16 Exhilarating Reasons to Live: When It Seems Impossible

It is easy to get caught up in the busyness and lifelong pursuit of career and success that we forget to live life to the fullest. For most people, life is about social expectations – going to school, getting a job, growing through the ranks, paying bills, getting married, and raising kids. 

This monotonous lifestyle leaves little room for one to explore themselves and the pleasures of living. Life is meant to be experienced; it shouldn’t be a long stressful journey; it should be an enjoyable ride.

However, challenging yourself to do something simple but fun every day can change your perspective dramatically and give you more reasons to live a long and prosperous life!

Get Help

If you are having, have, or know someone who has suffered from suicidal thoughts, self-harm, feelings of hopelessness or has attempted suicide previously, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the national suicide prevention hotline.

Speaking to a mental health professional can help you learn healthier coping skills that can help you see the many reasons to live. Immediate crisis intervention is vital if someone talks about harming themselves.

Suicide Statistics

According to the CDC, a life is lost every 11 minutes from death by suicide. That statistic shows that over 1.2 million American adults attempted suicide, and suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death in children 10-14 and young adults 25-34 years old.

These statistics show the importance of taking care of our mental health, dealing with our emotional pain, and increased advocacy to break the mental health stigma is essential.

High levels of substance use and abuse in teenagers contribute to increased suicide risks. Over 2.08 million teenagers reported using drugs within the last month, and 11.2% of overdoses are in individuals ages 15-24.

Substances are presented in a way that is very appealing to adolescents, teenagers, and young adults. Substance abuse could be decreased if these young minds were not influenced to believe that getting drunk or being high is such a “cool” thing. When younger, vulnerable minds become addicted to substances it makes it much harder to stop later in life.

At-Risk Individuals

Individuals who suffer from certain mental disorders have an increased risk for suicide.

Individuals expressing feelings of hopelessnessDepressionFrequent substance abuseBipolar (15x the risk of the general population)Traumatic ChildhoodPosttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Warning Signs of SuicideSelf-cutting/self-harmDistressWithdrawal Overdosing/ resorting to using pillsExpressing “wanting to die”Increased risky behaviorFocus on death and dying Reasons to Live1. Time Flies 

If there’s one thing we should all know, time waits for no one. Today you’re young, and tomorrow the grey hairs will begin to appear. So, enjoy your youth or any stage of life you find yourself in. 

Being mindful and present can help you focus on the time that you do have to enjoy. Also, ask yourself “what is the most important thing in my life right now?”

2. You Only Get One Life

There are no do-overs in life, so you have to make the most of your time, and you don’t know when that time will come. So, don’t wait until you’re in your 30s or 40s to do something you love; like Nike, just do it.

3. Avoid Regrets Later in Life

You don’t want to grow old and regret not living life to the fullest; it’s a sad, sad experience. You can’t travel back in time to make up for the lost time, so why not make those memories now? Connect with old friends, hang out, have fun, and go on adventures. Live!!

4. Money

Money comes and goes but it can be replaced, it can be invested and grow and you can always make more of it. If you find that you are in a tough financial situation start by writing out your budget and see if you could make any adjustments to focus more on some of the areas that are most important to you.

Find ways to save money and make extra money as well to help you take your focus away from financial stress.

Are your habits currently helping you get towards your financial goals or could you tweak them short-term to help you out long-term?

Money can allow you to try new things, travel, and explore and it is a reward for the hard work you put in. This can help increase your dopamine if you create financial goals around your passions and you work towards a small vacation or pay off debt.

Creating a written plan and checking it off can increase your dopamine by making you feel accomplished and motivating you to want to accomplish more of these goals. Use a financial planner or budget to help you see how you are working towards your goals. When it is written it is much easier to see the progress you’ve made and give yourself credit.

Clever Fox Budget Planner - Undated - Expense Tracker Notebook. Monthly Budgeting Journal, Finance Planner & Accounts Book to Take Control of Your Money. Start Anytime. A5 Size Peach Pink Hardcove... $21.99 Each month write down your monthly financial goals. Put reminders of bills and payments due on the calendar. Make a monthly spending plan before you spend. Use predefined expense categories to plan your monthly budget. At the end of the month, review what happened, spot bad spending habits, think about how you can improve next month. Buy Now We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. 05/28/2022 05:57 am GMT 5. Happiness 

When you live life to the fullest, happiness is the result. You will love your life more and enjoy every day! 

You won’t experience true happiness when you’re in the rat race; it comes when you let yourself enjoy the things that add meaning and purpose to your life. Examples? See nature, go on vacations, try new fun activities, move to a new city, discover new cultures, foods, etc.

Happiness comes from within and there are natural ways to increase your happiness neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Improving your overall confidence in yourself can be very helpful in helping you feel happier.

Work on liking who you are and being your biggest cheerleader, this will help you base your happiness on yourself rather than others.

6. Life is Not a Competition

So, please don’t make it one! Don’t let your happiness be determined by your position compared to the next person’s. That mindset only attracts stress and anxiety, and depression. Focus on your lane, do what makes you happy, and move at your pace.

You are your own person and the only person you should compare yourself to is yourself. Ask yourself if you are where you want to be in life, don’t judge yourself but create a game plan. Figure out how you can work towards your goals, without focusing on your past mistakes.

7. Reduce Stress and Depression

Here’s another crucial reason to live life to the fullest, your health! People who get overwhelmed by the worries of this life usually push themselves more than they should. Like I said earlier, life is not a competition, and your job or career shouldn’t sum up your life. There’s more to life; explore it!

Stress and anxiety often occur from a wish for the current situation to be different than it currently is. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teaches us to focus on appreciating everything in the present and changing our opinions.

8. You Will Meet Others Like You

As you live your life determined to enjoy every bit of it, you will meet like-minds who resonate with you. You’re not alone in this journey. You’re not the only one living life to the fullest. 

Find a community that you can relate to, either in person or online you can find individuals who like the same things you do. If you are struggling with grief, find a grief group that can relate to what you are going through and can express their feelings, memories, and experiences.

On a more positive note, you can find groups that enjoy video games, working out, blogging, traveling, cooking, art, music, etc. Finding your community can be very important to make you boost your confidence and help you relate to others. Likeminded people can help you stay focused on the goals you have and help you find the desire to pursue what you want.

9. Make Wonderful Memories

One of the best things about living your best life is making lovely memories. You can always recall these memories and relive the fun. And when you’re old, instead of regretting what you never did, you’d be proud of a life well-lived.

Every day is a new day to make new memories and try new things.

Pro tip: challenge yourself to try something new every week. Try a new restaurant, workout, movie theater, bike trail, book, etc.

10. Build Strong Relationships

Living life to the fullest also means meeting people and building relationships. Relationships are crucial for many things, including happiness and fulfillment. So, don’t be shy to make friends; life is sweeter with people who care about you.

Spend time with your loved ones and focus on the strengths they bring to your life.

11. Achieve Your Dreams

Some people push their dreams aside to do the norm or what society expects of them, and that’s no way to live. Your dreams are valid, and when you decide to live without fear, your dreams will begin to find expression and come to fruition.

Write out your goals and make a short-term list that adds up to your long-term goals. Actually writing it down and checking it off helps you see that you are achieving your dreams rather than trying to remember all that you have done.

I use a planner to write out my day and my week, and I weekly write out my goals for the week that will help me increase my healthy habits and work towards my financial and health goals. At the end of the week, I write what I accomplished and what else I can improve and this helps me see how my behaviors impact my progress.

12. Overcome Fear

Some people are terrified about letting themselves free to live life on their terms, explore opportunities, or change the course of their lives. Sometimes, it’s the fear of the unknown, and while it’s normal to be scared, know that fear never goes away. People who decide to live life to the fullest don’t do it in the absence of fear; they’re very much aware it’s there and do it anyway.

Fear is meant to protect our minds and bodies from going into harmful situations. However, we oftentimes have a difficult time trying new things and we tend to stay in our comfort zones and anything outside of that can be too scary.

Exposure therapy is something you can work on with your therapist to help you overcome those fears that keep you from pursuing your dreams.

13. You Have a Gift/Talent

Your talent makes you unique and brings out your best, true self. And the beautiful thing is that you can use your gifts to make other people happy. You may be a fantastic singer, dancer, or comedian, but whatever it is, that’s a reason to live life to the fullest. 

And no, you don’t have to turn every talent into a career; that’s what society often dictates. Allow yourself to enjoy the feeling of doing something helpful to others. Sharing your talents with others is a great reason to live and make the world a better place, once you have worked on making yourself better and you can share that with others.

Art and music therapy are both used to help individuals overcome anxiety and depression. Pick up a paintbrush, instrument, skateboard, or sing a song, even if you think you will not be good, try it.

Figure out what it is that makes you happy, allows you to be creative, and share that with others.

14. The World Awaits

History is replete with tales of inventions, discoveries, adventures, and advancements. Most of them were not orthodox at the time, and most were deviant from unwritten social rules, but today we celebrate them. 

Living life to the fullest opens you up to life’s possibilities. You don’t have to limit yourself, and you don’t have to follow the norms. Your geeky, weird, or nerdy ideas may be widely accepted tomorrow.

15. Inspire Others

People who aren’t so focused on making a living but making a life are huge inspirations to others. That’s because they’ve unlocked a part of themselves most people haven’t. You can inspire others if you choose to live life to the fullest.

16. Nothing Is Stopping You

Finally, nothing can stop you from making your life fun, meaningful, and enjoyable. You’re the only one who can do that, and you do it through your actions or inactions. 

You have choices every day and you can choose to let the hardships pull you down or you can focus on pursuing your dreams and believing in yourself.

Mental Hacks You Must Know You can not control how other people feel , so do not blame yourself if those around you make poor decisions and say that you made them feel a certain way. Use grounding techniques and focus on the present, this is super helpful in drowning out the noise around you. Thoughts are NOT facts. Thoughts can come and go across your mind but they do not define you and they are not factual just because they appear.Taking care of yourself is important. Exercising, sleeping, meditating, eating a nutrient-dense diet, and setting boundaries in your life can do wonders. Your happiness is based on your perspective. It is not based on how your partner makes you feel or your boss’s opinion, but only yours. If you focus on how important your opinion of yourself is then negative statements will not feel so impactful.Treatments

Research shows that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy helped veterans decrease the number of suicide events and the amount of suicide attempts. (Interian et al., 2021)

Mindfulness-based stress reduction also helped veterans suffering from ptsd and were sexual assault victims cope with the traumas they experienced. Individuals who experience this type of trauma are prone to higher suicide rates.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been used to help families minimize the risks of teens reattempting suicide. Through Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youths (SAFETY) treatments that include a dialectical behavioral informed-family treatment and cognitive-behavioral therapy. (Asarnow et al., 2017)

Closing Thoughts

Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, not endured. Don’t get caught up in the rat race and competitions that stifle people’s happiness; instead, choose to be different. Choose to live your life to the fullest and make every day count. You will love your life and appreciate life more. There are many reasons to keep going, despite hardship. Without struggles we would not have room to grow, this creates resilience and it is a valuable skill we can learn.

References:

Asarnow, J. R., Hughes, J. L., Babeva, K. N., & Sugar, C. A. (2017). Cognitive-Behavioral Family Treatment for Suicide Attempt Prevention: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6), 506–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.0...

Interian, A., Chesin, M. S., Stanley, B., Latorre, M., St Hill, L. M., Miller, R. B., King, A. R., Boschulte, D. R., Rodriguez, K. M., & Kline, A. (2021). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Preventing Suicide in Military Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 82(5), 20m13791. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.20m13791