8 Quick Tips to Improve Your Quality of Life

We all seek to have the highest quality of life possible and to that end I thought I would pass along some tips for living that have come my way and I have tried to implement:

1. Go outside.
If you don’t normally spend much time outside, make it a point to do it more. There’s something about the expanse of the sky that will bring out your deepest thoughts. Reflect on the parts of your life that bring you real satisfaction. Everyone is working towards something, but what makes you happy now? Rate your overall satisfaction with your quality of life for each day on a scale of 1 to 10. Reflect on what happened that pushed the number higher, rather than what made it lower.

2. Spend time with a child.
If you have one, consider yourself lucky. If not, I bet you have friends who would be happy to let you borrow theirs for a few minutes (or hours). It doesn’t matter what age they are, children see the world entirely different. Look at it from their eyes. Be their hero. Appreciate what they appreciate. Enjoy the simple things again. You’ll love it and they’ll love you for it.

3. Be where you are.
Focus on where you are and what you’re doing. When you’re at work, focus on work. Don’t feel guilty that you are not somewhere else. When you’re at home, focus on your home life and those you care about and try not to bring your work home. Easier said than done, but this will enable you to give the very best of yourself to the task at hand and people you are with. You will feel much better by not spreading yourself too thin and regretting what you don’t do.
4. Rest up.
Get enough sleep to feel awake and refreshed throughout the day. Sleeping too little, and supplementing with caffeine, will eventually make you feel worse. Make it a priority to get a full night’s sleep. There is no substitute for healthy sleep habits. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule allows your body can acclimate and will help you feel more mentally and physically balanced.

5. Take time to stretch throughout your day and be sure to maintain good posture.
We’ve heard it time and time again, but somehow it never sticks: Regular stretching and good posture helps keep your blood and oxygen flowing and helps you feel your best and avoid future pain and fatigue. Just try it, you’ll be amazed how much better you feel!

6. Read More. Set a goal to read at least one book a month. “You’ll be the same in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.” It’s a great quote from a motivational speaker by the name of Charlie Jones. There’s a lot of wisdom in those words.

7. Drink water.
Drinking plenty of water will help you feel more alert, healthier, and will decrease the amount of water weight you carry, helping you feel more attractive as well. It also prompts more frequent breaks, which helps keep your blood flowing, makes you stretch more often and gives you an excuse for brief socializing along the way.

8. Be happy for no reason.
Play and be happy, even if sometimes you don’t feel like it. You can choose to be happy wherever you are. Do something every day that makes you smile. Remember, you are only as happy as you make up your mind to be. Discover what it is that makes you happy and make a point to reflect on that every day. By focusing on the happy moments in your day, rather than negative ones, you’ll feel a lot better!

More to come next time!