Litchfield Beach, South Carolina September 2003...
April 25, 2005
April 20, 2005
"Live Your Best Life." What does that really mean?
Live your best life. What a concept. I'm not sure who came up with it first, but Oprah seems to have set the world on fire with the phrase. She put it on the front of "O" magazine, and ever since, there have been millions of authors, gurus, coaches, speakers, and athletes telling us how and why we should live our BEST life.
All of this hoopla about living your best life provoked a question in me. Don't we all try hard to "live our best life"? Isn't every moment a struggle to do JUST that? Who sits around and ponders how little they are doing to make their dreams come true? How many of us strive to live our worst life? No one I know. From where I sit, we are all doing our best, even when our best is pretty ugly. If we could do better, we would, right? So, asking us to "live our best life" is really asking us to do what, exactly?
I've pondered this for hours wondering what it is that I am doing or not doing to live my best life. After all, if that's the goal, am I getting it? Am I doing it? Are my decisions leading me to it? I mean, of course, I want my time here to be well spent. If there's more fun to be had, I certainly want to have it. But, is living your best life, the same as living the most pleasurable life? Sadly, probably not.
What I've come up with is this. The value of hearing or reading the command, "Live Your Best Life" is not around the doing part initially, but around the understanding that your life can be better than it is right now part. When you see or hear those words, you can't help but ask yourself, "Am I living my best life?" Sure, I'm living my own life, but is this really the best I can do?" The question force feeds your consciousness with the awareness that you have the power to make things happen...and that if your life is not exciting you, inspiring you, or provoking joy in you every day, then you are probably NOT living your best life.
And how do I know that living this way is even possible? Here's the latest news flash. There are many people on this earth who wake up every day feeling excited, inspired, and joyful about their lives. Amongst them are the authors, gurus, coaches, speakers, and athletes I referred to earlier. They say that life doesn't get any better than that, and that living in the moment, being joyfully aware that life is a fabulous gift every minute, is possible. Sounds good to me. But wait. I don't feel that every minute of every day...And sometimes not at all for many days. Now what happens?
Here's what happened to me. Once I asked myself "Is this the life I would wish for if anything was possible?" and came up with a few "No" answers, I began to notice the parts of my life that could use a face lift. It became apparent that there are things I would change if you could. And that led me to the realization that I can change most of those things if I really want to, and the things I can't? Well, I can always decide to feel differently about them, and in doing so, alter how they affect my life. Here's a key idea though. Realizing that I have the power to change my life allows me to exercise it. Once I feel that power, with little effort I can begin noticing the things in my life that are not lending themselves to my "best life" and start setting groundwork for positive change.
I'm warning you, once you begin to clearly see your dreams and you begin owning them as desires, it can be frustrating to realize how far you are from living them. However, ignorance is not bliss, or I would've been blissful when I asked myself the "Am I doing my best?" question in the first place. They say it's not the destination, but the journey, that is where the best lives are lived. So, I tell myself to be excited for the work ahead. No one said the best life is the easiest life. Truth be told, I find this idea, especially disappointing on low energy days when anything easy is welcome.
So, ok, I have to admit it. Once I began this process, it became hard to stop thinking this way. I mean, once you get this, you can not unget it. However, it does take faith in myself to keep going, and a lack of interest in what others think about my life to stay on track. Oh, and another thing. The minute I begin to compare my best life with the best life of someone else, my progress comes to a screeching halt. After all, the idea is "Live Your Best Life." not "Live a better life than that guy over there." The only guarantee is this. Just by pondering the question, "Am I living my best life?" you have begun making positive changes in yours. This question is the starting point to self empowerment and life improvement.
What does "Live Your Best Life" mean, anyway? It defines putting your best efforts towards improving all areas of your life, every day. It calls you to challenge yourself to be a better person every day, regardless of your starting point. No one could ask more of you. And, you couldn't ask more of yourself. Well done Oprah. I get it now. No wonder you're so damn rich.
All of this hoopla about living your best life provoked a question in me. Don't we all try hard to "live our best life"? Isn't every moment a struggle to do JUST that? Who sits around and ponders how little they are doing to make their dreams come true? How many of us strive to live our worst life? No one I know. From where I sit, we are all doing our best, even when our best is pretty ugly. If we could do better, we would, right? So, asking us to "live our best life" is really asking us to do what, exactly?
I've pondered this for hours wondering what it is that I am doing or not doing to live my best life. After all, if that's the goal, am I getting it? Am I doing it? Are my decisions leading me to it? I mean, of course, I want my time here to be well spent. If there's more fun to be had, I certainly want to have it. But, is living your best life, the same as living the most pleasurable life? Sadly, probably not.
What I've come up with is this. The value of hearing or reading the command, "Live Your Best Life" is not around the doing part initially, but around the understanding that your life can be better than it is right now part. When you see or hear those words, you can't help but ask yourself, "Am I living my best life?" Sure, I'm living my own life, but is this really the best I can do?" The question force feeds your consciousness with the awareness that you have the power to make things happen...and that if your life is not exciting you, inspiring you, or provoking joy in you every day, then you are probably NOT living your best life.
And how do I know that living this way is even possible? Here's the latest news flash. There are many people on this earth who wake up every day feeling excited, inspired, and joyful about their lives. Amongst them are the authors, gurus, coaches, speakers, and athletes I referred to earlier. They say that life doesn't get any better than that, and that living in the moment, being joyfully aware that life is a fabulous gift every minute, is possible. Sounds good to me. But wait. I don't feel that every minute of every day...And sometimes not at all for many days. Now what happens?
Here's what happened to me. Once I asked myself "Is this the life I would wish for if anything was possible?" and came up with a few "No" answers, I began to notice the parts of my life that could use a face lift. It became apparent that there are things I would change if you could. And that led me to the realization that I can change most of those things if I really want to, and the things I can't? Well, I can always decide to feel differently about them, and in doing so, alter how they affect my life. Here's a key idea though. Realizing that I have the power to change my life allows me to exercise it. Once I feel that power, with little effort I can begin noticing the things in my life that are not lending themselves to my "best life" and start setting groundwork for positive change.
I'm warning you, once you begin to clearly see your dreams and you begin owning them as desires, it can be frustrating to realize how far you are from living them. However, ignorance is not bliss, or I would've been blissful when I asked myself the "Am I doing my best?" question in the first place. They say it's not the destination, but the journey, that is where the best lives are lived. So, I tell myself to be excited for the work ahead. No one said the best life is the easiest life. Truth be told, I find this idea, especially disappointing on low energy days when anything easy is welcome.
So, ok, I have to admit it. Once I began this process, it became hard to stop thinking this way. I mean, once you get this, you can not unget it. However, it does take faith in myself to keep going, and a lack of interest in what others think about my life to stay on track. Oh, and another thing. The minute I begin to compare my best life with the best life of someone else, my progress comes to a screeching halt. After all, the idea is "Live Your Best Life." not "Live a better life than that guy over there." The only guarantee is this. Just by pondering the question, "Am I living my best life?" you have begun making positive changes in yours. This question is the starting point to self empowerment and life improvement.
What does "Live Your Best Life" mean, anyway? It defines putting your best efforts towards improving all areas of your life, every day. It calls you to challenge yourself to be a better person every day, regardless of your starting point. No one could ask more of you. And, you couldn't ask more of yourself. Well done Oprah. I get it now. No wonder you're so damn rich.
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