off topic..."living life to the fullest". what does that mean to you?

[Tom Yum]

The only signlanguage I know es the finger and Im still learning how to fix a car
-Anti

More and more mechanical parts are getting exchanged for circuit boards these days...a good thing for machine language speakers...

[GQchris]

There's a good section from the book of Ecclasiastes that to me sums up how to live your life to the fullest:

Ecclesiastes chapter 11:

9Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

10So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

[lorenzodamarith]

hello

well, it is agreed that on this you must find your own truth (another catch phrase, neh?).

hmmmm. this is tough, because we do not know each other. however, some things can be said that you MAY find useful.

one, don't equate working/studying with "not living". everything you do is part of your live. there is nothing you do that should be to the exclusion of all else. in practical terms, this generally means that your resposibilities are a part of your life and you should embrace that. in light of your posts, it seems that you do this already.

we all have things we would rather do at any given moment, but we don't often get to indulge ourselves. perhaps that is why we enjoy our passtimes so much.

well, your wife is correct. after you have your degree and a good job, things really won't change. oh sure, you will have more money perhaps, but the WAY you go about your life won't change due to your degree or job.

what you have to decide for yourself is this: how badly do you really want to do the "the fun stuff". planning for the future is important... but again, should not be done to the exclusion of all else.

not trying to "go shrink" on you, but have you really asked your wife what she wants out of life? the reason for this question is that your presentation of the situation suggests she really wants "to have fun with you". this may be a conversation you should have.

going to cut this short, holler back and we can continue. just remember, you have been putting of fun for years due to school. don't quit school now, but if you don't take a funfilled vacation with her when you finish....

she is probably going to kill you. not get mad. she is gonna kill you.

we'll talk later

thanks.

[Shoot]

Living life to its fullest means:

1. getting your work done;
2. playing hard when you have play time;
3. and resting when you're tired.

Sounds simple but....

Trust me most people 1. don't get their work done. 2. Don't play on their off time. and 3. Don't manage enough rest.

I can't tell you how many people I work with who quit living a looong time ago. They're just robots now.

Just keep doing what you love when you have time. Make time for it.

[DickHardman]

god help us. its the only thing i have to say.

[Tots64]

Well I would not worry about that because there are no secrets. For some people "live a life to the fullest" will be to have fun every day and for others it will be to learn something everyday. Some people have fun going out all day long, travelling..and some people will be the most happy reading a good book alone. You only must have something in mind: What do you love to do and do it at "your way" and never let others change your life

NINJA - home

[Penance]

hey guys thankd for the replies so far!

but i'm still wondering how you go beyond 'catch phrase' statements and how you actually apply these philosophies to everyday life and situations. is it something you are conciously aware of?

basically my missus told me that i live too much in the future, thinking about how things will be better for me and us when i finish my degree and finally get a real job. she says that i don't live my life to the fullest now, rather i hoard any money i come across rather than spend it on fun stuff and i always put off things that will interfere with my study or cost money like going away for the weekend or taking a long drive to the coast etc.

basically she thinks that even when i do finish my degree and get a good job i'll be so ingrained into this way of thinking and behaving (ie. delaying fun stuff) that nothing will change and that i'm just making empty promises now. I've been studying during our entire relationship, i've got 16 months left.

i'm sort of big on discipline and sacrificing for long term goals but she sees this as wasting these years of my life. I find this very distressing, especially since i'm a 28 year old uni student that hasn't really had much of a career etc before hand, mostly unpredictable and casual work in the hospitality industry. so its embarrasing enough that i havn't got my self sorted and am still in education whilst other people my age are well settled and doing cool stuff with their time and money. But even so, were married, have a mortgage so its not all bad!

now she's laying this on me and i believe there's an element of truth to it.

advice? comment?

It's a balancing act.

It's incredibly important to have long term goals and to plan for the future. Otherwise you'll end up never being able to retire. You'll work yourself to death and die from stress.

On the other hand, who cares if you're 60 and well situated when you wasted
the prime years of your life? There are many things you just can't do when you're 30, 40, 50, or older.

28 is not that old. One of my best friends *just* got married and bought a house and he's 28, too.

My advice would be to
a) not compare yourself to others unless it's constructive
b) continue putting school first. Once that's out of the way you'll probably be someplace with a 401k and retirement is not such a big worry
c) Apply your forward, responsible thinking to having fun, too. Stash a little money in a "fun account" that you both contribute to. Plan out trips and vacations together. Plan work and school ahead of time so you can also schedule fun stuff, even if it's just going to the park or beach.

[Hardball]

Building wealth slowly but surely, eating right and maintaining good health in my middle life (i'm 50), enjoying family when possible and taking as many vacations and short trips as possible. Last but not least keeping my martial arts skills up to par because I never know when some young buck or thug is going to try me out.