The secret to living the best life possible is...

[Teknoe]

really quite simple.

 

It should be no revelation, and I know it sounds cliched, but it's cliched for a reason. The key to living a quality life is consistently making great decisions.

 

Will we eat this, or that?

Will we set time aside in our busy schedule to work out, or not?

Will we check email and mess around on the internet for 30 minutes or get that extra half hour of sleep?

 

etc.

 

For example, I've chosen NOT to eat fast food for this entire month. So far, 16 days in and I'm good. It's the right decision, and I feel better for making that decision everyday.

 

Life's really just about the decisions we make constantly. Sure, sometimes we can make the right decision and life still beats us up (a perfectly healthy person comes down with cancer or gets into a fatal car crash) but I find more often than not, when we control what we CAN control and constantly make GOOD decisions, then the better off we will be.

 

Speaking of good decisions, I need to sleep now rather than mess around on the internet for another 20 minutes or so

[carhill]

Accept the decisions one chooses, even if they turn out to be less than ideal in result, and move forward.

[thefooloftheyear]

............being too stupid/ignorant to know better...

 

 

TFY

[sdrawkcaB ssA]

My tips... simple KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

No job is worth sucking your life away.

Enjoy who you are, even if peeps find you less than interesting.

Never live beyond your means.

 

Find something special and keep it all to yourself to share when you know it is the right time with the right person. Some peeps, take what they have and squander it by making it trivial. There use to be a few special places while growing up, and now they are only memory. We accept change around us as growth for the future and give up what is truly special to see condos and hotels to cover our dreams.

 

Life is full of wonder, and it does not need to be loud and in your face every time you go out to see it.

[Mopparon]

Spending as much time as possible doing things that you enjoy and / or spending as much time as possible with people you love.

[GravityMan]

I disagree, Teknoe. There are lots of people out there who have lived and are living good, happy lives...and they don't consistently make good decisions. However, they rarely beat themselves up or get uptight whenever they screw up. They understand that many things they encounter in life really aren't that big of a deal. The world keeps on turning. Many choices aren't black and white...they're different shades of gray.

 

I think the "secret" is self-confidence.

[Teknoe]

I disagree, Teknoe. There are lots of people out there who have lived and are living good, happy lives...and they don't consistently make good decisions. However, they rarely beat themselves up or get uptight whenever they screw up. They understand that many things they encounter in life really aren't that big of a deal. The world keeps on turning. Many choices aren't black and white...they're different shades of gray.

 

I think the "secret" is self-confidence.

 

It's fine that you disagree. I see where you're coming from.

 

To clarify, my post is moreso for UNhappy people. If you look at unhappy people who always find reasons to complain, it seems to usually stem from consistently bad or poor choices that they make, day after day, time after time.

[M30USA]

It's not for humans to have the knowledge to say how a life is best lived. All we can hope for, at best, is to allow the Holy Spirit of God to move us in the correct path. We can only accomplish this through prayer and submission to Christ. If you do this, then you are a living vessel for God to use in the way that he sees best fit. Each of us will be used differently.

 

"LORD, I know that people's lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)

Edited September 18, 2014 by M30USA

[dichotomy]

" to crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women. "

 

 

Whoops - sorry that was Conan the barbarian.

[dumbass2]

Being happy and true with yourself and not trying to be what society or someone else wants you to be.

[amaysngrace]

Liking who you are is the best way to be successful in life. No matter what life throws at you, anything can be handled gracefully if you never forget that you like who you are.

 

I wish everybody could be okay with themselves. But that's not reality.

[Trane]

Laugh at least once a day by yourself or shared humour with a group of friends.

[Summerrose2013]

Credit for this story to the Guardian:

 

A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?

There was no mention of more sex or bungee jumps. A palliative nurse who has counselled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. And among the top, from men in particular, is 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'. Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book. Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. "When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again."Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware.

 

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.'

 

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard."This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

 

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings."Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

 

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends."Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

 

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier."This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

Edited October 1, 2014 by Summerrose2013

[evanescentworld]

To smile, always. Even when your heart is weeping.

 

To face Fear, and know that, like everything else, it's a composition of your Mind.

 

To always be willing to help, but to never offer to be the walk-over.

 

To Accept. Gladly, whatever comes your way, and use it as a learning curve.

 

To dispense with Regret. It's inhibiting, and crippling and often, misplaced.

 

To never Hate. Hatred just breeds more Hatred, rots the heart, and diminishes who "you" are. Respond to Hatred with Love and Compassion. It will melt away like snow in the Spring.

 

To use Harsh words when needed, but to project them lovingly and with consideration. Cruelty is out. Tough Love may be necessary.

 

To Live by the Three Sufi gates. (See my Profile Picture.... )

 

To enjoy and breathe, and live. Being alive is a privilege, and you'll be dead a lot longer. Be aware that each year, you celebrate your birthday, but the anniversary of your death creeps by softly, and as yet, silently, unnoticed....