How to Improve Your Quality of Life

Making your life better requires focus and planning. Looking at any psychological or medical research, you’ll find several ways to improve your life’s quality. Some of them won’t be any big surprise, but a couple might peak your interest. Read on for the best of the bunch.

1. Take care of your health. Eat right. Get regular dental care. Exercise. Move more. Use sunscreen. Limit or forego alcohol and sweets. Watch your weight. The medical experts assure us that doing all of these things will improve your quality of life. Even doing just a few of them will benefit you enormously!

• Drink tea. According to health experts, tea has all kinds of antioxidants in it that promote good health. Decaffeinated is best because it’s less dehydrating. Hot or cold, drink tea every day to improve the quality of your life.

2. Embrace your passion. Find something you love to do or have a great interest in and dive into it. Make time to get involved in activities that bring you joy and pleasure. You’ll discover more meaning and purpose when you consciously engage in activities and interests you adore.

• Spend the bulk of your free time with people you like, doing activities you love. If you’re looking to turn up the quality of your existence, then find who you love and what thrills you. Include them in your life all you can.

3. Cultivate healthy social relationships. Experts in psychology tell us that we’ll have a happier, more fulfilling life if we establish and maintain deep and meaningful social relationships. Having friends you can call whenever you want brings comfort.
4. Think positive. When your thoughts are more positive in nature, your approach to life will also be more upbeat. Sure, there will be times when things don’t go as planned, but if you think positively, you’ll make it through whatever is put before you. Life will improve immeasurably when you have a positive attitude.
5. Live the life you truly want. You have a responsibility to yourself to ensure you live the kind of life you’ve always wanted. Set goals for what you want and make a plan to get there. Do something each day to move you forward toward accomplishing these goals. When you take steps to make it happen, your quality of life will drastically increase.
6. Manage finances responsibly. Because living under the constant stress of unpaid bills and financial hubbub can wear you down, decide to be responsible with your money. Your existence is easier when you have your finances under control.
7. Be grateful for what you have. Recognize the good things in your life. The roof over your head, a steady job, and time for golf or reading just might be the basic structure for the life of your dreams.
8. Embrace simplicity. Keeping life simple is a great way to give your life purpose and meaning. After all, if you only include in your life the activities and possessions you truly love, you’ll find that life is good to you.

As you strive to improve your quality of life, you’ll come to recognize that the key is being truly engaged in your own existence. When you make conscious efforts to include all these important elements, you’ll naturally discover the great life you desire and deserve!

8 Activities That Build Your Self-Confidence

Everything becomes easier when you’re brimming with self-confidence. As soon as self-doubt enters your mind, your ability to act is compromised. Self-confidence might seem to rise and fall in a random fashion, but there are steps you can take to increase the level of confidence you experience on a regular basis.

Enhance your self-confidence and accomplish more with these techniques:

1. Achieve a goal. Start small. Your goal might be to arrive at work on time every day this week or to eat a piece of fruit each day. Easy goals are easy to accomplish. When you accomplish something, you feel more confident. Choose easy goals that make a difference. The accomplishment of many, small goals will change your level of confidence.
   
   
2. Make a list of your accomplishments. It’s interesting that our failures are easy to list, but our accomplishments require a little more pondering. Make a list of your accomplishments and review them each day. Remember how great you felt at that moment.
   
   
3. Groom yourself to a higher standard. Get a better haircut. Spend a little more time and attention on your grooming each morning. Learn how to apply your makeup more effectively. Trim your beard in a more attractive manner. Trim those stray ear and nose hairs. You’ll be surprised how much better you look and feel.
   
   
4. Be assertive. Having more control over your life results in greater self-confidence. One of the quickest ways to increase the level of influence you have over your life is to be more assertive. Give yourself small tasks to accomplish that require assertiveness. A few examples you might consider:

• Walk into a fast-food restaurant and ask for a cup of water without ordering anything else. It doesn’t matter whether your request is granted. Just ask.
• Tell your boss one thing you’d like to change about your job or your work environment.
• Make one suggestion to your significant other that would enhance your relationship.

5. Dress nicer. We all feel more confident when we’re dressed well. Up your game and put the “nice clothes” in your closet to work for you. Think of your friend or coworker that dresses the best. Shoot for a similar level of clothing while maintaining your own style. It takes the same amount of time to put on a nicer shirt.
   
   
6.   Practice breeds confidence. You’ll be much more confident if you practice your speech ten times instead of five. Whether you practice your flirting skills or your ability to give presentations, your confidence will increase with practice.
7. Drop one thing from your life. The odds are high that you’re currently stuck with an obligation in your life that you don’t enjoy. While there are some things in life you have to do, there are just as many that you don’t. Take control and drop one of these non-essential activities that you prefer not to do anyway.
8. Find a mentor. The right mentor can make all the difference. Knowing that you have an expert on your side is sure to boost your confidence. A good mentor will provide the support and guidance necessary to reach your goals. Good mentors aren’t easy to find but are well worth the effort to locate.

Some of us are blessed with a high level of self-confidence while others must learn to cultivate it. Focus on your accomplishments, be more assertive, and find a mentor. Spend time each day growing your self-confidence and experience real personal growth.

Can Being a Little Selfish Enhance Your Life?

For as long as any of us can remember, we were told to share with others. Consideration for others was a common theme throughout childhood. Does that mean that being selfish is always wrong? Being selfish on occasion can be the best thing for you and your loved ones. There are several reasons that support the idea that selfishness can be positive.

Getting what you want provides benefits to everyone around you.

Consider the advantages of being selfish:

1. You’ll experience more happiness. Studies have shown that being a little selfish ensures you’ll spend more time on activities you enjoy and acquire the things you desire the most. If you’re happier, you’re more productive, altruistic, and resilient.

• Your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors all benefit when you’re happy! Just ask them.

2. You’ll enjoy better health. Taking time to exercise, get enough sleep, and eat properly will result in better health. When you’re healthier, you’re better able to care for those around you. You’re also likely to live longer.
3. It’s easier to set boundaries and enjoy healthier relationships. Ensuring that your relationships satisfy your emotional needs might be a little selfish, but it’s also healthy. Others will have a much more difficult time being manipulative or taking advantage of you. The ability to say “no” is important to any relationship.
4. Being a little selfish provides the opportunity for self-development. Taking time away from other obligations to spend on your personal growth enables you to become the best possible version of yourself. Development requires time and attention. If you’re never selfish, you won’t find the time to grow.
5. Your life will be more meaningful. Selfishness ensures that your life is filled with the people and things that mean the most to you. Creating this type of life requires a consistent focus on oneself. How can you accomplish a big goal in the total absence of selfishness? It’s necessary to withdraw your attention from other things to accomplish something great.
6. You’ll be more attractive to others. Think about the least selfish person you know. Do other people respect them? Are they full of energy and have control over their lives? Being too altruistic often results in exhausting your resources and running yourself ragged.
   
   
   • People are attracted to others that dictate the circumstances in their lives. Confidence and success are attractive. Who doesn’t admire those that look, feel, and perform their best each day? These qualities can’t be created and maintained if your focus is always on the needs of everyone else.

7. You’ll be less needy. If you’re not taking care of your own needs, you’re putting yourself in the position of needing more from others. Being dependent on others results in being dependent on the whims of others.

None of this is a complete endorsement of selfishness. Taken too far, selfishness will alienate others and create more challenges than it solves. You probably don’t want to spend time with the most selfish person you know.

Use a little selfishness to increase your enjoyment and improve your ability to be there for the people in your life. By helping yourself, you can help others.

Seek to find the ideal balance between focusing on yourself and focusing on others. Set aside time each day to spend on yourself. The benefits you receive will also benefit the people in your life. Everyone will ultimately be grateful for your selfishness.