Architect a High-Quality Life

How good can life be, if you reach for a better standard of living? How would you define that?

Just as everyone has their own definition of ‘success,’ we all have slightly different ideas of what constitutes a high-quality life.

Research shows, however, that there are some things that make life more enjoyable to virtually all people, things that are more highly correlated with happiness, life satisfaction, a stronger ability to cope with stress, and a higher quality of life in general. Happily, most or all of these elements can be added to one’s lifestyle for little or no money, so virtually everyone can improve their quality of life in these ways.

One of the elements that many people associate with a high quality of life is meaning:

We love engaging in activities that we are not only good at, but that help others or carry some significant meaning for us.

If you are in a career that feels meaningless to you, it may not be possible to make sweeping changes in your career path immediately–and there may be other reasons to stay put. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still find meaning in your life, either by restructuring your work or by spending time in other activities that are meaningful to you outside of your job. In fact, by spending time engaged in gratifications and other flow-producing activities, by infusing more meaning into your work, and just by staying in the moment, you can have more of what is enjoyable and meaningful to you.