know it all. We might have a degree, impressive skills, outstanding credentials, or we might think we are the best at what we do. But to allow our pride and ego to think that we know and have achieved it all, and that we have nothing else more to learn, is plain arrogance and will put a 'lid' in our lives that will stop us from achieving growth and reaching our full potential.
Learning is a life-long and progressive process. I am currently a dentistry student and in this field of dental medicine, it's always progressive. We practice evidence-based dentistry, and our work is always based on up-to-date clinical studies and research. Some methods and practices that worked before, don't work in this day and age or might have better alternatives that could better the work of those in this field and the patients receiving care and treatment. The field of medicine and healthcare is an art and it's always exciting to learn new things year after year. Furthermore, there is a vast diversity and variety of specializations and sub-specializations in our field across all disciplines of medicine. But there has to be interprofessional collaboration. As dentists, when we come across a patient with hypertension or any cardiovascular problems, we don't allow pride to withhold us from seeking the best for the patient and act with finality based on our own knowledge. Yes, we learn it in school, but there are certain people who are specialized in the field, and it takes humility to refer them first to a cardiologist. A dentist who practices general dentistry would know how to extract a tooth and many other procedures, but it takes humility to acknowledge that in complicated cases beyond their experience and expertise, they can always refer to oral and maxillofacial surgeons, oral pathologists, and other specialties better fit to give the best care for the patient. In humility, there is the beauty of unity in diversity.
In relation to this, it takes humility to know that there is always something for us to learn. For us to be able to grow and maximize our life, we need the humility to realize that we don't know it all yet and that we need other people in our success too. Always be humble or you will be humbled!
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” – C. S. Lewis
In conclusion, let me close by sharing the regrets of people in hospice that they have expressed in their last 12 weeks of life, shared by Bronnie Ware, an Australian hospice nurse. As what they've mentioned on the photo above, I realized that their regrets were not just about the things they've done, but the things they haven't done. Let me encourage you to embrace every moment you have in life and make the most out of it. Time cannot be taken back or be redone. Some opportunities are once in a lifetime. Don't wait until it's too late; too late to spend time with your family, show love and appreciation to people dear to you, do things you love, maximize your God-given potential and purpose. Don't wait until your or someone else's deathbed. Life is short, make it count!
If you will be gone tomorrow, will you be fulfilled? Or will you be filled with regret?
May what you learned today be wisdom for tomorrow. Do share your heart and thoughts in the comments and I would like to hear your stories as well. See you on the next blog post!
Sending love,
Coleene.
Read the previous blog post here: Unleashing Your Inner Potential: The Ultimate Guide to Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone.
コメント