The 10 Differences Between Those Who Appreciate Life And Those Who Don’t

We’re all living creatures: things that lucked out and were blessed with life. The chances of the particles that make you up forming the person that you are today are so minute that it’s nearly a miracle that you exist.

Mathematically speaking, you shouldn’t exist.

You shouldn’t be alive. Yet, there will always be a lottery winner. And like most lottery winners, you are probably squandering away your winnings. You were given the most valuable thing on the planet, time – tax free mind you.

And what exactly is it that you are doing with your winnings? We never worry about money until our funds start to run dry. Just the same, we never worry about our lives until we realize how quickly our time is running out.

Unfortunately, by then, it’s usually too late. Wasting time is being unappreciative of how lucky you really are. Wasting time is not appreciating the phenomenon that is life.

There are those, however, that do appreciate life. They tend to differ from those who don’t, greatly.

1. Those who appreciate life don’t work jobs they hate.

To hate your job is to hate the time you spend doing that job. Or, in other words, to hate spending your precious time. We all have to do things that we don’t especially want to do, from time to time.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we should agree to spend 40 hours a week of our time for several years doing something we have to convince ourselves makes sense doing each and every morning that we wake up.

2. They don’t befriend people that aren't good for them.

We meet people. Unfortunately, most people that we meet don’t add to our lives so much as they take away from our lives.

This isn’t to say they are necessarily bad people – although that may very well be the case – but they clearly aren’t good additions to your life. Respect your life and leave them out of it.

3. They do their best not to date awful people and then do their best to move on as quickly as possible when they find out they are.

Falling for the wrong person happens. We live and we learn. You may not have a say in whom you fall for, but you do have a say in how much time you give that person.

Those who appreciate life most only give time to those worthy of it.

4. They have their priorities straight because they understand what’s important in life and what isn’t.

This is probably the most difficult concept to comprehend fully, simply because there is no singular universal answer. Although, there are some universal guidelines.

Life, love and goodness. How you add to those is up to you.

5. Those who appreciate life don’t take the lives of others for granted.

To appreciate life isn’t to only appreciate your life. It’s to appreciate what life is.

This includes the lives of other people, the lives of other creatures, plants, animals and everything in between. To appreciate life is to appreciate life itself.

6. They never waste a single day.

Time is what fuels life. When you run out of it, your life ends. Your time on this planet ends. All your hopes and dreams, all that you hoped to one day do, to one day see, to one day accomplish, all that comes to an end.

Those who understand how precious life is do not allow themselves to live a day they regret not fully living.

7. They look back from time to time, but don’t live in the past.

The things that we lived through are important to remember. They are filled with life lessons as well as many pleasant memories.

Our past shouldn’t be forgotten, but at the same time we shouldn’t be spending too much of the time that we have left looking back with disdain or sadness. What was, was and no longer is.

8. They are always curious, always trying to understand life more fully and answer life’s most fascinating questions.

A curious soul is a soul that understands the importance of knowledge. Without knowledge, there is no understanding. And without understanding, it isn’t possible to appreciate life for what it is.

Most living creatures are cursed with not being capable of understanding the significance of life. Although, to be fair, many would argue that we are the ones who are cursed because we do understand the significance.

9. They live both fast and slow – because that’s the only way to get the whole picture.

You shouldn’t live your life in one fashion, following one life motto. Living fast and dying young sounds like fun. Until that last part. Living slow and meditating all day sounds peaceful. And boring.

If you want to experience all that life has to offer then you have to live in both extremes, creating your very own balance.

10. Those who appreciate life most are those who understand how amazing they are, that truly love themselves.

If you don’t love yourself then you don’t love life – plain and simple. You are life. As far as you're concerned, you may very well be the only thing that actually exists. How could you not love yourself?

We are tangible beings that can become anything that we want to be. If you don’t love you now then change and become the person that you want to become, the person that you will love, the person that you are supposed to be.

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