How to Measurably Improve Your Quality of Life

How to Measurably Improve Your Quality of Life
In order to improve our quality of life, we must first determine what our goals and desires are and then put a plan into place to work toward achieving those goals. With each of our long-term goals comes many choices and decisions, from what to try to how much effort to put forth. By assessing your current quality of life, you can focus on bridging the gaps and take advantage of opportunities you have to make improvements.

Understand the aspects of your life and experiences that most closely relate with the quality of life you desire. Which of your behaviors impact your quality of life? A few decades of research on what correlates most with quality of life gives us categories as listed below with a useful mnemonic of 'PERMA' :

P: Positive emotions: The moments consisting of positive moods, perspectives, or sensations, including feelings of happiness, gratitude, closeness, confidence, peace, hope, and inspiration.

E: Engagement: Periods of time when we are so caught up in the moment or activity we are working on that we have clarity and focus, time seems less relevant, and we are risen to our best. This is frequently associated with 'Eustress', which is the polar opposite of distress.

R: Relationships: The quality of our relationships is very highly interwoven with our overall quality of life. The strength of our social support structure or 'Personal Safety Net' is fundamental to many of our coping skills. Resiliency when facing challenges in our lives often stems from past or present interactions. Our relationships may contribute to our quality of life and invoke positive emotions. There are a select few who thrive more abundantly in solitude or in the company of an animal or pet. Often, these individuals focus on their relationship with themselves rather than with those around them.

M: Meaning: How well our work and personal relationships relate to our ideas of fulfilling a "greater purpose," contribute enormously to our self-esteem and confidence to continue to strive. The opposite is a feeling that we are wasting our time on trivial tasks that do not contribute to a greater cause. A sense of meaning is often easier to come by if what we do somehow contributes to the needs of a community we are a part of.

A: Accomplishment: A sense of accomplishment is closely tied to how efficiently we are able to complete our "to do" lists. But, it can also include the simple positive emotion that comes from completing an already-solved problem like a sudoku puzzle, or level of a video game.

H: Health: Not referenced in the original list, but worth including here, is the quality of our physical well-being, including how much pain we are in, how much mobility we have, and what our physical capabilities are. According to Gallups' research on global well being, the quality of our sleep plays a critical role in overall quality of life - if we are not getting enough quality rest, we are far more likely to be emotionally overwhelmed and, in turn, less productive.

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