I have a confession.
I think the whole idea of “living your best life” is bullshit. Because there is no “best life”.
Life’s too big to be summed as being the “best” one you can have. Life is made of tiny moments; infinite decisions; happiness and sadness; excitement and tedium. Life is full of seizing-the-moment but also regretting poor decisions; time with friends but also times of loneliness; making opportunities but also not being arsed to load the dishwasher.
Just think about the pressure of trying to live your best life. A whole life where every choice you make is the right one; where you always choose spontaneity over responsibility; where every opportunity for adventure is seized with both hands – it’s enough to make your head explode. And what happens when one of your days or weeks or months falls short of being The Best, surely that then means your life hasn’t been The Best either?
My own life has been littered with moments that have been far from the best. From the serious, like finding myself in an abusive marriage, to the frivolous, like turning school shirts grey in the wash – the Instagram-able, hashtag-able times are sometimes few and far between. Yes, I share and celebrate the good, exciting, beautiful moments, but that’s all they are: moments. That one perfect photo doesn’t mean my life is the #bestlife – it’s a normal life, full of highs and lows, light and shade. Just like your life, just like everyone’s life.
Put another way – we are all living our best life, but this doesn’t mean a life of perfection. It means we’re all muddling through doing the best we can, and this includes the highest highs, the lowest lows, and the mundane, every-day stuff in between.
You know what I could buy into? #livingmybesttuesdaylunchtime. I’m definitely OK with that.
So make your moments as good as you can make them, in that moment, with the resources you have right there and then. Sometimes those moments are about surviving to the next moment or paying the bills or crying or feeling lonely. Sometimes they’re about #makingmemories and feeling #soblessed and #livingmybestlife. But mostly they’re #doingthebesticanrightnow and that is absolutely fine with me.