{"id":5725,"date":"2010-08-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-07T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/?p=5725"},"modified":"2013-02-04T18:35:26","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T01:35:26","slug":"live-alive-not-a-life-guidelines-for-rebelling-against-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/live-alive-not-a-life-guidelines-for-rebelling-against-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Alive, Not Just a Life: Guidelines for Rebelling Against \u201cReality\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Death happens, and as I watched as the ambulance carry away the woman who had just suffered a head-on collision, I couldn\u2019t help but reflect on the unpredictability of life. Imagining my own sudden death, I began to ponder the implications, including what would happen to this website. How would readers ever know? Would it seem as if I had just stopped posting? But perhaps most important that I reflected on: Was I able to convey my message?<\/em> What things would I have wanted to shout out to the world that perhaps I hadn\u2019t yet?\"Rebelling<\/p>\n

So today, I\u2019m going to imagine as if this were my last post. What\u2019s the big picture here? What do I truly hope that readers take from all of this?<\/em><\/p>\n

Some of my more recent posts have focused heavily on big, philosophical questions, which I\u2019ve brought up because I feel it\u2019s important to examine unconventional perspectives and subsequently prompt critical thinking. The reason why I think critical thinking is so important, is because I believe that in doing so, we are essentially giving ourselves choices. Choices to think in other ways. Choices to see beyond the horizon. Choices to take alternative perspectives. Choices as to what we believe, and the ability to cite why\u2013not simply \u201cjust because\u201d\u2013and in doing so, enable us to choose who we want to be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And, isn\u2019t the ability to be who we want to be\u2013not just some version of who everyone else is\u2013worth taking the time to consider?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That said, at the end of the day there comes a certain point in which it can become counterproductive to engage in too many debates that may or may not ever result in an answer. That\u2019s not to imply that there isn\u2019t value in the debate itself, but simply that sometimes, there\u2019s more value in getting out there and taking life by the lapel\u2013by fully engaging with the world around us\u2013instead of philosophizing about it from behind a computer screen. In doing so, we naturally live our way into our own philosophies through experience, which is far more meaningful than anything I could ever say here.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what this is all about. LIVING. In the end, we\u2019re only here for a limited time, and while we all seem to recognize this as a fact, most of us don\u2019t seem to actually consider the implications\u2013likely because it puts pressure on us. It puts pressure on us to act. And pressure stresses us out, so we avoid it.\u00a0 On the other hand, by ignoring the harsh truthfulness of this statement, it\u2019s easier to justify being apathetic & unconcerned, and become reactive instead of proactive, passively accepting mediocre days that eventually turn into a mediocre years that can eventually turn into a mediocre lifetime. Because we figure that there\u2019s always tomorrow, always next week, always next month, or next year. But there isn\u2019t always going to be<\/strong>. And then we will have died, having just gone through the motions and doing everything everyone else wanted us to do, but nothing we<\/em> wanted to do. Nothing that truly lights us up inside. We will have made choices based on majority rules, or because everyone else was doing it. And despite the urge to do something exceptional, we figure that it must not be realistic, or else, why wouldn\u2019t everyone be doing it?<\/em> So we settle. We accept. We concede. And sure, we survive. But is that all we have to hope for? To just survive?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just too many experiences to be had, too many connections to be made, too many memories to be formed, too many beautiful sights to witness and too many moments that have the potential to truly make us come alive. Living through experiences is what makes us actually alive; living through established tradition, on the other hand, is what results in just a life.\u00a0 Live alive, not just a life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019m going to lead the list with that. Here\u2019s to messages that are important to me to communicate, and are the reason that I began this site in the first place:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. True living is more than just keeping your heart beating and a roof over your head. Don\u2019t fool yourself into thinking that is \u201cjust how life goes.\u201d There\u2019s way more possibilities, and, yes, IT IS WORTH GOING AFTER. Be daring.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Stop blowing yourself off; we get so upset when others blow off our ideas and desires, but we have no problem doing it to ourselves. Take your ideas, feelings, wants, wishes, yearns & urges seriously\u2013those are your only true guide. Other people have no idea what\u2019s best for you, so stop seeking their validation. Do what you need to do for you. Be confident.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Stop doing everything by the book. It\u2019s time to start drafting your own revised edition. Rules don\u2019t always exist in the name of the greatest good; more often than not, they exist because someone wants to establish or maintain power. And that\u2019s just not a good enough reason. Be inquisitive.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Life is a series of choices. You choose every single direction that your life takes. Use it to your advantage. Be deliberate.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. There will be people out there who won\u2019t support what you\u2019re doing. Who cares. Trust yourself more, trust others less. That includes significant others. Be brave.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Figure out what you value, and make the necessary changes to align your life with those values. If you value time more than money, stop working 60 hour work weeks. The only way you\u2019ll get more time, is by doing less. It\u2019s simple math. Be introspective.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Speaking of money, IT ISN\u2019T AS IMPORTANT AS WE\u2019RE TAUGHT TO THINK IT IS. Money comes, and money goes, and it provides little value itself until you actually exchange it for something that is valuable to you. So, ask yourself that question. What do you value? That\u2019s where the majority of the money you spend should be going. Be prudent.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. Having good intentions doesn\u2019t yield results. Get off your rear and make it happen. Be zealous.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. Life isn\u2019t meant to be taken so seriously. In the scheme of things, if you\u2019re going to be late to work, it doesn\u2019t really matter. If you don\u2019t get an A, it doesn\u2019t really matter. If you\u2019re proven wrong about something, it doesn\u2019t really matter. If your house isn\u2019t as nice as your best friend\u2019s, it doesn\u2019t really matter. Relax, and enjoy the ride. Think big picture, not details. Will this matter in 100 years? Be panoramic.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  10. The world is not judging you as much as you think they are. Most people are too wrapped up in themselves to even notice what you\u2019re doing. Drop the pride and have a little fun. Be lighthearted.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  11. Perhaps one of the greatest goals we can seek for ourselves is exhilaration. Are you exhilarated by your life? Be stimulated.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  12. When making decisions, always ask what\u2019s more important. Thinking about canceling on an invitation to a friend\u2019s baby shower or birthday party because you have too much work to do? Get your head out of your ass. Your friend is more important; work can always be done later. Nothing is that urgent. Relationships, however, are your foundation and you\u2019d be lost without other human connections, so value them. And show it. Be thoughtful.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  13. You don\u2019t just need to love yourself; you need to respect yourself. You\u2019ll garner that respect by accomplishing things you\u2019ve set out to do. Be relentless.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  14. Being content with your life and being proud to call it yours are two different things. Strive for the latter. Be courageous.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  15. Last but not least, wine should be drank with meals. Preferably Argentinian Malbec. It\u2019s freaking delicious. Be delighted.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you\u2019re looking for more advice on how to better implement some of these philosophies, get started with these resources that first inspired me to start living<\/em> more unconventionally<\/a>\u2013and not just thinking about it. <\/em><\/p>\n

    Fortunately, I am not dead, and this is not my last post.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I\u2019m out of Malbec.\u00a0 With that, I\u2019m off to go put #8 into practice.<\/p>\n

    Have you got any to add to the list?\u00a0 Let\u2019s pool our collective knowledge and share some wisdom\u2013humorous additions welcome.<\/p>\n

    [Via TheMiddleFingerProject.org<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Death happens, and as I watched as the ambulance carry away the woman who had just suffered a head-on collision, I couldn\u2019t help but reflect on the unpredictability of life. Imagining my own sudden death, I began to ponder the implications, including what would happen to this website. How would readers ever know? Would it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5725\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}