Get Off Your A$$!

Get off your ass!

No, seriously.

Put down the TV remote, bag of potato chips, IPhone, get off your gluteus maximus and go outside.  Feel that?  Yeah, that’s this awesome natural phenomena called sunshine.  

Feels good, right?

First off, I would like to just come out and openly admit that I often fulfill the American stereotype of slothfulness and lethargy.  I check my Facebook umpteen times, pin way too many pins on Pinterest, watch a lifetime’s worth of YouTube videos, eat food out of “boredom”, and a million other things that are probably considered a waste of my time.  

Granted, there are times when I actually make the DIY’s I pin or watch nerdy educational videos, but many times I just mindlessly browse through web page after web page like a zombie without really gaining anything from it.

So why do I spend countless hours on things that don’t really add anything to my life, and make me feel like poop after I think about all the wasted time I spent?

Probably because it is a lot easier checking email or Facebook or Instagram than actually doing the things that make you feel good and fulfilled. 

Exhibit A: I have a bucket list board on my Pinterest with things that I want to do ranging from finishing a knitting project (which I recently just did!) and go paintballing to try zip lining and go on a mission trip.  The sad thing is that many times people have all these awesome and ambitious goals, but they much rather talk about them or “pin” them than actually take steps to accomplish them (mostly I’m talking about me…but I’m sure this goes for just about everyone).  

It’s sad to think that all the time I spent on things that don’t actually make me happy or fulfilled could have been used to carry out my aspirations or to help people or animals or the world in general.

That being said, I was fortunate enough to accomplish some items on my bucket list this summer and do some truly worthwhile activities before I go back to college.  Some of these include:

• Getting my first, official full-time job
• Spending quality time with friends and meeting new people
•  Going on a trip to the Adirondacks with friends and climbing Mount Marcy…New York’s highest mountain!
•  Finishing my first knitting project
•  Exploring Penn Caves in PA, going to a Renaissance Festival, jet skiing, boating, camping, playing tennis, having movie nights, having campfires, going to the drive-in, and a bunch of other fun excursions.

It has definitely felt good to actually do the things on my list as opposed to just thinking about them and daydreaming that they would happen.  One of my adventures this summer that helped to remind me to actually do the things that I desire to do as opposed to thinking about them was when I went on a road trip with friends to the Adirondacks, and we climbed to the top of Mount Marcy.  It took us around 11 hours to go up and back down the mountain, but it was definitely well worth the time.  Although the “trail” up the mountain was more like a steep, rocky creek bed and it was often monotonous and a pain-in-the-butt (literally!) to climb, the feeling of being at the top of the mountain was, for lack of a better word, awesome!

Indian Pass: the halfway point to Mt. Marcy

It was definitely a better feeling to actually climb the mountain than to “pin” about climbing a mountain from the comforts of my living room couch. 

This brings me back to my original point of getting off your heinie.  Stop dreaming about doing something/being something and actually take physical steps to do it.  If it is a huge dream like traveling the world, then start a savings account specifically for that goal.  If it is something smaller like working out on a daily basis, then start small by exercising for 15-20 minutes a day.

***Side Note: As always, whenever I give advice on my blog, it is usually because I’m the one that needs it the most.***

As everyone knows but so rarely actually understands, our lives are finite.  We are not sparkling Edward Cullens who live forever.  People have died before us, we are one day going to die, and people will die after us.  The book and movie The Fault in Ours Stars by John Green and the ice-bucket challenge that has blown up Facebook to raise awareness for ALS has really made me recently contemplate this idea.  I mean, everyone knows they are going to die, but I think it is a concept that often seems so abstruse and distant. 

The overall reality is, however, that we are all going to die, and the one thing that actually matters is how you decide to spend your time while you are alive.  With so many external factors we don’t have control over (like cancer, ALS, other people, etc.), it is comforting to know that we do have control over how we use our time and our attitudes/outlooks on life.

 Maybe it is just me, but I also find it kind of reassuring to know that I’m not the only person who is going to eventually be pushing up daisies.  I think just realizing that all of humanity will “suffer” (I put this in quotation marks because I don’t think death necessarily equals suffering) the same end gives you a sense of connection and empathy to and for your fellow man. 

Since life is so fleeting, uncertain, and often uncontrollable, it doesn’t make sense to deliberately waste time on things that do not add anything to your life.  Let go of any item/idea/person/belief/insert-any-other-factor that is holding you back from doing what actually makes you feel happy and fulfilled in life (and I mean happy/fulfilled for the long run, not just what makes you the mind-numbing, instant gratification kind of happy).  

Go out and help people. 

Create something.

Learn something.

Meet new people.

See new places.

Try new things.

Expand your way of thinking.

Challenge yourself.

Do something.

Get off your ass, and make your own way in this crazy, messed-up, and beautiful world.

Because you know what is a hell of a lot scarier than temporary discomfort, fear, and even death?

Regret.

NOTE: Here are some interesting YouTube videos that relate to this post.  The first one is about productivity by AsapSCIENCE, and the other is a Vlogbrothers video by John Green.