How to live as if there were no tomorrow?

In the previous post, I discussed how to use fear of death as a motivation to live life to the fullest. In this post, I discuss what it means to live life to the fullest on daily basis.

Living life to the fullest means living today in such a way that you will not regret if you die tomorrow. In essence, it is living your dreams today than deferring it to a later date. It is possible to live such a life by sincerely following these five steps:

1. Live one day at a time: Learn and plan on a long term basis, but act on a short term basis. Although I have ideas of my annual goals, I usually plan life on a weekly basis. One week is long enough to live with purpose and creativity but not too long to lose focus. Once the planning for the week is done on a Sunday evening, I act on a daily basis. When we live our today fully, it automatically makes our yesterdays memorable and tomorrows hopeful. The challenge is to live today to the fullest according to the points 2-5.

2. Maintain peak energy in body and mind: When thought is the seed of any action, energy makes this seed grow into a mighty tree. All great achievers have one thing in common: they can sustain peak energy and concentration on daily basis. When you have peak energy in body and mind, you feel more confident about yourself. Then, working towards your goal becomes less stressful and more enjoyable. Maintaining peak energy means you are fit, not merely healthy. Cultivate the right lifestyle that enables you to sustain peak energy on a daily basis. Then you will never be sick or exhausted to enjoy the wonders of life.

3. Make life pleasurable every day: Now that you have worked in a disciplined and focused manner to sustain peak energy in body and mind, reward yourself with some pleasures every day. When pleasures are enjoyed in a hurry, you will have to indulge more to get satiated. So, enjoy pleasures in a slow and mindful way. Enjoy pleasures as meditation. There are many ways to enjoy healthy pleasures daily including sipping mindfully green tea in the afternoon and red wine in the evening.

4. Do something every day that you love: Pleasures can come from either objects or actions. When it comes from objects, it is usually short-lived.  The pleasures that come from actions are long lasting and life changing. So, make your daily work pleasurable so that it becomes fun. This is easy only when you do what you love. Work can never become fun if you are trying to love what you do instead of doing what you love. It makes ample sense, to choose your daily work first by using heart and then by mind.

5. Contribute towards a cause that is larger than yourself: If you can complete the above-mentioned steps 2-4 effectively, you will be successful in life. People who can’t complete these steps effectively often spend life in struggling for survival and stability. Now that you have achieved success, it is time to add significance to your life. Success is discovering your true gift and using it to live your dream life. Significance is using your gift to enable others to live their dream life. So, do something – however small- daily to make this world a little better due to your existence. It could be a kind word to another human being, a kind gesture towards an animal or a compassionate act for a dying planet.

When you live as if there were no tomorrow, your life becomes enjoyable as well as meaningful. That is the best use of your passion and purpose to attain peace and prosperity.