For most of my life whenever I came across this phrase I would always immediately assume that whatever it meant I wasn’t doing.
Surely there must be some secret to “Living life to its fullest” that was only available to the chosen few, or at least those who were better than me. You know – the people who were actually doing useful things, or at least the really obviously smart and gifted ones.
Someday, I would think, I’ll learn how to “Live life to its fullest.” I’ll attain some highly self-actualized state where I’ll be successful (another mysterious and confusing term) and then my life will be full of adventure and non-stop excitement. Surely that’s what “Living life to its fullest” must be.
But after 62 years of living and at least trying to pay attention I think I’ve finally figured it out. It turns out that the whole thing is a lot simpler than I thought.
It just means enjoy every minute with an awareness that this life isn’t going to last forever.
As long as you have this mindset, even doing nothing at all is “Living life to its fullest.” Sheesh, things are often not as complicated as we make them out to be.