Given the current state of the world. Folks are probably reflecting a bit more than usual. After all, at the end of the day, everyone wants to live the kind of life that they can look back on. Years down the line, have the ability to look at life with a sense of pride and satisfaction.
Maybe even more than specific accomplishments, though, everyone cherishes the idea of accumulating a collection of great and uplifting stories. As well as powerful and lasting memories.
In other words, no one wants to feel like they’re spinning their wheels constantly. Life should be an adventure; something exciting and memorable.
The present state of the world aside. By and large, living conditions across the world today are better than they’ve ever been. Historically — at least in terms of material resources and comforts. But various polls keep finding that a huge proportion of people are depressed, anxious, and feel like their lives are somehow hollow or unfulfilling. In fact, these conditions have apparently been on a steady rise.
There are plenty of things that you might need to do in order to live your best life. To break away from negative spirals. A great place to start is simply by taking steps to live a more exciting, outgoing, and memorable life, as a whole.
Here are a few tips for living a more exciting and memorable life.
Take Pleasure in Small but Meaningful Gestures
If you’re looking for major, life-changing events on a daily basis, you’re obviously going to be let down. Even the most active and energetic people in society. Whether we’re talking about professional athletes or arctic explorers. All have everyday routines and obligations to deal with, that aren’t always highly glamorous.
But it is often possible to find opportunities for small and meaningful gestures, during everyday moments. As well as during more memorable and significant life events.
According to some psychologists and authors, it’s these kinds of small but meaningful gestures that can often make all the difference. That can make the great moments of our lives even brighter. And that can make the more everyday moments a lot more memorable.
So, for example, if you’re planning your wedding. Try to find opportunities to find small and manageable ways of highlighting the significance of the event. You could, for example, go for unique save the date magnets that will have a special “personal touch” associated with them. That will enhance things all the more.
On a more everyday basis, you could simply find opportunities each day to slow down. Take a break from whatever it is you’re doing, and appreciate simple things like the comfortable feel of your sofa after a long day of work.
“Mindfulness” is a popular concept these days. But it’s not all about crossing your legs and doing some kind of traditional meditation. The bottom line is that life, as a whole, is bound to feel a lot more memorable. Yes, even exciting, if you actually take the time to appreciate the small blessings that are right in front of you.
Break Away from Your Normal Routine
Have you ever felt like time was accelerating, the older you get?
According to certain commentators, this is actually a serious phenomenon. But it doesn’t happen simply because you’re getting older. It actually happens because, as you get older, you’re more likely to settle into well-established routines that lack variety.
Apparently, the mind likes to be efficient in terms of the attention it gives to different features of your environment. Not to mention your own thoughts and actions. One consequence of this is that when you do the same things over and over again, you pay less attention to them. You also store less of that information in your memory.
That’s why it’s so easy to end up coming to the end of the month, with no more than a small handful of real, distinct memories that you can expect to hold onto down the line.
It’s also the same reason why you probably can’t remember much about what you had for breakfast on Monday.
The solution to this is to shake up your normal routine on a regular basis. To break away from that routine from time to time, altogether.
Obviously, one way to do this is by being really adventurous and taking on some rare and dynamic challenge. Maybe it’s hiking up Machu Pichhu. Seeing Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Perhaps daring the Atacama Desert in Chile. Luckily, though, you don’t need to go that far in order to make your everyday life a bit more exciting and memorable.
It seems to be that even relatively small changes. Like trying out new hobbies. Even walking around rather than driving everywhere, can make a big impact.
In any case, break free from autopilot when and where you can.
Free Yourself from Chronic Distraction
The famous Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge has by no means lived a boring life. Among other things, he trekked solo to the South Pole. Went to the North Pole, and climbed Everest. Oh yeah, he’s set some world records while doing all of that.
He also notices that life, these days, can often seem dull, unfulfilling, and repetitive. So, what’s his advice?
Well, you might be surprised to find that it’s not “go crazy and do as much stuff as you can, during every waking moment.” In fact, he suggests that we should all stop multitasking. That we should all stop being so frantic. That we should look for moments of silence wherever we can.
According to Kagge, it’s by doing one thing at a time. By spending periods of time on a regular basis without distraction and entertainment. That we can then experience a much deeper and richer sense of adventure, excitement, and purpose on an everyday basis.
This idea is backed by research, too. In one famous psychological experiment, two teams of test subjects were instructed to pass a ball back and forth. They also had to count how many times they passed the ball. In the middle of this experiment, a man in a gorilla suit walked right into the middle of their game. He stood there for a while, then turned and left.
Amazingly, when the researchers asked the subjects later on whether they had noticed the man in the gorilla suit. A large number of them hadn’t.
The message here is clear. When you are too distracted, you can miss out on all sorts of blatant things that you definitely should have been paying attention to.
These days, though, it’s normal for us all to go through daily life in a state of more or less permanent distraction. Who can honestly say that they haven’t picked up their phone and scrolled through their social media feeds while hanging out with friends? Or during a family dinner?
Well, who knows what you might have missed when you were letting yourself be distracted?
When you give your full attention to one thing at a time. There’s a good chance that you’ll find all sorts of exciting, interesting, and memorable moments and opportunities. All of which were hiding right in front of you in plain sight, but that you had just trained yourself to overlook.
Focus on Action. Don’t Get Caught Up in Mental Mazes
“Analysis paralysis” is a term that describes what happens when you get so caught up in reflection. So stuck in your own mental loops, that you never actually come to the moment of truth where you finally take action.
The thing is, it’s impossible to live an exciting and memorable life unless you are taking action on a regular basis.
When you move from contemplation to actually doing stuff. Then you put yourself in a situation where you test out all of your theories and gain direct insight and experience. More than that, though, you start actually moving things forward across different dimensions of your life.
It’s obviously important to think things through well enough. I mean who wants to subject themselves to stupid and unnecessary mistakes and pitfalls. Yet, at the same time, becoming action-focused and getting out of your own head . This is easily one the best things you could ever do. At least, in terms of making your life more notable and interesting, as a whole.
Maybe you’re prone to overthinking as things stand. Perhaps you’re just caught up in your habitual routines to the extent that you don’t really feel comfortable with taking action in areas that you’re unfamiliar with.
In either case, you might want to work on the habit of becoming more action-focused in general. It is important to treat it as a habit that you want to develop, and not as just a one-off thing.
According to James Clear, the author of the book Atomic Habits, the best way to establish a new habit is by starting small and focusing on regularity above all else.
So, when it comes to a habit of becoming more action-focused. Start by setting yourself simple challenges every day. You could, for example, commit to a light exercise routine each and every day. Just get started on it — instead of constantly putting it off for later, or doing endless research about the very best exercises to try.
In closing, take heed of the above. Try to incorporate some if not all into your daily routine. Because, if the current state of the world has taught us anything, it is, as the saying goes “If Not Now, When?”
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