Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
– Maria Robinson
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is just a figment of the imagination. So if you think about it, today is the only day you’re alive. Today is the day that matters the most.
Here’s how to make it memorable:
- Try something totally new. – Variety truly is the spice of life. You can see or do something a million times, but you can only see or do it for the first time once. As a result, first time experiences usually leave a reflective mark in our minds for the rest of our lives. So spice it up!
- Entertain yourself with real-world experiences. – Great memories are the product of interesting life experiences. So turn off the television (or the computer) and get outdoors. Interact with the world, appreciate nature, take notice of the simple pleasures life has to offer, and just watch as life unfolds in front of you.
- Work on something that’s meaningful to you. – Engage yourself in a meaningful personal project. Or pull the trigger on doing something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, but haven’t yet had the resolve to do. Life is short. Today is the day to take action.
- Challenge your mind and body. – Learn a new skill. Be creative. Build something from the ground up, no matter how small. Run farther than you’ve ever run before. Push yourself to the limits!
- Concentrate on less, but give it your best. – Slow down. Pay close attention to what you’re doing. Don’t waste time juggling forgettable tasks. Instead, concentrate on a few things that really matter. Engage fully in this day.
- Say “yes” to a spontaneous opportunity. – Everything in life can’t be planned. Some of the greatest opportunities will knock on your door when you least expect them to. Be flexible, be spontaneous, and just say “yes.”
- Complete an important piece of unfinished business. – Today is a perfect day to finish what you started. Few feelings are more satisfying than the one you get after an old burden has been lifted off of your shoulders.
- Document your day. – Take lots of pictures. Keep a journal. Document your day so you can review it some other day. Many moons from now, these old photos and journal entries will ignite your recollection of great memories from the past.
- Smile, be positive, and notice what’s right. – Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad. It just depends on your perspective. And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should. Either you succeed or you learn something. So stay positive, appreciate the pleasant outcomes, and learn from the rest.
- Be authentic. Be true to yourself. – Judy Garland once said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else.” Live by this statement. There is no such thing as living a good day in someone else’s shoes. The only shoes you can occupy are your own. If you aren’t being yourself, you aren’t truly living… you’re merely existing. And no day spent in a phony state of mere existence will ever be memorable or worthwhile.
- Actively assist someone in need. – In life, you get what you put in. When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life. Do something that’s greater than you, something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less. I promise, it will be an extremely rewarding experience. One you’ll likely remember forever.
- Share time with a good friend and experience life together. – Pink Floyd once said, “The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime.” There are few things more satisfying than recounting the greatest moments of your life with your closest friends who lived these moments alongside you.
- Make a new friend. – People are interesting creatures, and no two people are exactly alike. So meet someone new today. Find out what makes them tick. They’ll likely open your eyes to fascinating ideas and perspectives. And you never know, they just might change your life.
- Do something fun and laugh your ass off. – Some of the most memorable moments in your life will be moments spent in laughter.
- Be present. Be here now. – I purposely left this bullet for last because it perfectly encompasses all of my previous points. – Don’t let your life slip by. Instead of dwelling on the past, or worrying about the future, just practice being and living in the ‘now.’ Remember, right now is the only moment guaranteed to you. Right now is life. Don’t miss it.
And I leave you with this to think about:
We all agree that life is short. Sooo…
Why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Photo by: FMC.Nikon.D40
paul frolov says
to summarize it all : ” Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery,today is a present!”
Master Oogley ( Kung Fu Panda)
Shamelle- TheEnhanceLife says
I sometimes get the feeling that life speeds by too soon..
These are good reminders.
David Dunn says
This made me think a little more about how much life isn’t really appreciated day-in-day-out – really nice blog post, definitely made me think!
Garry - thisimprovedlife says
Great points there.
Being spontaneous can not only lead to great memories, but can also help release your mind from the monotony of daily life, that can lead to new ideas and new creations.
I find that the most memorable days are when my wife and I do something totally out of the blue, they usually tend to be the funniest of days as well. Thanks for this post.
Nick Laborde says
The last one really resonated with me “Be present, be here now”. The reason why is this, I ride mountain bikes and when your flying down a trail, you have to be in the moment. If your not, your likely to have an intimate encounter with a tree. I know this, because I’ve done it. Why, my mind was somewhere else and not on my bike on that trail.
Lisis says
My personal favorite here is, “Smile, be positive, and notice what’s right.” I haven’t always been particularly optimistic in life, but I have noticed lately that if I make a conscious effort and choose to see the good in any situation, it has a tremendous positive effect on everything else.
I now constantly remind myself to find, notice, and appreciate what is good about any circumstance.
Vi | Maximizing Utility says
Great post! I completely agree with the notion of living in the present, mindfulness, and appreciating life now. With that said, I’d like to just say that I think that I’d bet most people like what they don’t do, because they romanticize it. And without actually having experienced it, people don’t know about all the negative stuff associated with that activity. Like, I think that having children will be wonderful, and I’m sure it will, but I don’t think that I fully understand exactly how much of a pain it will be to suffer sleepless nights.
Positively Present says
These are wonderful suggestions for making today memorable. Of course, I like the last one in particular. Any day can be a memorable one if you remain present and focused on the now. Great post!
John Clements says
Some great advice here. Definitely going to try and do some of them today! I need a way to re-read this every day so it becomes habit.
Marc says
@Paul: That’s a great quote. Thanks for sharing.
@Garry: No doubt. Angel and I try to be as spontaneous as possible with our free time. We find that doing so typically leads us in exciting directions.
@Nick: Great example of why being present is important. I hope you were okay after the collision with the tree.
@Lisis: A positive mind builds a positive life. A lot of positive minds builds a positive world for everyone to live in.
@Vi: Life has a way of balancing things out. There would be no ‘good’ without a little ‘bad.’ But the key is to always find the lesson, even when things go awry.
@ All: Thanks for keeping the conversation alive. We love reading what you have to say. 😉
Alex - unleash reality says
Hey Marc. And Angel! 🙂
Such a cool title and topic!! 🙂
Trying something new always etches today into memory. just wrote guest post for Lisis at questforbalance which was basically all about this point with an application remixing your perspective and remembering how magical life is.
the second point was also superwow. the content was cool but the wording really made me chuckle. seeing real-world experiences as entertainment 😉
concentrating on less is also super key. focusing on too much tends to dilute our focus.
smile, it’s free 🙂
inspiring post. made me all happy and excited to make some of these happen 🙂
stumbled and tweeted!
keep well and in touch
alex – unleash reality
p.s. keen to do a guest post if you guys are game?
Flora M Brown, Ph.D> says
Thanks again for keeping us reminded of the important things in life.
The one that’s most important to me is being authentic, true to myself. This one commitment helps all the other things on your list easier.
Kirk Miller says
Excellent Reminders. Another inspiring post.
Celebrate Life.
Kirk (simple-motivation.com)
Charlene Ann Baumbich says
What a superb list. I so appreciate your focus on accenting the positive, laughter, and leaping into life. In Don’t Miss Your Life!: An Uncommon Guide to Living with Freedom, Laughter and Grace, I share a few doozy stories about the concept: leap and the net will appear, plus I dedicate a whole chapter to things that KEEP us from laughing, especially at ourselves. Leading a spiritually constipated life is simply no fun, which is exactly why I wrote the book.
It’s so great to find kindred spirits! Thanks for doin’ your thing.
Al Gieryna says
Great observations and lessons for life. The key is to learn the lessons and keep practicing them. I have heard it said that it takes 21 days to make a habit of of something. So, lets make the next 21 days memorable.
Well done.
Srinivas Rao says
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve come down with a cold today and cant’ surf which I do every day but reading your post reminded me that I can sit at a coffeeshop I’ve been meaning to check out and do some writing on my story about my 6 mos of living in Brazil 🙂
Marc says
@Alex: Awesome points! And yes, we would love to publish a guest post from you.
@Flora: It is true that if you fail to be yourself, you fail altogether. 😉
@Charlene: Sounds like you wrote an interesting book. We’d love read an excerpt from that chapter you mentioned if you have it available in digital form.
@Al: Great idea! Yes, let’s make the next 21 days memorable.
@Srinivas: 6 months surfing in Brazil, eh? Sounds awesome! Be sure to send us that article when you get it written.
Barbara Swafford says
Hi Marc,
This is my favorite part of your superb post, “Concentrate on less, but give it your best.” *smiles*
That is fabulous advice.
Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills says
Good list of important reminders. We may know these things already, but there is a lot of value in being reminded to actually do them.
Celes | CelestineChua.com says
These are really great bits of advice!! To your last question, I think we are so focused on doing the ‘other’ things because we are too busy *not* living in the present. We keep thinking about the future, and how to make the future better. If we focus on the present, it brings our awareness to do things that we really love.
Tickled Pink Brides says
Hi guys! I love this post! Helps us all to remember some of the simple truths and steps that can lead to fulfillment.
Stephen - Rat Race Trap says
Marc and Angel, simply outstanding. I’ve been thinking about some of this lately and this was an excellent and concise list of things you can do. My favorite, probably because I’ve been thinking quite a bit about it lately, was:
“Concentrate on less, but give it your best.”
This is so important and I make the mistake of trying to do too much almost every day. My observation is that most of us complicate life way too much and way too often.
Vincent says
Hi Marc,
This is a great article. People should always try to do something new and interesting every now and then to keep things fresh for them. Doing something new can help us to learn new skills and it may also help us create some great experience that we can look back on.
Cheers,
Vincent
Christopher says
Whoa. This is so awesome and great advice!
Annaly says
These reminders definitely have the potential to add up to a memorable day. You can’t over emphasize keeping a positive mindset. You really get what you think about.
Mandi @ Organizing Your Way says
I LOVE your list, especially this one: “Notice what’s right.” It’s so easy to only notice what’s wrong but life is so much better when you choose to notice what’s right!
JC says
Love the quote – and it’s very true.
Armen Shirvanian says
Hello to both of you.
Being authentic like you said helps improve self-esteem. If I spend hours copying person A or person B, I would feel negatively about myself during that time, as I would have to quiet my inner voice in order to cover it up with another person’s voice. It is like insulting yourself and telling yourself that someone else is more adequate, and that can’t help increase passion. It is pretty taxing on the mind to copy someone else.
Thanks for the various items.
Sean says
It is great to have the words that were in my head put down in an easily digestible post. Thanks!
Tehseen | RechargeYourMind says
Marc,
Wonderful thoughts.
I think a major reason that we often move past our present is our pace. We are usually in such a hurry to do anything, to get to the next stage that we don’t live in our present. Everyone of us should take 5-10 minutes out each day when we just spend the time with our self, doing nothing. This would help slow our pace down.
Once again, Great thoughts 🙂
Amada_Tierra says
I’ve read some of your posts and they’re pretty good. They are really inspiring 🙂 Is it OK with you if I translate them into Spanish and post them in my blog? 🙂
Have a lovely day!
Tim Enalls | Inspiration Central says
This post is an A+.
I especially like these three points:
Try something totally new
Say “yes” to a spontaneous opportunity.
Be authentic. Be true to yourself.
Family Matters says
Pity we should be reminded, but really good of you to do it for us 😉
Lori | Spiritual Tidbits says
I especially like the “laugh your ass off” part. I think I can get a little too serious about my spiritual journey. Nobody said it couldn’t be a fun, laugh-until-you cry, roll-on-the-floor, pee-your-pants type of journey, right?
(That’s my attempt at humor. I probably need practice.)
Upcoming Events says
Pretty good guidelines to live by for each and every day. It sometime seems there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that you want, but that always leaves something more for tomorrow.
Dr. Jennifer Howard says
Thank You Marc and Angel. I enjoyed your list of how to make today memorable. (1) Try something totally new (2) Entertain yourself with real-world experiences (3) Work on something that’s meaningful to you (4) Challenge your mind and body (5) Concentrate on less, but give it your best (6) Say “yes” to a spontaneous opportunity (7) Complete an important piece of unfinished business (8) Document your day (9) Smile, be positive, and notice what’s right (10) Be authentic. Be true to yourself (11) Actively assist someone in need (12) Share time with a good friend and experience life together (13) Make a new friend (14) Do something fun and laugh your ass off (15) Be present. Be here now.
As we learn to live in the present moment every moment is memorable because we simply are. Living in the moment brings us into being-ness that is rich and full and grateful and happy.
May we all know that we are held by something larger then our momentary judgment of each moment.
Dr. Jennifer Howard
Kaizan says
This is a brilliant article.
I love the point about documenting your day and learning a new skill.
This is worth printing out and sticking over my desk!
BunnygotBlog says
This is truly a great article. I just found your site.
jonathanfigaro says
Being able to do something new each day will increase your zest for life. Continuously stretching your comfort zone will definite mold you into a great individual with no limits on what he or she does. By being uncomfortable, you know your doing the right thing.
So go get uncomfortable!!!
darlington says
this really triggered me so much “tomorrow is just a figment of the imagination. it really affected my life so much. pls keep the flag flying.
kudos to ur outstanding article
Rhea says
hey marc and angel, great job!!!!!!!
the one that touched me the most was- document your day. precious memories of life can after a while be erased. but, if you take a lot of pictures and keep a journal then years later when you look back at them you will definitely laugh at the situation you once cried at.
thanks
Carrie says
Just what I needed to read, thank you!!
Ezati Eric says
My only regret in life is not finding your site sooner. I love getting the beautiful articles daily in my email. So wonderfully done Marc and Angel Hack. Thank you very much for transforming me with your beautiful words…