I try to humble myself often that I'm not invincible and that I shouldn't take tomorrow for granted but eventually I completely forget about it and I'm back to mundane life. I wish there was an easy way to be reminded without being rudely awakened to the fact that I'm constantly distracting myself from what's important in life.
1) Risk your life. Do something so close to the edge your heart is pounding in your ears and you can taste your life flashing by. (You have to mix it up though. Race cars today, skydive tomorrow, wrestle bears next month. Fear fades with time)
2) Get into shape. Like, really really good shape. The world becomes so full of life it's like it's on fire.
3) Get yourself lost, in the city or in the mountains, with nowhere to go and nothing to do for a day or two. Don't come home until said day or two have passed.
Having done all of those things it just isn't enough and always leaves you wanting more. It's similar to having a customer write you a check (not through some job, but directly to you or your business) for the first time. You want it again and again.
1) Skydived. It was awesome!
2) 4-5 years ago I decided I wanted to be really strong. I can deadlift over 500lbs now.
3) This is a great thing to do, especially by yourself.
If you pick the right activities you can actually hit all 3 at once. A solo wintertime hike of a 14er is perfect (dangerous, physically challenging, lost feeling). A lot of people didn't understand why the CEO who recently died on Everest was on Everest at all. It's because he had to get away from his mundane, which to him was being a successful CEO.
I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center. - Kurt Vonnegut
Note that I'm not listing these things as way to escape mundane-ness, but as ways you can incorporate into your life with some regularity to remind yourself tomorrow is a gift.
P.S. There's more to "in shape" than strong. I was thinking more of the running sort of "in shape" (and the fast kind, not the jog-walk kind). Ramping up the strength of your heart and your running muscles has a very different feeling than bulking up your lifting muscles. If I was to describe the difference, I'd say bulking up made me feel good & more confident, while recovering my running endurance makes me feel like leaping into the air, sprinting up stairs, or running circles in the park with dogs for the sheer joy of it. It doesn't surprise me it feels like that, as I am a believer that we are runners the same way birds are fliers.
You're right. Strength is just what got me started. I play a lot of pick up basketball, surf, snowboard, hike, etc... When it comes to just regular running, 5k is about my limit since it bores me so much :)
The life as a gift thing I totally agree. I've wasted a lot of time as a youngster, and only in my 30s have I realized it. My wife is always telling me I'm too hard on myself (and really who isn't?), but there is so much more I want to accomplish. I really do feel like time is running out, and the squeeze only gets worse when trying to plan for a family.
I spent some time at death's door and I have 2e kids in my life and other significant challenges. Some thoughts:
1) Deal with your problems. You probably have some significant problems. But most of us don't want to really face them. For example, you probably have some medical condition that runs in the family that would likely respond well to preventive measures in terms of eating better and exercising. Most people do. If you are American, diabetes, obesity and so on are rampant. Eating right and exercising regularly are personal challenges, especially when surrounded by the way most Americans live. I do this every day and it's really rather exhilarating. I and my oldest son take a 7 mile walk at least once a week as part of our efforts to take care of our health issues. It's a lot more satisfying than spending every other weekend in the ER like I did some years back.
2) Do volunteer work with some charity that deals with some very big problem that hits a nerve with you personally. I have done volunteer work at a homeless shelter and I run a health site (that doesn't really make money, so it's still basically "charity") and spend time on email lists for folks with the kind of diagnosis I have. When I most feel like wallowing in self pity, my awareness that my problems are so much more manageable than that of most folks with the type of problems I have helps keep me grounded. If you are used to living in a more insulated fashion, I think the effect would be to keep you alive and help you avoid sticking your head in the sand pretending you don't really have problems.
