# What do you do to "Live life to its fullest"?



## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I remember a Simpsons episode where Homer finally finds out that he is not going to die from a life-threatening heart illness and vows that from this day forward he will live life to the fullest. The next frame shows him sitting on the couch, eating fried pork rinds and watching bowling.

We've all heard that we should "life life to it's fullest", "carpe diem", etc. and I made a resolution to try to do that. But it is much harder in practice than in theory with all the daily obligations, traffic and challenging personalities that we can't ignore. Eckhart Tolle believes the secret is to "accept the present moment" or "live in the now" and I think that is fairly good advice. However, depending on who or what you are dealing with, the "now" is not always pleasant. 

What is your secret to living life to its fullest?


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Got back into traveling......(not that I ever really _left_ it.......now focusing more on the historical/natural aspects)


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

To me, it's mainly about ensuring that life doesn't become a spectator sport. It's easy to let your life happen to you; it takes more effort to set your life on an intentional course and keep it there. I feel like I'm "living life to the fullest" when most of the things I'm doing are things I decided to do, or at least things I accept doing because they help enable me to live the way I want to. 

In that vein, I also try to actively do things rather than passively watch them. Instead of watching sports on TV, I would prefer to do sports myself. Instead of going to concerts, I make my own music. That sort of thing. Of course everyone needs some down time for mindless entertainment, but I think we need a lot less of that than most people indulge in. We got rid of our TV about five years ago and don't miss it, although we do watch a few TV series downloaded from iTunes. But I'd say we watch on average 5 or 6 hours of television per year. We download one or two movies per year; it's been a few years since we got out to see a movie in the theater. That might feel like deprivation, but it's simply because our lives are so full and so busy that we don't have time for that stuff. Somehow, though, I find time to waste here on the CMF forum. ;-)


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

A lot of any "Live Life to the Fullest" stuff is marketing. By living life to some window's wallpaper scene. Pay us to jump out of our airplane and then post the $50 pic we sell you on your facebooks.
I think people should just try to laugh every day and be nice to other people and animals they come in contact with. 

If curling up on a couch with a good book makes you happy, that's you living your life to the fullest in my opinion.

That said, I joined my first rock band at age 48.


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

Escaping the cube life really added to my quality of life. Not that I am some adventure seeker. Farm from it. But I feel 1000 time better not trudging into that place to sit through endless meetings and stress.


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

Music. I knew I had to change my life when there was no music running through my head.

Also, enough adventure and change to satisfy my inner child... even if it's just a new restaurant or a different way of getting to work.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Work when I want doing what I want...right now I'm working at raising my kids, adding to my passive income portfolio and taking naps when I want to. I also enjoy starting new companies.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

From the perspective of a family - as our kids have been growing up, we have always taken a memorable trip to somewhere different each year. If life ended tomorrow, those would pretty well 'carry the cost of admission'. 
Ours are not canned trips, but ones we have planned, researched and booked. And as a scuba diving family we've been to many beautiful destinations through the caribbean, central and south america.
Vacations with flights, etc. add up so it has meant not spending money on other things but as they say, they grow up so quickly, and the memories are priceless.


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## Jim9guitars (May 5, 2012)

I've kind of been doing it for most of my life just trying to make a living. I've worked in a lumber yard, in construction, two telephone companies where I've held various positions in two Provinces. Done janitorial work, became a 4th Class Stationary Engineer and worked in big buildings on boilers and cooling systems by day and played guitar in a rock band by night, went into music full time for ten years playing classical/instrumental guitar, wrote some of the music and released 3 CD's all while teaching guitar at a music school, then I got a DZ drivers license took a job delivering new trucks all over North America. They had me driving trucks to Miami, several cities in California and BC, mostly from Ontario and Quebec, they would fly me to each truck as I delivered one. Now I'm driving trucks locally in a "home every night" job and writing, recording and releasing music on the internet. During my ten year solo guitar stint I played pit guitar in some live plays, most notably "Man of La Mancha" and performed on stage with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra. Oh, and somewhere in there I was married and now have a full grown daughter who does my graphic design work. I'm not done yet either.


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## bflannel (Apr 21, 2013)

Well my work is amazing for being active and adventurous but what I'm trying to do more of now is just engulf myself in reading and researching that which with I'm interested in pursuing more… and then pursuing it. I personally am also trying to be a much nicer individual all around… can't tell you how hard it can be for me though!


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

@ Jim9guitars: Two thumbs up!!


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Spidey said:


> It is much harder in practice than in theory with all the daily obligations, traffic and challenging personalities that we can't ignore. Eckhart Tolle believes the secret is to "accept the present moment" or "live in the now" and I think that is fairly good advice. However, depending on who or what you are dealing with, the "now" is not always pleasant.
> 
> What is your secret to living life to its fullest?


I think to truly live to the fullest, you would have to adjust your lifestyle to have less of these burdening "daily obligations, traffic and challenging personalities" and more of what you truly love to do. Many have done it, it sure doesn't happen over night, and probably not everyone can do it. You have to step out of the hamster wheel, figure out what it is you really enjoy yourself, and then find a way that you can maximize that enjoyment, and then reduce all that extra unnecessary junk imo.

Buying a ticket for sky diving is not "living life to its fullest" imo... that's paying for a taste of something that just might be your passion, or maybe just to say you did it. I'm solo qualified but I have no real interest in jumping out of perfectly good planes everyday. Now a guy I met in Macedonia with his own paragliding business.. He's not rich but he spends the majority of his time doing exactly what he loves to do, without collecting excessive things to impress anybody else or toiling over the future day he can maybe retire.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I'm currently reading a book called "The How of Happiness" which is by a happiness scientist. She has 12 recommended activities to improve your happiness, and you take a quiz to see which ones are the best fit for your personality. She suggests focusing on only your top 4 best fit ones. I haven't really started trying the activities yet but the concept of the book seems promising.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Travelling. My wife and I were fortunate to travel to the Caribbean over the Christmas holidays. I have a golf trip planned with buddies in May. 

Save, invest, save up more, travel and repeat the cycle as often as we can.

Sounds like a cool book Spudd.


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## lightcycle (Mar 24, 2012)

My definition of a "full life" is to expand all my experiences, thoughts and relationships in all directions, not just full speed ahead. Although I like to participate in a lot of exciting activities, I also value quiet introspective time. I like the company of others, but other times I like to sit alone in a room and just think. I like playing music, but I also like listening to music. I love to travel, but sometimes I like to waste a whole day or weekend (or even longer) sitting at home doing nothing but just be bored. I'm not ashamed of that.

That to me is living life to it's fullest - enjoying life at all speeds, including full stop and sometimes backwards!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I try to have clarity about the things that make me happy, and then do them. Sometimes when I have a spectacular day that makes me feel great, I take notes from that day and try to use it as a model for things I want to do.

Can't do such things all the time, but I try to do them as often as possible.

For me this means bicycling, being in sunny warm environments, spending time with friends, listening to music, visiting forests and walking around, visiting the ocean... etc


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We are retired and have a group of friends that we love. We do various activities, sometime together and other times apart.

Together tends to be parties. Apart are the things we treasure like hiking and playing sports, including billiards, or taking a boat trip to a neighboring marina. The girls have their togetherness as well.

So some apart and other together activities seem to work well. Too much of either is a problem.

These activities include charitable events, generally together.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I also find travel to be the time when I feel that I am living life to it's fullest. Of course, most of us cannot travel all the time, especially when we have responsibilities and family obligations. Other things that seem to help:

- Find meaning in your work

- Keep learning - I am currently studying French and Spanish

- Take little pauses during the day - I tend to be very task oriented at work but I've found that it makes a difference to occasionally buy a quality coffee (or a good beer or glass of wine after work), take a few minutes to chat with a colleague or take a stroll.

- Take care of your health - eat well and exercise regularly

- Volunteer to meaningful causes

- Work on relationship with family and friends - I'm actually finding this to be one of my challenges because we are all so busy these days

- Laugh more - Another challenge


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