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The percentage of Americans considered to be “thriving” is on the decline while the number of individuals classified as “suffering” is higher than ever before.While this isn’t a positive trend, the good news is that people who want an improved quality of life canachieve this goal.
If this sounds like a monumental task, it’s worth noting that it’s possible to improve life quality, along with happiness and well-being, without having to make drastic changes.Here are six steps that, when taken, help work toward this effect.
At a Glance
Press Play for Advice On Creating Your Best Life
1Maintain Healthy RelationshipsHero Images / Getty ImagesOur interactions with others can affect our mental health. Research shows that not only dohealthy and supportive relationshipsincrease happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being, but they also reduce the risk of suicide.Conversely, negative relationships can create toxic situations filled with conflict and stress. Disconnecting from these unhealthy interactions and fostering healthy ones is vital to personal well-being.Ways to maintain healthy relationships include:Engaging inpositive thinkingBeing open about our thoughts and opinionsAssuring the other person that we care through both our words and actionsDeveloping our own relationships with friends of people we care aboutSharing tasks to help reduce each person’s responsibilities
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Maintain Healthy RelationshipsHero Images / Getty ImagesOur interactions with others can affect our mental health. Research shows that not only dohealthy and supportive relationshipsincrease happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being, but they also reduce the risk of suicide.Conversely, negative relationships can create toxic situations filled with conflict and stress. Disconnecting from these unhealthy interactions and fostering healthy ones is vital to personal well-being.Ways to maintain healthy relationships include:Engaging inpositive thinkingBeing open about our thoughts and opinionsAssuring the other person that we care through both our words and actionsDeveloping our own relationships with friends of people we care aboutSharing tasks to help reduce each person’s responsibilities
Maintain Healthy Relationships
Hero Images / Getty Images
Our interactions with others can affect our mental health. Research shows that not only dohealthy and supportive relationshipsincrease happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being, but they also reduce the risk of suicide.
Conversely, negative relationships can create toxic situations filled with conflict and stress. Disconnecting from these unhealthy interactions and fostering healthy ones is vital to personal well-being.
Ways to maintain healthy relationships include:
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Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Not getting enough sleep can negatively affect our productivity levels, emotional balance, creativity, and even our weight.Yet, getting a good night’s rest is often lower in priority than other things we have going on.
Ways to get a better night’s sleepinclude:
3Get MovingRegularexercise has a positive impacton both physical and mental health. Not only does it trim the waistline, but it can also curb depression, relieve stress, improve memory, and contribute to better sleep—all of which improve mood.Research indicates that even 30 minutes of exercise a day can make a difference.If sticking to regular daily exercise is difficult, joining a group fitness class, working out with a friend, and scheduling a consistent workout time are a few ways to stay motivated and inspired.Forms of exercise to tryinclude:Brisk walkingCyclingHikingPickleballTennisYogaHow Physical Exercise Benefits Mental Health
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Get MovingRegularexercise has a positive impacton both physical and mental health. Not only does it trim the waistline, but it can also curb depression, relieve stress, improve memory, and contribute to better sleep—all of which improve mood.Research indicates that even 30 minutes of exercise a day can make a difference.If sticking to regular daily exercise is difficult, joining a group fitness class, working out with a friend, and scheduling a consistent workout time are a few ways to stay motivated and inspired.Forms of exercise to tryinclude:Brisk walkingCyclingHikingPickleballTennisYogaHow Physical Exercise Benefits Mental Health
Get Moving
Regularexercise has a positive impacton both physical and mental health. Not only does it trim the waistline, but it can also curb depression, relieve stress, improve memory, and contribute to better sleep—all of which improve mood.
Research indicates that even 30 minutes of exercise a day can make a difference.If sticking to regular daily exercise is difficult, joining a group fitness class, working out with a friend, and scheduling a consistent workout time are a few ways to stay motivated and inspired.
Forms of exercise to tryinclude:
How Physical Exercise Benefits Mental Health
4Find Meaning at WorkWorking in a job that feels meaningless or directionless can be physically and emotionally draining, no matter how much it pays or the title it carries. The career we choose even affects our identity and shapes how we feel about ourselves.If work no longer has purpose or meaning, taking these actions can help:Offer to mentor younger or less experienced co-workersLook for opportunities to do tasks that feel more meaningfulShow appreciation and gratitudefor colleagues who make the workday more enjoyableChanging careers is another option. But if this isn’t possible, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still find meaning in our lives. Taking part in other gratifying activities, such ascharity workand hobbies, can also help.Engaging inflow-producing activities, or activities that take our complete focus, can infuse more enjoyment into our lives.‘Doing What You Love’: The Battle of Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
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Find Meaning at WorkWorking in a job that feels meaningless or directionless can be physically and emotionally draining, no matter how much it pays or the title it carries. The career we choose even affects our identity and shapes how we feel about ourselves.If work no longer has purpose or meaning, taking these actions can help:Offer to mentor younger or less experienced co-workersLook for opportunities to do tasks that feel more meaningfulShow appreciation and gratitudefor colleagues who make the workday more enjoyableChanging careers is another option. But if this isn’t possible, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still find meaning in our lives. Taking part in other gratifying activities, such ascharity workand hobbies, can also help.Engaging inflow-producing activities, or activities that take our complete focus, can infuse more enjoyment into our lives.‘Doing What You Love’: The Battle of Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
Find Meaning at Work
Working in a job that feels meaningless or directionless can be physically and emotionally draining, no matter how much it pays or the title it carries. The career we choose even affects our identity and shapes how we feel about ourselves.
If work no longer has purpose or meaning, taking these actions can help:
Changing careers is another option. But if this isn’t possible, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still find meaning in our lives. Taking part in other gratifying activities, such ascharity workand hobbies, can also help.
Engaging inflow-producing activities, or activities that take our complete focus, can infuse more enjoyment into our lives.
‘Doing What You Love’: The Battle of Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
5Plug Energy DrainsSeveral things can drain our energy throughout the day. For some, it may be a disrespectful co-worker or anunresolved conflict with a family member. Even small, seemingly inconsequential things like a cluttered table or a task we’ve been putting off can lower our energy stores.These types of stressors have a way of accumulating and weighing us down. Learning how to identify and eliminate them or, at a minimum, reduce their effects leaves more energy for doing things that we enjoy.To reduce energy drains:Pay attention to people or things that tend to create feelings of fatigue and reduce interactions with them if possible.Take care of tasks that have been piling up, aiming to complete at least one small ‘to-do list’ item each day.Learn to accept situationsthat cannot be changed or controlled.How to Shorten Your List of Stressors
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Plug Energy DrainsSeveral things can drain our energy throughout the day. For some, it may be a disrespectful co-worker or anunresolved conflict with a family member. Even small, seemingly inconsequential things like a cluttered table or a task we’ve been putting off can lower our energy stores.These types of stressors have a way of accumulating and weighing us down. Learning how to identify and eliminate them or, at a minimum, reduce their effects leaves more energy for doing things that we enjoy.To reduce energy drains:Pay attention to people or things that tend to create feelings of fatigue and reduce interactions with them if possible.Take care of tasks that have been piling up, aiming to complete at least one small ‘to-do list’ item each day.Learn to accept situationsthat cannot be changed or controlled.How to Shorten Your List of Stressors
Plug Energy Drains
Several things can drain our energy throughout the day. For some, it may be a disrespectful co-worker or anunresolved conflict with a family member. Even small, seemingly inconsequential things like a cluttered table or a task we’ve been putting off can lower our energy stores.
These types of stressors have a way of accumulating and weighing us down. Learning how to identify and eliminate them or, at a minimum, reduce their effects leaves more energy for doing things that we enjoy.
To reduce energy drains:
How to Shorten Your List of Stressors
6Make Time for LeisureMany of us haveenough work to occupy all our time—times two. But if we’re not allowing ourselves to relax and have some fun in addition to taking care of our responsibilities, we could be doing ourselves a huge disservice.Research shows that engaging in a leisure activity not only lowers stress levels and improves mood, but also enhances problem-solving skills.It may even leave us feeling more energized and excited about the things wehaveto do.This makes learning toembrace leisure timeimportant for an improved quality of life. Ways to do this include:Giving ourselves permission to slow down and not be productive every second of the dayIncluding leisure activities in our schedule regularlyDoing some leisure activities alone and some with others
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Make Time for LeisureMany of us haveenough work to occupy all our time—times two. But if we’re not allowing ourselves to relax and have some fun in addition to taking care of our responsibilities, we could be doing ourselves a huge disservice.Research shows that engaging in a leisure activity not only lowers stress levels and improves mood, but also enhances problem-solving skills.It may even leave us feeling more energized and excited about the things wehaveto do.This makes learning toembrace leisure timeimportant for an improved quality of life. Ways to do this include:Giving ourselves permission to slow down and not be productive every second of the dayIncluding leisure activities in our schedule regularlyDoing some leisure activities alone and some with others
Make Time for Leisure
Many of us haveenough work to occupy all our time—times two. But if we’re not allowing ourselves to relax and have some fun in addition to taking care of our responsibilities, we could be doing ourselves a huge disservice.
Research shows that engaging in a leisure activity not only lowers stress levels and improves mood, but also enhances problem-solving skills.It may even leave us feeling more energized and excited about the things wehaveto do.
This makes learning toembrace leisure timeimportant for an improved quality of life. Ways to do this include:
How to Improve Your Psychological Well-Being
11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Witters D, Agrawal S.In U.S., poor life ratings reach record high. Gallup.Medvedev ON, Landhuis CE.Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.PeerJ. 2018;6:e4903. doi:10.7717/peerj.4903Southwick SM, Sippel L, Krystal J, Charney D, Mayes L, Pietrzak R.Why are some individuals more resilient than others: The role of social support.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(1):77–79. doi:10.1002/wps.20282We Think Twice.5 tools to maintain healthy relationships. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Zeek ML, Savoie MJ, Song M, et al.Sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(5):63. doi:10.5688/ajpe79563Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips for better sleep.National Library of Medicine.Benefits of exercise.Childs E, de Wit H.Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.Front Physiol. 2014;5:161. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00161Aftab A, Lee EE, Klaus F, et al.Meaning in life and Its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: A study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the fifespan.J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;81(1):19m13064. doi:10.4088/JCP.19m13064Knight R.How to find meaning when your job feels meaningless. Harvard Business Review.Zawadzki MJ, Smyth JM, Costigan HJ.Real-time associations between engaging in leisure and daily health and well-being.Ann Behav Med. 2015;49(4):605-615. doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9694-3
11 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Witters D, Agrawal S.In U.S., poor life ratings reach record high. Gallup.Medvedev ON, Landhuis CE.Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.PeerJ. 2018;6:e4903. doi:10.7717/peerj.4903Southwick SM, Sippel L, Krystal J, Charney D, Mayes L, Pietrzak R.Why are some individuals more resilient than others: The role of social support.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(1):77–79. doi:10.1002/wps.20282We Think Twice.5 tools to maintain healthy relationships. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Zeek ML, Savoie MJ, Song M, et al.Sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(5):63. doi:10.5688/ajpe79563Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips for better sleep.National Library of Medicine.Benefits of exercise.Childs E, de Wit H.Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.Front Physiol. 2014;5:161. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00161Aftab A, Lee EE, Klaus F, et al.Meaning in life and Its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: A study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the fifespan.J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;81(1):19m13064. doi:10.4088/JCP.19m13064Knight R.How to find meaning when your job feels meaningless. Harvard Business Review.Zawadzki MJ, Smyth JM, Costigan HJ.Real-time associations between engaging in leisure and daily health and well-being.Ann Behav Med. 2015;49(4):605-615. doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9694-3
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Witters D, Agrawal S.In U.S., poor life ratings reach record high. Gallup.Medvedev ON, Landhuis CE.Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.PeerJ. 2018;6:e4903. doi:10.7717/peerj.4903Southwick SM, Sippel L, Krystal J, Charney D, Mayes L, Pietrzak R.Why are some individuals more resilient than others: The role of social support.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(1):77–79. doi:10.1002/wps.20282We Think Twice.5 tools to maintain healthy relationships. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Zeek ML, Savoie MJ, Song M, et al.Sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(5):63. doi:10.5688/ajpe79563Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips for better sleep.National Library of Medicine.Benefits of exercise.Childs E, de Wit H.Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.Front Physiol. 2014;5:161. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00161Aftab A, Lee EE, Klaus F, et al.Meaning in life and Its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: A study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the fifespan.J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;81(1):19m13064. doi:10.4088/JCP.19m13064Knight R.How to find meaning when your job feels meaningless. Harvard Business Review.Zawadzki MJ, Smyth JM, Costigan HJ.Real-time associations between engaging in leisure and daily health and well-being.Ann Behav Med. 2015;49(4):605-615. doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9694-3
Witters D, Agrawal S.In U.S., poor life ratings reach record high. Gallup.
Medvedev ON, Landhuis CE.Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.PeerJ. 2018;6:e4903. doi:10.7717/peerj.4903
Southwick SM, Sippel L, Krystal J, Charney D, Mayes L, Pietrzak R.Why are some individuals more resilient than others: The role of social support.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(1):77–79. doi:10.1002/wps.20282
We Think Twice.5 tools to maintain healthy relationships. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Zeek ML, Savoie MJ, Song M, et al.Sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(5):63. doi:10.5688/ajpe79563
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips for better sleep.
National Library of Medicine.Benefits of exercise.
Childs E, de Wit H.Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.Front Physiol. 2014;5:161. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00161
Aftab A, Lee EE, Klaus F, et al.Meaning in life and Its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: A study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the fifespan.J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;81(1):19m13064. doi:10.4088/JCP.19m13064
Knight R.How to find meaning when your job feels meaningless. Harvard Business Review.
Zawadzki MJ, Smyth JM, Costigan HJ.Real-time associations between engaging in leisure and daily health and well-being.Ann Behav Med. 2015;49(4):605-615. doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9694-3
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