Defining My "Best" Life

Yesterday, Ali on the Run wrote a wonderful post about being a responsible reader. That is, no longer reading blogs only to get angry over them or feel badly about yourself in comparison. I thought it was wonderful because I think we've all been there, reading things we hate or continuing to follow people on Facebook or Twitter when their every tweet or status update annoys us.

But it made me want to reflect on a few things and define my blog's tiny space in the gigantic Internet world of blogs.

If I am defining my blog philosophy, I should probably include pictures of mountains. 

There's a reason I titled this blog Jen's Best Life. It's about my workouts and race training and balancing law school (and, come fall, work) with everything else in life, yes. But I also post about dinners out and seeing movies and getting drinks with friends. Because to me, living my best life is not about constant deprivation in pursuit of some unattainable vision of perfection.

Instead, I try to eat and live with a forward-looking view. That is, what will make me feel best today? Tomorrow? A month from now?

Having a dog? All part of living my best life. How could seeing this not make me feel happy?

Most of the time what will make me feel best is relatively "healthy" eating, lots of veggies and fruit. But I hate the terms "good" and "bad" foods. When I go to a Mexican restaurant and gorge myself on tortilla chips and guacamole, they taste extremely "good" to me. If covered in cheese, even better. I don't do that every night, but a life without nachos is a life unlived (to me). 

Oh, and I don't work out to burn calories. I don't even count calories. I tried to for a while, and yes I lost a few pounds, but it felt so restrictive. That doesn't mean it can't be a wonderful weight loss tool, but I'm not trying to lose weight so why would I do something that makes eating less enjoyable for me?

Going for a run and watching my dad "run" the mini dachshunds should probably also go in a post about living my best life, right? 

I've written before about how it's hard to motivate myself to go to the gym or head out for a run. But even the shittiest run feels great at the end. So I run. And I love how strong I feel when I strength train. So I lift weights and do push-ups.

Being strong and fit makes me feel excited and alive, but enjoying baked goods and Tex-Mex also make me happy. (Yes, I'm obsessed with Mexican food and have mentioned it about 5 times already, judge me if you want. Or go out to a Mexican restaurant with me -- even better!)

This picture in my blog header of me cooking? I'm in Mexico. Making Mexican food. Guacamole, to be exact.

When I am 90 and reflecting on my life, I don't think I'll say "I wish I were three pounds lighter." I also don't think I'll say "I wish I'd eaten that cookie that one day that I turned down." I'm pretty sure I'll reflect on the relationships I had with people and what I accomplished in my life, and that's why a great night out at a Mexican restaurant having drinks with friends and eating nachos is worth it. It's also why training for half-marathons and then, someday, a full marathon is worth it.

How did we get to me on my deathbed? That's morbid. Anyway, all of this is just my philosophy on how I can live my most fulfilling life. It's what motivates me as I write this blog, and use having a blog as motivation to live my best life.

How do you try to live your "best" life?