Anyone who knows me, knows that I truly believe that life is a mixed-bag. It's full of both the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows, the raindrops and the roses. There's the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Just when you feel like you have everything under control, something comes along to shake things up a bit - sometimes making you feel more like you're living your "worst" life rather than your "best" one.
This is why the concept of "living your best life" has always been difficult for me to accept.
What exactly does that mean, anyway?
Does it mean that everything is going just how we want it to go and that we're getting everything we want to get?
That we're blissfully carrying on at a level 10 in every area of life?
I don't know about you, but I've never had a chapter in my life as perfect as that, and I've been alive for a decent number of years now. (Maybe this is a me problem, but something tells me I'm not the only one.)
Life is constantly changing, so how could we possibly realistically expect that type of idealistic way of life to be sustainable?
On the other hand, I wouldn't consider myself a pessimist, either. In fact, I've always been a goal-oriented, seeker of a "good life". It's just that I've come to realize that a "good" life isn't a perfect (or even near perfect) one, as the term "best" seems to imply.
There is always something that needs to be tended to, sorted out, or changed for one reason or another.
And honestly, the rainy days and the seasons that have been the most challenging for me have often been the ones that have opened my eyes and taught me things I could never have learned any other way.
Mostly things about patience, resilience, gratitude, creativity, compassion, and a bigger world view.
So maybe, when all is said and done, living your "best" life isn't really about high achievement and ultimate "bliss" and more about accepting the mixed-bag that is life and loving yourself and others wholeheartedly through it all.