7 Key Elements to Achieve Quality in your Life amid Chaos

Ever wonder why you are feeling disconnected, hating your work, dreading going to work, and clamoring for a better quality of life?

Oh, I know, you are probably thinking, it’s the pandemic! The world has been shut down, daily routines have come to a halt, unlimited movement has been restricted and for God’s sake, people have lost loved ones! It’s a chaotic world!

Ouch! I hear you. Trust me, I’ve heard it all. I’ve felt it too. My heart aches for all of you who have experienced the loss of loved ones and feeling discontent in what seems like a crazy and chaotic world. The overall stress of the last two years has been unimaginable.

Go with me for a few moments.

I want to flip the script.

I believe you can achieve and experience quality of life despite the chaos and feelings of discontent.

What if I told you, feeling disconnected and craving for a better quality of life, existed prior to the pandemic? The pandemic is not the instigator. It is the agitator.

Stay with me.

The pandemic is simply agitating conditions that already existed and is bringing greater awareness to what was missing prior to it happening.

Let me explain.

With the hustle and struggle of day-to-day activities, you are over-stimulated, stressed and unaware of what goes on around you. You only see what’s before you. For example, your next work assignment, the next deadline, the unanswered emails, the chores, and on and on. Your focus is tied to your work, not on what’s not working in your life. All of us have the tendency to take life for granted and assume life is supposed to be a certain way. It’s an easy mindset trap. Work hard, achieve status and prestige; accumulate money and wealth; and the rest of your life will take care of itself. Your joy and happiness will come. Right? We all have been conditioned to believe it.

But reality is far from it. When your basic physiological and psychological needs go unmet, over time emotions disrupt.

Sound familiar?

Years ago, while driving my normal route to work one day, I noticed beautiful trees with fluffy, white blooms planted along the medium separating the two lanes. I literally took this route for years, but that day, it caught my attention in a way that felt new. I felt joy rush over my spirit. When I got to work, I anxiously shared my experience with a team member who live in the same area. I expressed my appreciation for the great work the County Executive was doing to beautify the roadways. She looked surprised. Her response was, “Jena those have been there for years.” Another team member chimed in and pointed out other places as well. They both were fully aware. My amusement turned to sadness. Later that evening driving home, I was overcome by emotions. I realized, I had been so busy making a living, I was not living. I was unaware of my surroundings. My work was my life. It was my aha moment. I needed to refocus and prioritize my life.

In the stillness of the pandemic, a similar impact is happening across the masses agitating existing anxieties. People are becoming more aware of the world around them and want to see and experience more beauty in their life.

The challenge is to figure out what quality of life looks like for you and how you can achieve it. It’s the same challenge that my clients face when they come to me. They have lost their identity outside their career and must rediscover who they are before they can truly create the life they want. Quality of life is different for every person, but you can achieve it and have fun discovering it for you.

To help you get started, here are 7 key elements that bring quality to your life:

1. Focus on what’s truly important in your life.
Society puts a huge focus on your career and job as measures of success and you lose sight of what’s important to you. The work culture pushes you into overdrive at a pace that forces you to choose work over your personal life. This is not sustainable. While work is important to financial well-being, it is only one aspect of well-being. Focus on other aspects that create fulfillment, sense of belonging, contribution, significance, and total well-being. I use a proprietary life tool with my clients to help them identify gaps and establish aligned priorities.

2. Define success according to your terms.
Success comes in many forms. It is defined as achieving an aim or a purpose. It is broad and personal. Aim for goals aligned with your core and pursue growth consistent what you desire. Frustration and self-doubts emerge when you compare yourself to others whose goals and aspiration are different from yours. Define your own terms and confidently move toward your desired success.

3. Follow your purpose and flow with passion.
I believe every person has a purpose that emerges at an early age, but rarely is purpose associated with children. I refer to it as “how you show up in the world” with such ease and grace. Think of a person close to you. No matter who they meet, they always manage to be of service in some way. Even with a perfect stranger, they manage to impart a gift of wisdom, a smile, or a service. When you reflect, you recognize they have been that way their entire life. That’s purpose. It creates fulfillment. As an entrepreneur, a purpose-driven business strategy will serve a mission with greater impact, Influence, and income.

4. Build and maintain healthy relationships.
Relationships are key to establishing heart-centered connections that create joy, stability, and emotional well-being. Having someone you can count on and trust when you need, takes away loneliness and makes you feel cared for and secure. The isolation during the pandemic caused people to recognize they did not have strong connections outside of work. Be intentional to grow, build and deepen your relationships outside of your career. Love relationships, strong family ties, and personal relations improve your quality of life. Negative and unhealthy relationships distract and drain your energy.

5. Engage in regular movement and exercise.
Move your body to strengthen your mind, improve your heart, and build muscle strength. Moving and exercising daily release endorphins that improve your mood, activate your happy meter, and improve mental clarity. During the pandemic, I started daily walks in my neighborhood to get fresh air and to move away from my desk. It became therapeutic and part of my mindfulness routine. Not only did I lose weight, I felt more creative, more relaxed, and gained mental clarity on anything posing a challenge that day. If you can’t get outside, just dance.

6. Sing and dance like no one is watching.
A sure-fire way to inspire beautiful moments and ignite your joy, turn on your favorite tunes, sing, and dance uninhibited! Research shows that music is a powerful energy that has mental, physical, emotional, and psychological benefits that boost your mental health, cognitive performance, focus, endurance, reduce anxiety, and increase your erogenous zones. It just makes you feel good! Music is a key part of the balance of the mind and one of the greatest healing factors for our stressed-out brains. The faster the tempo, the greater the mental arousal and good feeling. If you are feeling stressed or sad, stay away from slow tempos, and pump up the volume on upbeat tempos.

7. Be adventurous and try something new.
It’s tempting to stay in your comfort zone. Did you know that your brain literally craves new experiences to function properly? Reading, doing puzzles, and word games are cognitive exercises that help your brain function at optimal levels. Taking on new experiences activate the same cognitive benefits and bring feelings of accomplishment, excitement and youthful vibrance.

Your growing desire for a better quality of life is a call-to-action to rediscover, reprioritize, and refocus so you can start living your best life. You are not your work. Your work is simply a reflection of a part of who you are. You can experience quality in your life despite the chaos around you.

Dr. Jena L Bell

Executive Coach and Purpose-Driven Entrepreneur
CEO and Founder, Purpose on the Rise