Living Life to the Fullest

As Abraham Lincoln said, “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” It’s either you live your life, or you let life live you.

Although oftentimes overlooked, the dash of time between our birth date and our death that will soon be reflected on our tombstone, determines the quality of how person lives. Even though we are still clueless as to when we will die, our lives here on Earth are but a blink of an eye, so we should make the most out of it. You would want your eulogy to be read as something you could be proud of knowing that up until your very last breath, you've done your very best to have a fulfilling existence.

Living life to the fullest is not just about making dreams come true nor does it mean only having a full life after winning the lottery. It doesn’t also mean seeking out the thrill of your life like jumping out on a cliff, experimenting on drugs, climbing mountains or doing things you have never done before. There doesn't have to be a first time for everything, as well as not everything and anything has to be tried once.

Living life to the fullest is truly enjoying every minute of every moment all the time. You only have one life to live so why dwell too much on the issues impacting the quality of life such as worrying much on what tomorrow will bring, cost of goods, services of people, traffic, time compression, the rapid pace and the changes. These issues are synonymous as putting yourself into an early grave. Do not also waste your time recalling on numerous unfortunate mishaps and repeating bad times in the past repeatedly because you can never bring them back. Rather find a reason to live and make a difference between now and before going to bed at night.

Embrace life and actually live it. Material possessions can be lost in an instant and will not matter in the end. You can be the richest and the most powerful man in the world yet have a life filled with emptiness. Enjoy life, as it won’t last a lifetime. Life is a gift that can cease at any minute. The older you get, the nearer you get to the end. Although we don’t hold control over the rapid pace of life and the changes around us, we can somehow manage our speed to slow down, breathe, step back and relax, think and look at the overall picture and enjoy the gift of life right where we are. Because whether we choose to live our life to the fullest or not, nothing can change the fact that life will go on to live on. So if ever wake up feeling bored with a daily routine and can’t seem to find excitement in your life, instead of confining yourself into the four corners of your room, experience much of the wild, unbelievable and extraordinary places, person and things created on this planet. A full life is not something we merely stumble upon or fall into—it requires effort, our pure intentions and the decisions we make. Life is a choice. Take advantage of every opportunity. Live every day as if it's your last. If you are not akin to how things are in your current situation, change them. Do not let fear paralyze a promising future ahead. Be willing to accept risks to avoid ending up regretting in the end.

Therefore, the next time we utter the words “Live life to the fullest!” to an unhappy friend or a desperate and problematic coworker, let us not assume that we know what it means to push life's limits and claim to have a superior life over them. Living life to the fullest would mean different things to each one of us regardless of who we are---age, gender, profession, marital status, nationality and religion. Maybe to some, it is the number of great and loving relationships they have while to others it may be good health. However, because we all share the same commonality and that is to be happy, we must do and love what makes us happy. Living without apprehensions, setting aside anger, smiling rather than frowning, respecting and thinking about others, having no regrets, confronting our responsibilities, loving with all our heart, crying with all our soul and appreciating the small things around us. This way, we are at least close to living a life to the fullest.