Have you ever noticed that when you start a new hobby or sport that you have always wanted to start, you feel especially energized and excited about it? You probably notice a similar feeling when you get out of your regular routine, whether it is for a special event or for a vacation. Even if it is something very simple, these can be times when you are living life fully and it is energizing!
As I was thinking about this phenomenon, I recognized that the opposite happens when you are not living life fully. It’s draining to resist living life fully. Your energy becomes lower and you tend to lack excitement. There are many things that can pull us into this fatigued state of going through the motions.
1. Fear
Fear is probably the biggest reason many of us do not always live our lives fully. Especially if you are doing something new, it can be intimidating and scary. If you allow the fear to stop you from doing something you know you really want to do, you are allowing that fear to keep you from living your life fully. When you overcome that fear, you feel energized and excited.
2. Television
That might seem silly to some. However, I contend that watching others either pretend to live or watching them actually live (in the case of reality TV) is NOT living your life fully. I have never in my life heard people discussing television shows as much as I hear them now. I believe it is the ultimate distraction from living. So, limiting your TV time will give you more time to actually live.
3. Clutter
Being overwhelmed by too much stuff in your physical environment can make you feel overwhelmed in general. Every item in your space is something you need to take care of in some way. It can take away from time you would otherwise have to enjoy life. Of course, there are some things you have that you do enjoy. These are not things I would consider clutter. It is the things in your space that you don’t enjoy, that simply take up space and energy that you don’t want to spend on them. Getting rid of excess clutter can help free you to enjoy the things that really matter.
4. Resentment
Holding on to feelings of resentment toward people you feel have wronged you can distract you from living life fully. You may feel and even be totally justified with your feelings for things others have done that hurt you. However, if you hold on to those feelings, you are only harming yourself further. If you find you are having difficulty letting those types of feelings go, one thing you can do is write a letter to get them out, then burn it, flush it or mail it to Santa Claus. Whatever works for you to feel what you feel, then just let it go.
5. Judgment
Spending your time and energy in judgment of others can keep you from living your life fully. You will never have a complete understanding of another person’s motivations because you are not in their shoes. If you find yourself thinking or saying that another person “should” or “should not” do something or do it a certain way, you are judging them. They are not necessarily wrong for doing things differently and you are wasting yourself by attempting to force your ways upon them. Again, this ultimately only hurts you. Let go of your judgments of others and accept them for who they are. This will free you to live your life more fully.
6. Wallowing in Lethargy
When you feel low in energy and unmotivated, the worst thing you can do is give into it for an extended period of time. the longer you stay inactive, the less motivated you will be to become more active. Activity energizes you. If you are feeling unmotivated to do anything, get out and do something!
7. Chaos
When your life is too hectic and chaotic, it can keep you from living life fully. No matter what your circumstances are, be sure to always take time out for you. Whenever you are able to, simplify your life. Get creative with this if you need to. You might be able to simplify more than you think. Regardless of how difficult it is for you to simplify, always take at least a few minutes for yourself every day. Otherwise, what is the point of it all?
8. Drama
Do I even need to elaborate? It’s pointless and petty. I don’t do drama. I’ll leave it at that.
9. Guilt
Guilt is essentially resentment toward yourself for things you have done to “wrong” others. The reasons this keeps you from living life fully are basically the same as for resentment. If you really feel you have wronged someone and want to make up for it somehow, do what you can to do so if you believe it will truly make the situation better. If there is no way to do that directly or doing so will make things worse, write a letter to get it all out & get rid of the letter in a way that helps you let it go.
10. Feeling You Don’t Deserve It
If you find yourself in constant patterns of not living life fully, it could be that you have a subconscious (or conscious) belief that you don’t deserve to life life fully. We all deserve it. Focus on the reasons you deserve it. Write them down. Look at them daily.
There may be many more things that keep us from living life fully. These are my current thoughts on the matter. If you can relate to even one of them and do something to change it, maybe you can get a little more out of life than you were before. Just writing this has helped me realize how I still have many things I can shift in my own life to live it more fully. I always have lots of room for improvement!
Life is a journey and I repeatedly remind myself to enjoy that journey!
by Jen Kunkel
Connect For Success at http://www.jenkunkel.com
Daily Blog: http://jenkunkel.com/extraordinarylives4ordinarypeople/
