Valentine's Day is just around the corner and you know what that means -- love is in the air.
But instead of writing about romance, chocolate, red roses and sweethearts, I want to discuss a different kind of love -- loving your life. Oddly enough, it's a love not normally spoken of during the one time of year that love is nationally highlighted.
How can you love your life more? Find your passion, adjust your attitude and commit more of it to doing what you love.
Reconnect With Your Passions
People who love their lives tend to be passionate, inspired people. They know what they're passionate about and can't wait to wake up and live into that passion every single day. Sometimes we get so caught up in our run-of-the-mill 9-to-5 that we forget how happy our passions make us. Sometimes, we just flat out forget what our passions are completely. Consider what it looks like to spend this Valentine's Day getting unstuck. Take some time to reconnect with your passions, and rediscover all the things that make you love your life. Identify at least one thing that fuels your soul, gives you something to wake up for in the morning -- that's your passion. When you realize what you truly care about, it becomes very easy to prioritize. My passions are being with my family, surfing and business -- and everything else plays second fiddle. They are what I pour myself into and they make my life worth living. Every day, I encourage my kids to try new things so that they can identify their passions and set the tone early for happiness and fulfillment. How can you infuse more passion into your life?
Wear Rose Colored Glasses
Loving life means being optimistic about your life. Find the silver lining in situations and come out the other end -- because life is, ultimately, great. As Kid President so finely put it, "You were made to be awesome." Everyone faces hardships, but loving life means knowing there are positives for every negative; you just need to look for them, and sometimes they're less obvious. For me, I lost two younger brothers to drugs and it was terrible. But through the pain and with the help of many, I was able to create a wonderful drug prevention nonprofit called Natural High that reaches millions of youth with a positive message. Optimism works. Loving your life depends mostly on attitude and gratitude. You only get one chance at it, so why not make it awesome? Make the decision to not just see your glass of life half-full, but overflowing.
Do What You Love, and Love What You Do
Fill your life with the things you love to do. Find excitement in your career, participate in fulfilling hobbies, and don't waste any time on things that you are less than stoked about. Life's too short to waste another second not doing what you love. One of the core tenets of Natural High is, "Do What You Love, Love What You Do." By encouraging youth to find something they love to do early on, we are setting them up for true, lifelong happiness -- and a reason to steer clear of drugs. Instead of just "saying no" to drugs, young people need something to say yes to, something to live for. When your time is spent on things you love to do, a passionate and positive lifestyle is a given.
This February 14, I challenge you to go beyond the usual Valentine's Day expectations and really think about how you can start loving your life more. Because the reality is, loving your life will only breed more love for the ones around you. And I think we can all agree, appreciating our life and the love that surrounds us is really all we need. So go on and spread the love.