Life may be overwhelming at times and it’s up to you to improve the quality of your life. You don’t need to climb any mountains and sometimes some minor adjustments to your daily habits can make the change in the world. You don’t need to feel all alone as most of us get through this moment, sooner or later.
Some of our natural tendencies are a bit more difficult to overcome and it’s not rare to see your life not turning as planned. Most of the time, though, the quality of our life is more related to the basic habits that we have on daily basis. Improving your habits means you’re improving the quality of your life on several levels.
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What is the quality of life anyway?
Despite some may think, the quality of life isn’t related to the standard of living. Your standard of living depends a lot on your income so it has a marginal influence on the quality of your life.
Quality of life relates to your entire leisure, happiness, health, vitality and income. This point of view helps describe better the quality of life. This doesn’t stop some people from still defining their quality of life only related to the amount of money they have. Money does count, but they’re not the only things that count.
People with access to money do have access to various resources and may improve many areas of their lives, for sure. But statistics tell us that they’re not necessarily happier and income increase brings only temporary improvement of happiness.
Happiness doesn’t last long when it’s related to monetary gains and it’s only a part of the picture. “Money does come to the world go round, but keep in mind that “best things in life are free”.
Ever heard of the Hedonic Treadmill?
It was in the ‘70s (1972 to be more precise) when 2 behavioral psychologists, Brickman and Campbell, launched the term “Hedonic Treadmill”, as “Hedonic Adaptation”. The term related to human natural tendencies to come back to a set point of happiness after dramatic changes- it doesn’t matter if they’re positive or negative- in their lives.
The Hedonic SetPoint is, in fact, a starting point of happiness and we all have it and we do come back to it, even in the case of a drama or a major windfall of cash, due to some lottery wins. Campbell and Brickman published a study that lottery winners and paraplegics came back to their baseline level of happiness after a while.
The two psychologists are convinced that we all have this baseline of Hedonic Set Point that is caused by both experiential knowledge and hereditary ways. Even if the baseline level of happiness may differ from one another, the concept is essential in getting to the root of happiness and increasing the quality of your life.
The good habits for improving the quality of life
There are many ways that have a good effect on the quality of your life. It’s not only about the money, as many may think, but also about health, happiness, and vitality.
If you’re determined to improve the quality of your life, it’s important that you start good habits. You need to eliminate the bad ones and practice only the ones that bring you joy.
Good habits are going to increase the level of vitality, happiness, income and leisure, but you need to give them time.
There are 5 spectrums that count on improving the quality of your life so scroll down for the detailed tips.
Vitality habits
The amount of energy you have on a regular basis is related to your habits too. Poor habits mean less energy and vitality for you. Here are some of the habits you need to nourish for more vitality:
1. Sleep 7 hours at least
Getting at least 7 hours of sleep is essential for your vitality. When we’re sleeping, there are many things happening and our body not only rests, but it also recharges and unwinds. Our unconscious mind is busy restoring, recharging and re-energizing during our sleep.
2. Manage better your time
If you’re managing efficiently your time, you may notice more energy and vitality. This means daily attention and pursuit of the important. This also means you’re able to see what’s important in the long term and you don’t react only to the urgent matters that come along the day.
You may become better by writing down lists and creating tasks for the day, having it all clear about their priority. You should eliminate forever procrastination, over-surfing the internet or over-watching television.
3. The inspirational input
You may add some vitality to your life through daily inspiration. Give a thought on what inspires you, what pushes you forward and gives you boost throughout your life.
Imagery is one of the best ways to make an idea. Pictures are great and you may hang your favorite dreams so that they inspire and motivate you towards accomplishing them. Whenever you’re feeling down, take a look at them and enjoy the boost you’re getting.
4. Exercise
You only need 20 minutes each day for exercising in order to see the big health benefits. Many of us don’t exercise and live a life without vitality. Our body needs to move, but this means you need to sweat a lot.10,000 steps each day may have its benefits on your health, but it’s doesn’t have the same effects as exercising.
A simple set of exercises may be enough for you. No matter what exercises you do, just do it- like in the famous commercial. It may be yoga, light jogging or lightly-strenuous activity- you only need to start building the habit.
Give your body time until you get to see the results as it takes time to build a habit. Start slow and step up your game slower in time.
5. Don’t forget about your greens
Studies have shown that we need a pH level of 7.365 in order to survive and this level is pretty alkaline on the scale. When we’re eating, our body works on it and uses the foundational inorganic components for the energy. It may be acidic in nature (coffee, sugar) or alkaline in nature (vegetables, fruits and so on).
In order to give our body the alkaline “treats”, we need to take in foods that are alkaline in nature. The most efficient foods would be the greens- foods that are organic in nature: fruits, lemons, pepper, root vegetables and so many more. Keep in mind that too much acid may cause death and some illnesses as well.
This is why we need alkaline foods, which are the green foods as too much acid means high risk for coma and even death.
Happiness habits
There are 5 top habits that count on your overall level of joy and content:
1. Daily gratitude
You should spend even 30 minutes daily listing the things you’re grateful for. Even on a bad day, try to find something, focusing on the goods.
2. Smile, even when in stress
Smiling has a great effect on stress and there are so many studies on that. When you smile, you send a powerful impulse to your mind, which has an influence on your neurochemistry.
Studies show that people that kept a Duchene smile on their faces presented lower heart rates after a stressful activity.
If it’s impossible for you to smile, simply put a pencil in your mouth and the natural curvature of your mouth is going to cause a smile, for sure. Try it for 20 minutes every day and…observe the good effect on your blue mood.
3. Meditate
We’re not necessarily thinking about religious experience as you may try meditation for decreasing your stress level, lower your blood pressure, boost your happiness and get in control over your anxiety.
Mindfulness meditation is going to minimize psychological stresses related to anxiety, depression, and pain.
You only need around 15 minutes of mindful meditation, as you sit silently and are into the moment. Take the past and the future out of your mind, without thinking about any things or worrying. Keep your eyes closes and pay attention to the sound around you. Let the sun warm up your shoulders, breath in the air around and let the coolness of the breeze in your room get into your lungs.
4. Get in touch and spread that love
Connecting with others and spreading love is one habit that is going to improve your happiness for sure. Hug someone or let someone hug you. Tell someone you appreciate them or simply listen to your friend. Taking interest in someone is going to bring you so much joy.
Talk to someone once a day or meet a friend too. Tell them how much you validate them and show them love and kindness. What you send into the world, you get back 10-fold.
5. Learn every day
Learning is fundamental for your happiness and your quality of life. It helps you grow, mature and get more experiential knowledge of the world. It helps you take a better look at your life, allowing you to achieve your dreams too.
Use anything as a learning source: magazine, newspaper, video tutorial or a blog. Spend 30 minutes every day learning new things. You don’t need to go big every time and even a little bit helps you in a day, as long as you commit to it and do it daily.
Leisure habits
What you do in your spare time has a big effect on the quality of your life. Here are the 5 habits that you may develop for increasing the quality of your life.
1. Contribute
Leisure time isn’t related only to you and you may also help others in your spare time. When you’re contributing, you’re sending the message that not only money and time count to you.
2. Get organized
Spend some time of your leisure time to put your surroundings into order. “Clean house, clean mind” goes the saying and you only need a couple of minutes to clean up your desk, throw some things away and get a clutter-free work environment.
3. Do the thing that scares you
Step up your game with your leisure time and do one thing that scares you every now and then. The things that scare us hold us back, fear and anxiety are big barriers in improving the quality of our life.
4. Socialize and get connected
Socializing and networking count a lot for increasing the quality of your life. 79% of rich people spend even 5 hours on networking so you should start that today. It doesn’t have to relate to business and you may take an interest in people’s lives to receive more.
5. Do that thing you kept on postponing
Do the thing that you never have the time for. Overcome your procrastination and try to move your life forward. Make a list of the things you’ve been postponing for a while now. Spend 15 minutes daily to get one thing done. Even if you’re not done with it, at least you gave it 15 minutes of your time.
Income habits
Even if you’re not dreaming of the million bucks, you need to develop some efficient income habits to increase the quality of your style.
1. Save 20% of your income
It’s important to develop and stick to a schedule of saving as it’s not only for emergencies but also for the opportunity that may come. It’s the money you need to use if the right opportunity comes knocking at your door.
2. Set and review your goals
It’s important that you create a system for defining goals and that you also put some effort into goal setting every single day.
Follow the goals that mean something to you and don’t forget about the checklists that help you get what you want in time.
You need smarter monetary goals to improve your income goals: specific (S), meaningful (M), achievable (A), relevant (R), time-bound (T) goals that are evaluated (E) and re-evaluated (R) in time.
3. Daily budgeting
Start by dividing your monthly budget into a daily budget. Cut down your spending where it’s possible and save money as much as you can. Time goes by easy so you need to have some savings at all times.
Develop and stick to a budget and stay on track. You may save and invest your money in time and it’s easier like this.
4. Education
Education may be the fundamental income habit that you should develop. You simply can’t advance in your career or make a change for the better in your income without education. Education should happen every day and not once or twice a year. It’s best if you could spend 30 minutes each day with education related to your career or investments.
You may very well subscribe to a magazine, newspaper or newsletter in your favorite field. It doesn’t matter if you read it in print or online, but it’s important that you do subscribe. Are you planning to educate yourself in investments? Now it’s the time to spend each day learning, even just a little bit, and amaze yourself with the results after some time.
Health habits
Here are 5 habits that keep you healthy, having a good influence on the quality of your life:
1. Eat breakfast
You may not know it yet, but eating breakfast means, in time, an increase in memory and even weight loss, not to mention a lowering of your LDL (bad cholesterol). Our body does need a healthy and balanced breakfast full of nutrients in order to function right all day long.
It’s not boring, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you women who skip it may even develop Type II Diabetes.
2. The 10,000 steps
You may find this habit a bit more challenging, especially if you don’t do much walking on a daily basis. But you may very well be creative and change your routines a bit. Instead of driving in places, you may very walk a longer distance to and far from your car. It may not come easy to you in the beginning, but it’s going to help you build this habit in time. Focus and walk your 10,000 steps every single day.
Even though you can’t exercise every single day, you may walk at least 10,000 steps as it has health benefits. The risk of developing heart diseases and diabetes is lower when walking 10,000 steps per day.
3. Brush & floss your teeth
Brushing and flossing keep gum diseases at distance, and heart disease as well.
Gum disease may also cause dementia and arthritis, memory loss, rheumatoid arthritis or joint inflammation.
4. Drink 64 ounces of water
We need to drink at least 8 8-ounce glasses of water as water is essential to our body. Stay healthy and try to minimize the intake of sugary soda, coffee and have water instead.
5. Did you take your vitamins?
Getting the right vitamins and minerals every day has many health benefits, but it’s going to take us too much to highlight all of them. You need to make sure that you’re taking at least one daily supplement in order to get the essential vitamins and minerals that you need throughout the day. They count a lot for an efficient function of both mind and body.
It’s way too often that we don’t get the vitamins and minerals we need just from the food and drinks. Many of us don’t have a healthy variety of food and drinks, so the intake of minerals and vitamins becomes essential. You should make this a healthy habit for you and find that special once-a-day supplement that you may take to meet your daily needs.
