One of my friends recently sent me an encouraging note that said, “I hope you are living life to the fullest.”looking up

Smack in the middle of the winter blues, I wasn’t sure if I could totally embrace her encouragement. So I started thinking about it.

What does it mean to live life to the fullest?

For me, it begins with the practice of acknowledging who I really am. If I am living an authentic life, then everything I do will somehow encompass my core values.

I can’t live life to the fullest if I’m lying to myself about who I am or if I’m living out of activities that don’t fit with my core values.

So I have to know my core values and determine that every activity is in sync with them. If not, then I need to get rid of that activity.

I am also an introvert and a writer. Although I love working with women and coaching them here at GateWay of Hope, I also need my space and my quiet time.

So I set boundaries around how many people I serve each day and what that looks like. I carve out time to write and I spend time each day in quiet meditation.

Living life to the fullest also includes setting goals for my own growth and planning how I will progress forward.

Since I’m a coach at GateWay, I know how to do this. I help women do this every week. But I also need to be proactive about my own growth and make sure that I’m moving toward my own goals.

If I don’t help myself, I can’t help others.

One of my goals for 2015 is to engage in more artist dates. I pencil in on my calendar the places I will go and the things I will do to nurture the writer within and keep me creatively fresh.

So right now…I set an artist date for myself for Feb. 28th. I’ll be visiting a bookstore in the area and browsing through the art of other writers.

And … just because … I may even indulge in some chocolate on that day.

It’s a good practice for us to occasionally check out our core values and make sure we’re living authentic lives. Then as we set boundaries and move toward our goals we live life to the fullest.

I hope you’re doing the same today.

©2015 Rebecca Thesman, CLC
GateWay of Hope – The Helping Place for Hurting Women