How to Think of Good Things to Do - Live Life Like Ferris Bueller

By: Jackie White

​“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”
                                                                                                                                 -Ferris Bueller
 
Some of the best moments in life just happen, others are made. The classic 1980’s movie called Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is about a high school kid planning to skip school one day and make it the best day ever. It is a great example of how you can take an ordinary day and turn it into an extraordinary day. 

​Of course, the movie might have some over the top elements to it, but seriously, wouldn’t it be cool to be on a float singing Danke Schoen in Chicago? Why is that out of the question? Sometimes you just have to get out of the way of yourself! Here are some ways you can proactively create memories that will fill your life with meaning and fun!

​Be Brave and Confident
Sometimes some opportunities to jump into life’s arena of fun requires you to be brave. Just Do It. Step out of your comfort zone!

Ferris was filled with confidence and moved through life as such. Not everyone is like that, but it is imperative to push yourself to be brave in times when you are feeling awkward or unsure. Doing this will open the possibilities in life for you. You can take the risk and step into an opportunity to make a memory of a lifetime or you can sit quietly and watch it go by. (That is called regret. Don’t do that.)

You Are In Charge of Writing Your Story
There are opportunities that are thrown in your face requiring you to act immediately, to make a snap decision to get in the game or not. There are times when you could have participated in an event and you decided to not pursue it because “it’s too much hassle” or “you don’t do crowds” or whatever the excuse may be. Be aware that your excuses can be roadblocks to creating the life story you really want to live. It might be time to challenge some of those excuses or paradigms that are not serving you.  You need to set the expectation with yourself that you are in charge of creating a wonderful life full of beautiful memories both big and small. You can either participate or sit it out. In the end, it's your choice. 

​That brings me to my next point. If you are writing a story of a life well-lived, are you writing a good one? Do you have fun stories to share with others or is life getting a little flat? Are you still telling that one or two stories from when you were a kid and haven’t created more storytelling memories since then?

​Do you know that most people pull their memories from a span of about 15 years? From age 15 -30 is when many significant things happen in life like graduating high school, getting your first job, getting married or having a baby. All super awesome things to remember, but you need to add to that cache’ of memories or you will be 70 years old talking about that car you drove in high school over and over again.

​ “I’m Dying”….”You’re not dying, you just can’t think of anything good to do”.

Ferris’ friend Cameron is the antithesis of Ferris. He views life from the “glass is half empty” mentality. That life is happening to him, not for him. Cameron is shown in one scene lying in bed saying that he was dying. Ferris showed him that he wasn’t dying, he just wasn’t really living. Don’t let this happen to you!

So, if you see yourself through Cameron’s eyes and feel like you “are dying”. That life is void of color and energy, then you need to think of something good to do! Shake things up a bit! You need to make a decision to take action! How do you do that? I am glad you asked...

​How to Think of Good Things to Do:
Make of list of things you have been wanting to do and go do them
Check out events in your town that you could attend and attend them
Get together with friends or family and make new memories
Try something new and step out of your comfort zone
Take time to really enjoy what life has to offer 

​Finally, Ferris Bueller sums it up with this quote “The question isn’t what we’re going to do. The question is what aren’t we going to do?” That really opens the field for options of things you can do in life, am I right? So, get out there, make some memories and start living life a little more like Ferris.

What are some good things you can do today?​