Amazing Quality Of Life Doesn’t Equal Abundant Quantity Of Things

You live in a great house. You drive a great car. You go on vacation at least twice a year. You work at a great company in a great job. Everybody looking at you would think you’ve got it made!! Except you don’t!

What people don’t see is that all those ‘things’ are not making you happy. In the greater scheme all of these ‘great things’ are just that: only things.

Sure they afford you some kind of freedom, but lately, they have started to feel more like trappings.

You can live in that house, drive that car and go on vacation at least twice a year because you work in that great job. A job that has you easily working 80 hours per week. A job that leaves you little time for family, friends, hobbies or anything else. You can’t remember the last time you had enough time to yourself as well as quiet of mind that you could actually sit down and read a novel.

When you look around you everyone else seems to be doing the same thing. They live as you do. Drive a car as you do. Go on vacations as you do. They work in similar jobs. They seem happy enough.

Why then is it that to you all of it seems more and more like a rat race you no longer want to be part of. Who cares if your neighbour’s house is bigger, their car fancier and their vacations more exotic?!

You want quality of life and to you that’s not the same as quantity of things!

But what does quality of life mean? And more specifically what does it mean to you?

Figuring out what quality of life means can be a challenge because it is so very personal.

I’m sure you and I can agree education and wealth certainly contribute to quality of life, but at the same time we both know – and research has shown – that to be truly satisfied with your life you need to take a serious look at other things:

• your relationships with loved ones
  Who are your loved ones and what is your relationship with them? Anything you want to change about those relationships?
• the goals you set yourself and manage to achieve
  What goals have you set yourself and how will you achieve them?
• the extent to which you can work with your personal strengths and abilities
  What are your personal strengths and abilities and how much of them can you use in your work, your hobbies and your daily life?
• the life story you tell yourself
  What is the story of your life you tell yourself? Do you like it and if not, how can you change it?
• your willingness to keep learning and growing
  In what areas of your life do you continue to learn and grow? Are those the ones you want to focus on? What other areas might benefit from further learning and growing?

So ask yourself what are my answers to each of these questions?

Want a better relationship with your loved ones?

Start looking at what you yourself can do to change the current status. When you change the way you approach the relationship, the relationship will change with it.

Want to set goals and achieve them?

Start looking at what you want your life to be about (also see life story) and set goals that match your life purpose. Pick goals that you will have to stretch yourself to achieve, but don’t make them unattainable! Achieving a goal that you had to stretch to realise is not only more satisfying; you will also grow during the process.

Want to work from your strengths and abilities?

Start by figuring out what your strengths and abilities are. Do a test like StrengthsFinder 2.0. Use the test results to see how you already are using your strengths and in what areas of your life you can put them to better use.

Want to create your own life story?

If you don’t like the story of your life, create a different one! You can change the story of your life to one that better suits you, especially if you then start living that story.

Psychotherapists actually help some of their clients to “rewrite” their stories and become the hero (even if it is a suffering one) of their story instead of the victim. It works as good if not better than medication.

Want to keep growing?

Stay curious and keep learning new things. Keep an open mind. Be willing to change your opinion and your attitude. A growing mindset will help you in all the other areas that contribute to your life satisfaction!

Your life satisfaction comes from and is created by you and you alone!

Share your thoughts below and let me know. Be as specific as you can when you share your thoughts. Other people, Trailblazers like you, will be inspired by your ideas and actions.

As always…

Go dare greatly!