3 Areas for Improving Your Quality of Life
What does quality of life mean to you? It’s one of those phrases people use a lot, but it doesn’t seem to have much of a fixed meaning simply because it can be interpreted in so many different ways. For some people, it means having a lot of money. For others, it means more time with family while for others it could mean not having a family at all. When you think about improving quality of life, it’s worth digging down first into what that means to you.
Living Space
Some people really do need little more than a place to sleep at night, but for most of us, having somewhere we can call home that is relaxing is a big part of quality of life. This could mean finding a place to live without roommates or that gives you more space to practice your hobbies. It could mean remodeling if you own your place. Try not to limit yourself when you think about this and other life improvements. For example, if you struggle to go up and down stairs or if you’re concerned about getting older and having mobility issues in a home with a lot of stairs, you could consider having a home elevator installed. You may have never considered this as a solution, but the new generation residential elevators are generally less costly and easier to install than you might imagine.
photo/ Anastasia Borisova
Career
There are many different approaches to improving your career. For some people, this can mean taking steps to finally move into the line of work that they really want. For others, it can mean stepping back from a demanding career in order to do something that is just a job in order to have more energy for family or other pursuits. For business owners finding ways to improve employee satisfaction is essential in today’s world. For still others, it may mean keeping the same career but looking for a way to improve work/life balance, perhaps moving to a company or organization that has a different culture. A lot of your waking life is spent at work, so if you’re not happy there, examining what it will take to change that will represent a significant boost to your quality of life.
Social Life
Do you wish you had more friends or better relationships? Maybe you’d like to get more involved in your community, or perhaps you’d like to be closer to your family. Humans are social creatures, and while history reminds us that there have always been a few who are happy as hermits, most of us thrive with at least some social connections, whether that circle is wide or small.
In fact, improving your personal life could mean improving the quality of your connections, making a large social circle smaller and more intimate. Spend some time thinking about what an ideal social life would look like to you, and then start cultivating that. As an adult, you might find it difficult to make new friends, but there are plenty of opportunities for doing so through hobby groups, volunteering or other community groups. You won’t have connections instantaneously, but try to look for groups that meet regularly with roughly the same people, and over time, your relationships with them will grow.
Author: JR
