Four Loaded Letters, YOLO

This morning an acronym comes to mind: YOLO.

You Only Live Once. The millennial’s term of the year. About 3 years ago.

I think I first heard this acronym used as a word in a rap song (my genre of preference) by a gentleman named Drake.

The details of the song are a bit explicit, so I will let you use your imagination or the google machine to paint yourself a picture of what a rapper may do because, well… YOLO.

Since I am not a rapper, although I wouldn’t say no to being a lyrical genius, my thoughts on YOLO are a bit different than what is heard in Drake’s song.

YOLO is the reason you should have aspirations that are beyond what you think possible and hustle everyday to reach them, without fear of failure or another’s judgement.

This life has no do overs, you can’t go back and re-live your 20s, 30s or even your 50s. You can’t buy more time and regret is a heavy burden to bear.

Live like Scotty from Meet the Millers and have ‘no ragrets,’ but do learn lessons because YOLO.

Challenge yourself because YOLO.

Push past your mentally defined limits because YOLO.

In fact, remove all the limits you have placed on yourself because you have created them to stay comfortable and, yes, YOLO.

Make changes today because YOLO and you may not have a tomorrow.

Learn from the past, live in the present and prepare for the future because YOLO.

Break free from mediocrity because YOLO.

Do the shit that makes you happy regardless of what others think because YOLO.

But don’t be a jackass because YOLO. Make smart decisions because YOLO. It is not an excuse for stupidity.

This list could go on for miles.

For the next week, at the end of each day take 3-5 minutes to reflect on the thoughts, actions and decisions that made up your last 24 hours.

Are you living each day to the fullest? Are you happy, grateful and fulfilled? Are you living free of fear and worry? Are you hustling to reach your goals? Do you even have defined goals?

If you come up with a list of no’s at the end of each day, it’s time to make some changes because, you guessed it, YOLO.