Life is a beautiful thing! In the midst of mundane routines, it’s easy to forget that. The daily grind wears away at us, causing us to lose sight of what is important. We become so focused on our daily responsibilities that we forget to step back and take it all in. We fail to look at the bigger picture. Too many men slip into “autopilot” and blindly follow the path in front of them as if that’s their only choice… as if there’s no other way. Before you know it, 10, 20, 30 years have gone by. You wake up wondering how you got where you are today. Wondering where you’re headed.

If that’s you, then it’s time to wake up!

There are things you can do to take control of your life, squeeze the most out of it, and ensure you live without regrets. You don’t need a radical change of circumstances or scenery to do this. Rather, you need to make different choices and form different habits. Doing this right now, in the midst of your current circumstances, will take your life from surviving to thriving! Are you ready for a change? Here are 10 things you can do to make the most of your life right now. Even doing just a few of these things will drastically improve your outlook in life and catapult you towards being the man you are meant to be!

1. Give Thanks Daily!

A well-lived life begins with having an attitude of thankfulness! Whether you realize it or not, there is so much you can be thankful for. Even in the worst circumstances, you can be thankful for life itself. Because you’re still breathing, there is still hope for a better future! Negative circumstances tend to cloud our perspective and blind us to our blessings. Look for the things around you that you can be thankful for and give thanks. Even the small things. Say it out loud or write it in a journal. Doing so will change your perspective and transform your attitude towards life!

2. Have Faith

Having faith gives you hope in all circumstances. This is because you are trusting God’s character as He works in your life. God has a plan for your life and has made countless promises to you in His word, do you believe them? Having faith means believing He has a good plan for you. In Him, you have received a living hope¹, so you never need to feel hopeless. He wants you to have a hopeful outlook on life, no matter what circumstances you currently face. If you are seeking and surrendered to His will, you can be confident He will work all things for your good because you love Him and are trusting Him. If you are unsure of His will, then you need to…

3. Discover God’s Purpose For You

Because God is good, He has good plans for your life. He created you for good works.

Pursue the purpose God created you for with all your heart.

Consider: What dreams has He placed in your heart? What burdens do you feel? What talents has He given you? These can be indicators of what He created you to do. If it’s something you can accomplish on your own, then it’s likely not from Him. His purpose for your life will be much bigger than you can do alone. It will require you to have faith in Him to accomplish it. You’ll realize you need to be surrounded by the right people to help you along the way.

He has a purpose for you and it is good. Don’t let another day go by without discovering what it is and pursuing it. This alone will lead to a fulfilling life because you will be doing what you were created to do, even if it’s something few people notice you doing.

4. Get Healthy & Stay Healthy

If you want to make the most of your life then you need to take care of yourself. Being unhealthy degrades your quality of life and makes you less effective. Dying prematurely from avoidable health issues is tragic. God desires for you to live in such a way that you can lengthen your days² and fulfill His purposes for you. Don’t wait until you have a health scare. Make the necessary choices today to promote a healthy tomorrow.

”Every choice we make is an investment in a future we cannot see. Some invest wisely. Some Invest poorly. …May the God of grace strengthen us to invest each (choice) well.” – Alicia Britt Chole

5. Use Your Time Well

Time is Life! How are you spending your time? The way you use your time today will in many ways determine what your life is like tomorrow. To decide how to best use your time today, you must first know what you want in the future. What kind of life do you want to be living? What do you want your relationships to be like? Your career? Your finances? Once you have a vision of what you would like your future to look like, you can “reverse engineer” and decide what you need to do today to accomplish that vision. If you want a strong marriage 5 years from now, how are you investing in your marriage today? You reap what you sow in every area of life.

Decide to use your time in such a way that your current self will set up your future self for success!

6. Invest In Yourself

One of the best ways to use your time and fulfill the purpose you were created for is to invest in yourself. Too often people do not invest in themselves because they feel they have more important things to do. The daily grind of life seems to make investing in themselves impossible. But these are the reasons you should invest in yourself.

Investing in yourself is the best way to eventually change what your “daily grind” looks like!

This is because investing in yourself changes you as a person and sets you up to perform at a higher level in life. It allows you to become the best version of yourself. The version God can use most. Investing in yourself requires you to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Doing so will cause you to go further in life than you ever could have otherwise. Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make!

7. Make Time To Rest & Reflect

“We live in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” – C.S. Lewis

Most people today are living at a frenetic pace. It is unsustainable. It can lead to issues like panic attacks, stress, health problems, and burnout. They mistake busyness for being productive and effective. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most successful people, including Jesus, regularly took time to unplug, rest, and reset.

This is critical to maintaining clarity about your life goals and priorities. It helps you refocus on the big picture. It gives you margin in your life, space to take it all in, reflect upon it, and course correct. At least once a week you should take an afternoon to rest and reflect, away from the chaos of life. This includes social media. Reflection times help you focus on what’s most important in your life. God calls this a “Sabbath”. You can call it what you want, but don’t neglect to do it.

8. Be Adventurous

”Forget about being balanced. Balanced people are boring. Live for the extreme. Believe in something so passionately that balance doesn’t worry you. Let your worry be ‘will my life count for something?’.” – Floyd McClung

In your efforts to thrive in life, don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is meant to be fun! God has good plans for you. Laugh often because laughter does the heart good. Break out of your mold and be adventurous! This will look different for each of us. That is a good thing. For some of you, being adventure means taking a weekend hike, going skydiving or going on a missions trip. For others, it means ordering something different at your favorite restaurant. Either way, step out of your comfort zone and explore! You will be surprised by all the goodness in life right around you. This will expand your worldview and give you a greater reason to be thankful.

9. Love Well

Learning to love well is another way to make the most of your life! People today are too quick to settle for the superficial relationships.

But it is intimacy that you were created for. It is intimacy that will satisfy you.

You love well by investing in others, creating deep, lasting relationships. Learn to have compassion on others and feel what they feel. Spend time face to face with them, without distractions. Serve them and their interests. Investing time to build deep relationships will vastly increase the quality of your life!

10. Be Generous

Finally, remember that life isn’t all about you! Making the most of your life and living without regret doesn’t mean living selfishly. Living generously reminds you that life is about others also and not just yourself. You were given life as a means to bless others. You were created for good works. Let your light shine! Glorify God in all you do. Give generously to others with your time, attention, talents and finances. Doing so allows you to outlive your life!

Generous people leave a lasting legacy that impacts future generations for the glory of God. Let your generosity be legendary.

Pour yourself into those around you, expecting nothing in return. Teach them what you know and help them learn from your mistakes! Future generations will thank you!

It’s Time To Take Action

Doing these 10 things will help you squeeze the most out of life. They will take your life from merely surviving to thriving. They will empower you to live without regrets!

My recommendation is to start small. Take one thing on this list and begin implementing it. Pray about it. Ask God to empower you to practice it daily. Make it your focus.

Once it has become a habit for you, move onto another item. Doing this will cause you to make the most of your life right now!

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Footnotes:

1. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” – 1 Peter 1:3 ESV ↩
2. “For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” – 1 Peter 3:10-11 ESV ↩