What is the best way to live an extraordinary life? Every individual is unique in this world, and what is considered extraordinary to me, may not be considered extraordinary to you.
Some people may think that stepping off the corporate ladder of employment to follow their passion and gain countless riches is extraordinary, whilst others think that raising a loving family is all that’s needed to be content with your own life.
But whatever the manifestation, living a remarkable life is about harnessing your abilities and using them in the right way, and to make life better not just for yourself, but for those around you too. Let’s look at some
What Does Living an Extraordinary Life Mean?
It’s extremely difficult to sum up what living an extraordinary life really means, but to most people, it’s leaving this world in a better place than you found in, and leaving your mark for future generations to be impacted by your efforts.
This doesn’t mean you have to have success every day of your life. The most accomplished amongst us do not fear failure – they accept that it’s a natural part of existence, and whether you lead an ordinary life or an extraordinary one, failure is inevitable.
We celebrate the wins, accept the losses and spend each day looking at how we can improve our future self. Every day gives you the possibility of changing the direction of your future, to see if there is something more in life that is more possible.
Living an extraordinary life involves going beyond all your expectations, pushing yourself farther than you thought you could reach, and experiencing all the different perspectives that life has to offer.
1. Simple thoughts on how to live fully
Almost everywhere to turn in this world is noise. Most of us believe we need more, but this is often based on what the media around us tells us.
They tell us we need more money, more responsibilities. Get on the corporate ladder and become more powerful, that’s how you’ll be successful. But is this really true?
You have a normal life. You may be working regularly, living in an ordinary house, earning an ordinary income. But it’s what you do with that additional time and money that makes one extraordinary. This could be the life on an entrepreneur, an amazing parent, or someone that influences those around them.
Living fully doesn’t mean you have to be insanely wealthy, though to some people, it may. An extraordinary life starts by living fully, by being intentional about your actions, and by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
2. Define your own extraordinary
People that live extraordinary lives know who they are, and who they want to be. This involves making your own definition of extraordinary – for some people, this could be a to do list, or even just some thoughts about what your life will look like in the decades to come.
How can we live our lives today to benefit tomorrow? What are you interested in learning, and where are you interested in going? How will you feel when you look back at your life? Spending time considering all of these things is crucial if you want to establish a pathway to follow in life.
My attitude changed after deciding that I wanted to become a writer. Since then, I decided to start living life on my own terms, travelling wherever I wanted to. I then took some small, meaningful steps in line with this intent, which started by maintaining a daily habit of self reflection.
Taking responsibility for your life isn’t always easy, but the perfect time to get started is now.
3. Extraordinary people learn how to keep going
How can you live an extraordinary life without being beaten down? The correct answer to this is: you can’t. Life will come at you no matter who you are, so if you think you’re going to escape life without dealing with some trials and tribulations along the way, you’re wrong.
Your life choices define who you are, and to have the most fulfilling life you can possibly have, you need to take the bad with the good. Only then can you incorporate the remarkable into your daily life – by expressing gratitude for what you have, and to keep going when times are hard.
4. Lose yourself in curiosity and creativity
Keep it fun and enjoy your life is good advice, but you need to start with a curious mind to find out what it is that you truly love. A flow state is a great example of a philosophy of life that means letting go of the restrictions and really immersing yourself in the moment.
Do something stupid. Let failure happen. Adapt and overcome the obstacles that you encounter. Whilst learning what it is we truly love, it’s important to let go of your inhibitions and lose yourself amongst your passions.
As Lao Tzu said, those who flow as life flows know they need no other force, meaning that going with the flow of life is essential for our wellbeing, and our existence.
5. Learn to Overcome Stress and Anxiety
One thing is for certain – the most successful and highly regarded people in society have found a way to deal with the stress and anxiety they deal with. Now, that doesn’t mean that they never had them there to begin with – although, it may be difficult to imagine Michael Jordan filled with anxiety, that doesn’t mean that we never experience it.
Finding a way to channel your negative traits and embrace them is important, as otherwise they can start to dictate the flow your life is headed in.
6. Passion, purpose and pedantics
All humans have a purpose here on Earth, and it’s up to us to determine what it is. If you already know what your passion is, then leaning into it is probably your best bet. For those of us that haven’t found it yet, we may need to do a bit extra in terms of work to find what makes us tick.
You can begin by analyzing the relationships in your life to get an idea of the kind of person you are. What makes you excited at the mere thought of it? By finding our true passion, we can completely commit to the path of an extraordinary life.
7. Make friends with your body
Your body is meant to be your friend, and it’s imperative that you look after it in the best way that you can. This means that being in touch with your body is extremely important if you want to be our optimal self.
For some people, this means regularly hitting the gym to ensure that they’re in peak physique. For others, this may mean eating a balanced diet, and going easy on the dessert when the times comes. Though you can become too obsessed with yourself, it’s important to treat your body as a temple (as cheesy as that sounds, it’s true).
8. Live a Life Without Limits
Many people go through life feeling the societal pressure of judgement and worry. How can I limit my life for fear of what other people will think?
The truth is, letting other people put limitations on you is an easy way to ensure that you never reach your full potential. You’ll never please every person on Earth, and no matter what you do, there will always be someone there to complain that you’re not doing things properly. For this reason, it’s not worth thinking about how others perceive you, and instead, concentrate of achieving what it is you desire.
9. Define Your Own Metrics For Success
What are your expectations of this world, and what would you really consider to be a successful life? The measurement of success that we use is internal and entirely individual, meaning that it’s up to us to define what success means. Likewise, the notion of extraordinary is different to each individual too, and it’s important to sit down and think – what would make my life worthwhile?
Often, people realize that their life is more important than just hitting a simple milestone in your career. For some people, they think that the ability to find another compatible human, fall in love and start a family is in itself extraordinary – in the modern world, this may be true.
For others, this could be a figure of wealth, an achievement of independence, or following a religion consistently. It is your duty to define your own path to success, and then take your first steps towards that. Consider what is important to you, what motivates you, and then try to imagine what achievement will make you happy, energized, and above all, extraordinary.
10. Remember that success is not instant
Perhaps the most important thing to remember in your quest for extraordinary living is that things won’t happen over night. Life is the culmination of the little moments pieced together, so it’s important not to be too hard on your past self, or wonder why your life hasn’t become exciting immediately.
Sometimes this is a slow process filled with many courageous acts, and actually, that is one of the reasons that there are few people with extraordinary lives – because, that demands constant questioning and hard work to achieve its goals. So, remember that your inevitable success will not be instant, and that’s totally fine – we’re in this for the long haul anyway.
