Living Deliberately
How often have you heard the phrase “life is short so make the most of it”, or some variation of it? The great American philosopher Bueller once said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it..”. We’ve been inundated with ideas and quips that try to encapsulate that we have to try and utilize every minute of every day. It’s led to pop terms such as YOLO and FOMO, that we should take the chance to live life to the fullest in the form of grand adventure or wild experiences. That our life should resemble that of some movie, rather than the daily occurrences we actually endure.
And it is a bit of bullshit isn’t it?
Realistically speaking, not every day can be amazing, or special. Not even just from a probability standpoint, but from a logistical and financial one was well. The more grandiose the experience, there is a significant cost associated with it. Even if we make it work, and every moment after the next is some kind of main event to our lives, what does that do to our perception of the things we consider special? Or important? How much effort do we exert to have every moment of every day be the most it can be, and at what point does it feel more like a job than it does life? Even so, in the rest of the hours of the day what do we fill it with? Are we expected to remain in a constant state of anticipation for the next thing to happen? Missing the nuances of existence that happen in the regular minutes of the day?
It’s one of those conundrums we have all seen, and probably a trap most of us have fallen into. We are given these visions that life is one montage of highlights—parties, trips, concerts, momentous occasions and alike. A false expectation is set based on our social feeds. Seeing the images of unique experiences or “once in a lifetime” moments happening to so many other people, we forget that this is not the norm. Even so, if we strive to live each moment to its fullest, how many people are actually doing it rather than scrolling through posts about it?
Maybe we are just thinking about this idea all wrong.
Making the most out of each day might not mean we have to have those grand adventures, or that each day needs to be 24 hours of pure unmitigated joy. Maybe it means actually making an effort, to make the moments worthwhile. That they have a positive value add to our life, beyond being “sharable” or making us happy for that brief moment. That making an effort to be present, and to simply do more with life, is actually the way we should think about this idea. So that every minute of every day leads to being better in all aspects of life. Not just what we deem worthy to be captured and shared. Going even deeper, what if we make an effort to have more moments for ourselves, not for others to see?
What if we made the effort to live life deliberately?
That in every moment, there was something to be gained. To find the balance of accomplishment, joy and restoration. That we literally make the most of every minute of every day. So that by the time our head hits our pillows at night, there is no lingering thoughts keeping us up. There is less worrying about the mounting tasks we have to do, or feeling so burned out—mentally, emotionally, or physically—we are too exhausted to sleep. What would this kind of living look like, and is it even sustainable?
I am looking to find out.
I will be taking the next 100 days and aim to have each minute count. Not just to work, but to play, to spend time with friends and family, and simply get the most out of life. This means putting limits on all the other actions that fill our days that don’t necessary add positive value. Things like the endless scroll, binging shows without watching, or just wasting time in general. It means making lists of whatever tasks need to get done, and lists of the actions to fill in the gaps between them. Limiting time on social sites (even this own) to be for a specific purpose and intent, once complete, on to the next thing.
Follow this journey, not to copy what I do, but to pull from it. To think differently about what it means to live life to the fullest.
What it means to live deliberately.
Also posted on Substack.
