How to Get Excited About Life

CityLoom

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posted on 15 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Although we sometimes forget, life is an amazing gift. In this staggeringly large universe, we are somehow alive and conscious, with the ability to understand, to feel, to think. It is easy to take this for granted amidst studying or working hard to pay the bills. It is hard to keep it in mind amidst all our fears and phobias, our frustrations, and the sometimes mundane and repetitive habits we all endure at times. There is so much to life though that there are many ways to get excited about it again. Being excited about life is good not only for mental health, but physical health, too: being bored is even associated with a greater chance of mortality.[1]
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Research source

Steps

Doing Activities to Become Excited

Talk to strangers. Get connected with other people. In a world in which we can easily connect with others via technology, it can paradoxically also feel like a very isolating place. Break away from the routine of sitting quietly on the bus with your headphones and spark up a conversation with someone. Who knows where it could lead! You may think that you won't enjoy this but studies show that people often get unexpected enjoyment from talking with strangers.

Get a new hobby. Engage your mind with a mentally stimulating hobby. Learn how to play a musical instrument or pick up a new sport. To make it interesting, seek out others who engage in the same hobby. You can learn from them and make new friends.

Help others. Studies show that when we help out or spend money on other people, it actually makes us feel good - more so even than spending money on ourselves. Use the positive feelings you get from helping others to become excited about life. Think about the implications: you can be a force for positive change in the world, and feel great about it. There are a number of things you could do to help others: Donate your time to a charitable cause you care about. Pay it forward by buying the movie tickets for the people behind you in line. Buy a meal or a warm blanket for a homeless person.

Fall in love. We are deeply social animals. Love is one of the best feelings around; it changes your perception; it is exciting, exhilarating. Although you can't just choose to fall in love, you can do things that help increase your odds: Date. If you aren't putting yourself out into the world, you're unlikely to fall in love. Try to be more accepting of people.

Read exciting passages or quotes about life. There are countless people who have written or said beautiful things about life and the nature of living. Get inspired and excited about life through their words. Try the following to start: A passage by Richard Dawkins from his book Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/83303-we-are-going-to-die-and-that-makes-us-the A quote by Robert Brault: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1017924-why-be-saddled-with-this-thing-called-life-expectancy-of

Get outside help. Sometimes, a lack of excitement about life can reflect an underlying mental health condition. It is possible that you are suffering from depression or an anxiety disorder that is getting in the way of your happiness. There are a number of ways to get help for this. Start by seeking out a mental health professional who can help to identify whether you might be suffering from a mental health disorder such as depression. You can find a mental health profession here: https://locator.apa.org/

Psyching Yourself Up

Remember how rare your life is. We live and then we die. That is a thought with many implications. One exciting implication is that your life is a rare thing; it is an opportunity to make the most of it; life is a thing that should not be wasted.

Make a list of the possibilities. Imagine all the things you can do with the time you have. Put down on paper 5 things you want to accomplish in life. Imagining all the ways you might live your life can be an exciting thought.

Change something about your life. If you're feeling bored because you're stuck in the same routine, then change it up! There are a number of changes you can make that range from big to small. Small changes include things like ordering something different off the menu rather than getting the same thing all the time when you go out to eat. Large changes include taking a new job, moving to a new city, doing an exchange program for a year to immerse yourself in another culture.

Remind yourself how random life can be. There are so many interacting parts, almost anything could happen theoretically. Who knows, you may run into a celebrity whose movies you enjoy, find a ten dollar bill on the ground, or bump into an old friend. The possibilities are endless!

Allow yourself to have fun. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to get ahead in life that we forget to give ourselves breaks. Remind yourself that taking breaks to play and have fun is a very healthy thing to do. There are a number of ways to play; find the one that is funnest for you: Play a video game; don't worry about whether it seems childish or dorky, just enjoy the experience - get immersed in it. Play a board game with friends. Invite some pals over and Play sports. Join a friendly sports league and foster some friendly competition.