Life is fast. Life is fleeting. Life is precious.
Life is also fickle. And in its madness, we end up not doing a lot of things. Who knows what tomorrow holds?
So if you get the chance, do these things at least once in your life.
1. Love
Love profoundly and savor the beauty of its magic.
Find someone to laugh with at life’s absurdities, someone to sit happily with in silence, and someone to hold in your arms.
Experiencing love is a pretty amazing feeling that everyone should experience at least once in their life.
It’s okay if you get hurt and heartbroken in the process. That’s part of the lesson.
Oh, and have crazy sex while at it.
2. Fail
Work desperately and ferociously at something and fail. Not because you are ass at it, but because it’s the other side of the same coin.
How can you appreciate success if you’ve not experienced failure?
Seth Godin says, “If failure isn’t an option, then success isn’t either. Success is just failure repeated until it works.”
Remember, the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.
3. Quit
It takes enormous courage to quit a job, relationship or any commitment that’s not working.
Walk to the center of the room, call everyone’s attention and scream, ‘I Quit!’
Or, more realistically, email your boss telling them to take that job and shove it.
Just because you’ve got bills to pay doesn’t mean your job should suck the life out of you. Self-care is equally important.
4. Live Alone
Live by yourself for at least one year.
Learn to cook, do your laundry and pay bills yourself. Take on a new hobby or skill and perfect it.
Have a good amount of self-talk and get to know who you really are. When at it, discover what you want in life and go after it.
It’s important to take a break from everyone for a while and spend time alone to experience, appreciate and love yourself.
5. Smoke Pot
In all honesty, the world would be a better place if we all smoked marijuana. More peace, more love, less chaos, less frustration.
You don’t have to be a heavy stoner, but you’ve got to try it at least once. Being high feels good, and the after-effects are even more awesome.
Weed helps you meditate and live in the moment. It doesn’t taste horrible like alcohol and doesn’t give you a hangover, either.
Try it yourself and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
6. Travel Like Crazy
One item on my bucket list is to have my passport stamped on each of the seven continents. And no, not later in life when I’m old and retired.
I want to meet different people and try different cuisines. I want to learn about different cultures and listen to people’s stories. And more importantly, I want to document the whole thing.
The world is too big to be confined in one place. There are too many people to meet and too many directions to go. It’s an endless pit of possibilities.
7. Do Something Cliche
Do something crazy that the normal you wouldn’t dare. We are often so uptight that we live by the rules. Loosen up a little and unleash the other you.
Eat ice cream in the cold, dance in the rain, speed with the car windows down and break curfew – just don’t get caught.
Laugh until your belly hurts, and then just a little bit more!
8. Wander Outside the Entire Night
Wear your hoodie and gloves, forget how late it is and wander outside the entire night. Alone or with a loved one, it doesn’t matter.
Late into the night, lay a mat down and gaze at the stars. Listen and talk to them. Watch the Milky Way with your naked eye.
I’m not sure how it works, but it makes you feel connected to the world.
9. Get a Makeover
Maybe it’s time to change that one hairstyle you’ve had since high school. Or the same clothes you’ve been wearing since God knows when.
Go get a haircut and change your wardrobe. Adopt a skincare routine and improve your diet. Drink plenty of water and get sufficient sleep.
This will make you feel good and new – like giving yourself a reboot.
10. Plant a Tree
Grab a shovel and get your hands dirty.
The best way to care for Mother Nature is to plant trees. They cool the Earth, provide us with oxygen and prevent soil erosion. Plus, some have fruits. Cool, right!
Trees can take up to 10 or 20 years to grow. Watching them grow is an incredible way of measuring our progress.
11. Treat Yourself to an Expensive Outing
Is it insanely expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Also, yes.
Fly on first class, book and dine in a five-star hotel, and shop in luxury outlets. Sleep in a king-size bed and shake your ass on a yacht.
You’ve been working too hard. Save some cash and give yourself the best treat at least once in your life. You deserve it.
I did this once with friends; went to a really expensive restaurant and ordered coffee. It was all we could afford.
12. Volunteer For a Good Cause
People need help. And not just on Christmas or Thanksgiving; all year round.
Find a good cause and volunteer – caregiving support, daily shelter, working with children. Go ahead and offer your support. They will appreciate the extra set of hands.
Service to others is the rent we pay for our space on Earth.
13. Write, or at Least Try to
In words, we achieve immortality.
But the truth is, not all of us are writers. That’s fine.
Grab a pen, a notebook, and a box of biscuits. Sit in a quiet place and scribble down anything and everything that pops to mind – goals, past experiences, future expectations – everything.
Store it safely and come back to it one year later. Reading your thoughts after a while is mind-blowing.
More importantly, it makes us grateful for the little things we’ve achieved along the way.
14. Talk to a Stranger
The next time you see someone and like something about them, walk straight to them and say hi. Give them a compliment and strike up a conversation.
At best, you’ll make a new friend, which feels amazing. Take time and get to know them. You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn.
At worst, they’ll reject you. But there’s a sense of satisfaction in knowing you tried.
15. Go Hiking or Trekking
If you’ve hiked or trekked before, you know how surreal the experience is.
Arriving at the summit, looking down at everything, past the horizon and knowing you can go no further. There’s something about it. Perhaps it is the achievement of it, the finality.
Or maybe it’s realizing how small we are in the vastness of nature. Looking at the world around and discovering how fickle and fragile our lives are.
At the summit, there is only life. And the long trek back to the bottom.
You Only Live Once
A life well lived is one where we’ve tried all the things we wanted to. Where amidst its disappointments, we can look back to lasting experiences and memories and smile.
You only live once, isn’t that the trope.
You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on Earth.
