10 signs you’re not living life to the fullest

Are you starting to realize how quickly time goes by?

Are you freaking out that there could be more to life and that you’re missing out?

Well then, welcome to my world, because that’s exactly how I feel!

I’m scared that I’m not living life to the fullest and that I’ll wake up tomorrow – a sad old lady, full of regret.

But maybe that’s how everyone feels. Maybe no matter what you’re doing, you always feel like you could be doing more and living a better life. So how can you tell?

Well, that’s what we’re gonna explore in this article.

Here are 10 signs you’re not living life to the fullest:

1) You’re stuck in a rut

Does it feel like every day is the same?

You wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, have your coffee and breakfast and go to work… over and over and over again.

Every day is like Groundhog Day for you (if you haven’t seen the film you really should, it’s a classic).

You’re not making any progress toward realizing your goals. Do you even have any?

If that’s how you feel, it’s because you’re stuck in a rut, and that’s one of the first signs that you’re not living life to the fullest.

So what can you do?

Change something, do something different to get out of this cycle.

This change may need to be quite radical to wake up after Groundhog Day (watch the movie!) and get out of your rut.

2) You’ve lost all enthusiasm about life

You know how when you’re a kid everything seems exciting… lollipops, snow, the first day of summer… But as you get older, it’s like you start to get used to things and they kind of lose their magic, you get excited about fewer things…

Well, that’s how you feel except for the fact that “fewer things” is actually “zero things”. You can’t seem to get excited about anything.

You’ve lost all enthusiasm for living.

You’re not passionate about anything and if you feel like you’re just going through the motions of living. Live or die, it’s all the same to you, because, what’s the point?

First of all, I wanna say that if you feel depressed and like life is not worth living, you should speak to someone about that – the best choice would be a therapist.

Second of all, you need to find something to get enthusiastic about because clearly, you’re not living life to the fullest.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do and never had the chance – or never dared – to do?

What’s stopping you from doing that now?

And if you’re not sure what you want to do, why not give a bunch of different things a try? Sign up for some amateur theatre. Join a band. Go Couchsurfing. Try hiking a trail. Keep trying until something hits a nerve and you feel ALIVE!

3) You have little contact with other people

Look, if you’re an introvert, I get it.

But, contact with other people is important to help you feel connected, supported, and seen. What’s more, by interacting with other people you’re learning new things and opening yourself up to all sorts of emotions such as love and joy.

I’m not saying that you have to be around people all the time but I do think that it would help you feel like you were “living your life to the fullest” if you spent more time with your friends or even meeting more people.

I mean, I know how horrible I felt being cut off from people during lockdown and what a relief it was to be able to walk among fellow men again.

So do yourself a favor and make a resolution to spend more time with other people. Trust me, this is important if you want to live life to the fullest.

4) You spend most of your time doing things you don’t like

For starters, you hate your job. You’ve been doing it for the past 5 years and you find it boring and you get zero satisfaction from it. I mean, you majored in art history and now you’re working as tech support, how did that happen?

Another thing you don’t like is spending time with your boyfriend watching Netflix. You’d rather be out, doing something!

And maybe you force yourself to go to the gym 4 times a week and you absolutely hate it. So why are you going? Why don’t you go running in the woods? Why don’t you take up hiking? Why do you keep going to that stuffy old place?

The truth is that if you spend most of your time doing stuff that you don’t even like then you’re not living life to the fullest. If you want to change that, you have to start doing things you like.

Why not start by applying for some jobs at art galleries? Why not get your boyfriend to try a karaoke bar or something?

5) You feel like your life has no meaning

So, ask yourself, what would give your life meaning?

• Would you feel like your life had meaning if you got your dream job?
• Would your life have meaning if you had a family – if you became a parent?
• Or maybe you feel like you need to do something big to leave your mark on this planet.

The truth is that there’s no one thing that gives life meaning, it’s a mix of all the little things that you do and the different experiences that you have.

But of course, if there’s something that’s very close to your heart that you want to do, then you need to go for it. It’s all part of the journey.

6) You keep comparing yourself to others

What good does that do?

It’s so easy today, what with social media and all, to feel like you’re not living life to the fullest. I mean, you look at how happy everyone is in their relationships. You see them taking trips and having babies. They look like they have it all figured out.

Then you think about your own life and you start to feel like you’re falling behind.

But I’ll let you in on a little secret: What you see is just a facade. These people aren’t living perfect lives, they’re living normal lives. They have ups and downs just like you do.

They also have bad moments. They too have doubts and fears. They too hurt.

So, stop comparing yourself to others and ask yourself what you want to be doing and what you want to achieve – irrespective of everyone else.

7) You’re neglecting your physical and mental health

That’s certainly no way to live life to the fullest.

You need to make some changes ASAP.

• Start by switching to a healthy diet. That means getting rid of sugary and processed foods. Eat more vegetables and fruits. Remember to drink at least two liters of water every day.
• Then, I want you to get your body moving. Walk. Jog. Stretch. Go for a swim. Once you get your body moving you’ll start to feel more alive.
• When it comes to your mental health – you can work on introspection. Get to really know yourself. You may also want to try out meditation. And finally, if you feel like you could use a hand, don’t be scared or embarrassed about reaching out to a mental health professional. I had spent years putting it off, waiting to get better on my own. I was scared of talking to someone, and when I finally did, I realized how much suffering I could have spared myself if I had gone sooner.

8) You haven’t ventured out of your comfort zone in like forever

Now that I think about it, neither have I … I’ve kind of been living in a bubble ever since Covid started, but I think it may be time to venture out now.

So, what can you do to get out of your comfort zone?

Public speaking?

Extreme sports?

Or something less dramatic, like introducing yourself to that hottie next door.

Whatever it is, getting out of your comfort zone is a great way to feel like you’re really living life!

9) You’re procrastinating

Procrastinators unite tomorrow!

Another sign that you’re not living life to the fullest is if you keep putting things off, important things.

Don’t feel bad, I do it too.

But the truth is that by procrastinating, we’re making it difficult for ourselves to move forward.

Let’s make a deal, starting tomorrow, we’re gonna stop procrastinating and start getting things done. Deal?

10) You’re not setting goals or making plans about the future

Well, if you haven’t set any goals or made any plans about the future, I understand why you’d feel like you’re not living life to the fullest.

I know that planning out your future can be scary and that it’s tempting to live from day to day, but if you want to live life to the fullest, you really need to make a plan.

Why not start with something small?

For example, you can decide that in April this year, you’ll go on a trip to a place you’ve never been before. Then you can start planning for your trip – deciding where you’re going to go, what you’re going to see there, where you’re going to stay…

After you’ve planned out a few small things, you can start setting some goals for yourself. For example, in September, you want to start doing a postgraduate course.

Step by step, you’re making plans and getting things done. You’re not planning out your whole life, but you sure are living it.