How to Improve Your Quality of Life for a Happier, Healthier 2023

Pretty much anyone, if you ask them, would want to improve their quality of life if given a chance. Who wouldn’t want to feel better, happier, and more fulfilled? To live in a way that is both comfortable and rewarding? This is likely the fundamental desire that underlies every other goal we have. 

However, those goals and what they mean to us will vary a lot from person to person. Almost everyone will have a slightly different vision of what good “quality of life” actually means –  which means that there’s no single way to achieve it.

For some, they think of more money. Others think of a loving family. Still, others fantasize about having more energy and less stress. Many will imagine some combination of these things.  

So while there’s no single path to a better quality of life, there are a number of things you can keep in mind if you want to improve yours – and we’ve made a list of fifteen. Different things on this list may resonate with you at different times, so it’s worth considering which feels the most urgent right now and filing the others away for a later date. 

Take Care of Your Body

To have energy and focus for things you want to do, you need to take care of your health. And if you want to simply feel good as you go through your day – and your life – you’ll want to cultivate a good relationship with your body overall. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Eat well

Diet can be very individual, especially if you have specific health concerns or fitness goals. But in general: if you eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, you’ll feel better and function better. Eating well also means eating what gives you pleasure. So it’s worth it to explore what kind of nutritious foods you actually like (and even learn to cook them!)… and don’t be afraid to indulge once and a while. 

Get enough rest

Getting enough sleep is essential to pretty much every human function, and the effects of sleep deprivation can be severe. So get some shut-eye! Beyond just sleeping more, it can be important to simply slow down and take care of yourself – especially when you’re feeling run down, burned out, or dealing with illness and injury. We live in a culture that tends to reward productivity above all else, but sometimes some couch time is just what you need to recharge. 

Exercise

Exercise is another key piece of overall health. In addition to simply “staying in shape,” regular exercise has physical and mental health benefits that impact every area of your life. So figure out an exercise routine of whatever kind is enjoyable for you, and watch your life improve.   

Pay attention to your senses

Taking care of your body is about a lot more than simply maintenance, especially when we talk about real fulfilment. To improve your quality of life, it’s important to stop and smell the roses, as it were – that is, make some space for pleasure, in whatever form that takes for you. 

This can simply mean taking some time to relax and be present in your body and its sensations. But it can also mean finding ways to enhance your sensual enjoyment of life, whether that’s through food, a scented candle, looking at something beautiful, or having (solo) sex. 

Think about personal care and self-presentation

Feeling good in your body is also something we project outward to how we exist in the world and want others to perceive us. Simply taking good care of your personal hygiene, getting a good haircut, or buying some clothes that you feel good in, will go a long way towards improving your day-to-day well-being.

Nothing needs to be fancy or expensive as long as it makes you feel like a version of yourself you like. 

Take Care of  Your Mind

Being healthy in mind is just as important as being healthy in body if we want to get the most out of our lives. Here are things you can do to both soothe and inspire your mind: 

Reduce stress

Stress is a killer – it can literally shorten your lifespan, but it also makes it that much harder to enjoy life as you’re living it. Eliminating (or at least lowering) stress is a complicated topic because stress can be caused by so many things.

But identifying major stressors in your life and working to reduce them, as well as developing stress-relieving habits like meditation, can go a long way towards improving your quality of life.  

Identify what makes you happy

Happiness is another thing that can take many forms, and activities that make you feel good will likely overlap with other tips on this list. Maybe great food makes you happy, or working in your garden, or spending time with loved ones, or doing work that makes a difference in the world.

But consciously identifying what gives you pleasure and fulfilment is the first step towards making more room for those things in your life – and thus making your life happier overall. 

Spend time with the people you care about 

Spending time with friends and family is a sure way to boost your mental health and increase your quality of life. Among other things, strong social bonds can reduce loneliness, stress, and anxiety and support you in dealing with life’s inevitable challenges. 

Cultivate healthy relationships

Healthy relationships build you up, while unhealthy ones tear you down – bringing on stress, harming your autonomy and self-esteem, and occasionally even compromising your safety. If there are toxic relationships in your life that don’t seem to improve, it may be time to cut ties.

That will give you more energy to seek out, and strengthen, relationships that are mutually caring and empowering. 

Spend some time on self-development

Whether you want to read more, take up meditation, or work on your communication skills, learning – for the sake of self-improvement, or simply for its own sake – can be an enriching experience that will expand your sense of what is possible. 

Do What Inspires You

Whether it’s advancing your career, developing your hobbies, or doing some volunteer work (or a combination of these things), you can increase your quality of life by doing activities that you find fulfilling. 

Think about what you want from your career

For some people, their primary career motivation is making money because they feel the money will increase their quality of life. For others, it may be taking a non-profit job that doesn’t pay the big bucks but will help make a difference in the world.

Still, others may want a job that’s slightly less demanding so they can spend more time on other pursuits. Understanding what you want from your job within the context of the rest of your life will help you build a career that is suited to you. 

Make some time for your hobbies

Most people have interests that are not met by their career, whether these are intellectual pursuits, sports and outdoor activities, or a creative discipline. Developing these hobbies will make you more well-rounded, bring you into contact with interesting people, and will also mean that your job won’t have to be your whole life – which can come in handy during those inevitable times where work proves frustrating.  

Volunteer in your community

Studies have shown that volunteer work, and helping people in general, has serious mental health benefits – it reduces stress and depression and boosts feelings of happiness. Most people start volunteer work with the specific intention to do something they find meaningful, so it’s no wonder that this kind of service can have a major impact on quality of life.