This question must have come to the mind of most of us especially during this pandemic period you got to know that there are situations that you could not control.
If you haven’t thought about it then just take out a few moments from your busy life and give it a thought that “Are you really living or only existing”?
Answer to couple of questions will make it simpler for you to decide.
What do you do these days that make you feel free?
Does your current life make you feel to let go everything and start to follow your dreams?
If the answer to both the questions is “no” then you might be just existing, and not living your life.
To answer better we need to understand difference between existing and living.
So what does ‘existing’ mean? If we want to explain it in one phrase, we’ll say “living on autopilot”. You just live your life day by day following a prescribed path. That path may be prescribed to you by your day to day needs or challenges. You never think about your dreams or what you want in life. People sometimes don’t even consider doing things differently in their lives till it’s too late. For them, it’s just about doing work to ‘eat’ and ‘roof‘overhead. We get a job, work tirelessly just to pay bills or to make your family happy. We start following the rules. We do what society tells us to do.
A quote may explain this further:
“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die and then dies having never really lived.” said by Dalai Lama
So are you still confident that you are living your life, not just existing? In above quote, what really moved me is “having never really lived”.
The difference between living and existing is easy to understand now:
If we are living – really living – we wake up with a purpose more than to ‘eat’, to have a ‘roof ‘and to ‘pay bills’ each day. Instead, we have a dream and, for at least some of the time, we try chasing it. If you are alive, you are probably also grateful for what you have. You don’t have to chase monetary dreams.
Someone who is living isn’t afraid of change. They know that life doesn’t stay same forever. Things happen and they adapt new and better ways of life. They live each moment as it happens and are content enough with themselves that they don’t need to be ceaselessly striving for the next promotion, the next pay rise, the next slightly better job which they will still – at best – tolerate.
Four traits further explain existing vs. living.
If you are just living, then you’ll have below explanation to these traits.
Ø Purpose: You have no real purpose.
Ø Engagement: You plod through your days passively and mechanically.
Ø Activities: Life happens to you and you go through the motions to maintain it.
Ø Emotions: You feel no passion or joy; in fact, you may not feel much at all.
On other hand when you are living your life:
Ø Purpose: You know your purpose and pursue it.
Ø Engagement: You “attack” your days actively and enthusiastically.
Ø Activities: You control your life and the things you do to enjoy it.
Ø Emotions: You feel passion, joy, enthusiasm, interest, happiness, contentment, and fulfillment.
How to start living
So, now comes the important point, how can you change from existing to living your life?
The most important thing is to take control of your life. Rather day to day needs lead your life; you take control of your life, your happiness, and your freedom.
Regardless of your situation and where you’re coming from, you can give a fresh start to your life by figuring out where you want it to be. What your dreams are? Take a look at four steps explained below and see how many you can include in your life.
1. Give your life a fresh perspective
You’ve to take a step back from your day-to-day life and develop a fresh perspective on just where you are right now and determine where you exactly want to go. Being able to control how you look at things is the key to learning how to start over and creating a fresh start.
In fact, shaping your perception is so powerful that just a small change in perspective can completely change everything, from your motivation and outlook to your self-esteem and confidence.
2. Pen down your personal values and your morals
If you have a desire to reboot your life, it may be because you don’t feel like you are living according to your principles. Personal values are the beliefs, opinions, and ideas that drive your decision-making and serve as a foundation for your life. To many people, this includes our devout religious beliefs.
3. Envision that version of yourself which you think is best
Visualization is a powerful tool we can use to clarify our desires and move us closer to what we really want from our life. Envision your best possible self. Spend some time imagining who you would like to be in 5, 10, or 15 years.
4. Motivate yourself and plan well your goals in life
Even if you have a good plan, it won’t work unless you develop motivation and positive habits that will keep you on track. These habits can include goal setting, daily reflections, and perseverance.
Conclusion:
We better get out of the same routine of waking up, going to work, coming back home, eat, and sleep. Instead of repeating the same routine, be spontaneous, meet new people, make new friends, know more about the world, fall in love, enjoy new things in life and do what makes you and your heart happier than before. Because fullest life is one that is lived and not that has merely existed.