How to improve the quality
of your life

Do you wish you could be alive like this every day?

Instead, do you find your body and mind drooping at sunrise as well as sunset?

Are you feeling desultory and uninspired?

Is the rat race taking a toll on your life?

If you said yes to any of these questions, you might want to consider changing or tweaking some aspects of your life. Before you burn and crash, learn how to improve the quality of your life.

What constitutes a good life for you? Wealth, health, education, designation, qualification, relationships, perhaps? No doubt these parameters are all relevant for a good life. However, there is something to be said about how you live the life you already have.

After all, as Abraham Lincoln once said,  “And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”

With that in mind, take a look at some of these ideas to help improve the quality of your life.

How can you improve the quality of your life?

1. Go back to your ‘roots’

Do you take time out to appreciate the world around you? Taking a step back and going back to your roots can be an immensely refreshing and rewarding experience.

You could walk on a beach bare-feet, trek up a hill, bathe in the ocean, go cycling through trails, or, simply, go birding in your neighborhood park. The change in perspective and focus will take your personal quality of life index up a few notches!

2. Take time out for a hobby or sport

Work-life balance is a myth for some as work life tends to consume all available waking hours. Consciously, dig yourself out of this black hole. Fight for a better life by taking time out for yourself! What can you do? Try these ideas.

• Attend a class. You could learn a new language.  Mandarin and Spanish are popular languages spoken the world over and are very useful these days.
• Learn a new skill. Pottery classes are gaining in popularity – they help you focus and are, yet, very relaxing.
• Instead of surfing the internet, engage in a sport. You can kill two birds with one stone by playing with your kids!

3. Spend time with the old and young

Indian scriptures suggest that you spend at least 10 minutes every day with the old and the young. Why? Children are naturally gifted with an infectious energy and ideas that can rub off on you. You nurture your playful and innocent side that keeps your body and mind youthful. With the elderly you can gain knowledge. Both are essential to lead a good life.

4. De-clutter to make life better

• Lead a simpler life.
• Reduce the number of assets/possessions you own and use; value space over materialism. When you make space in your physical life, you will feel freer mentally.
• Economize on the time you devote to electronic gadgets. For instance, check your WhatsApp messages twice a day. At other times, switch off your Wi-Fi.

5. Travel and unravel

To fully appreciate the diversity around you, you must travel. You gain fresh understanding of different cultures and practices. It gives you ideas and the confidence to try new things in your life.

With a wider and more informed vision, you can create, participate, undertake and join in novel activities and experiences. It will help you live a more enriched life!

6. Meditate to appreciate

Now that you have gone outside and gotten some fresh air, how about delving within and finding your inner sun?! Meditation can awaken your inner spirit and help you live with awareness and knowledge.

The sense of composure, peace and acceptance of life you experience takes you to a different level. This helps you lead a healthier and more wholehearted life.

7. Value the gift of the present

The mind feels weighed down when you don’t pay attention to the present, choosing to dwell on either the past or the future. There is so much to do now that you don’t need any more baggage unrelated to the present.

Again, meditation can help you stay in the present. Your focus, then, will be on enjoying and appreciating the present. It will help sustain you through difficult moments, and invigorate you during the good ones.

8. Health is wealth

This cannot be over-emphasized. A balanced mind and a fit body can make a world of difference to the quality of your life. So,

• Incorporate exercise, yoga asanas, pranayamas or breathing exercises and meditation in your schedule.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Get adequate rest and sleep.

9. Disrupt your own patterns

Do something new and different to break out of your mold. You could join a salsa class, sing karaoke, tutor a poor child, or, visit an old age home.   Whatever breaks the monotony of the daily rut will help you move past saturation towards novelty and adventure. These are key attributes of a good life!

The heart always longs for the old, the mind for the new. Life is a combination of both.

- Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

So, ensure you strike the optimal balance between the heart and mind. And, include adequate portions of all of life’s ingredients. This is the secret recipe that will improve the quality of your life!

The Art of Living’s Happiness program is a harmonious mix of yoga asanas, meditation and breathing exercises like the Sudarshan Kriya. It shows you how to improve the quality of your life by connecting you with your inner spirit. It is the path to a full and wholehearted life that you are searching for!