You may believe that wealth or a good-looking companion is evidence of success and an optimal life. But you would be disappointed. More often that not, you’ll find the exterior facade of wealth and beauty hides the misery and dysfunctional relationships that all of us have to deal with. So, what is optimal living and how do get there?
There is a saying that, if everyone were to throw their problems in a pile, and see everyone else’s, they would grab their own right back. Your neighbors and acquaintances may seem more content with their lives than you are. But if you were able to do the comparison, quite likely, you would find your problems to be the least. It may seem that there are not many people leading an optimal life. Few go around gushing about life’s positives, only complain about their woes. Is there anyone of whom you could say, that’s optimal living?
Optional Living Is a Personal Thing
Optimal living is a personal thing. People differ in their abilities and circumstances. Some things you cannot change, with the best will in the world. One way of defining an optimal life, would be one in which you are content and satisfied with whatever you have. Optimal living does not depend on your wealth, status, or good fortune. Essentially, if your are satisfied with what you have, it is an optimal life that you live.
Your life is as optimal as you want it to be. You have it in your own hands. They say, life is what you make it. You could brood about the misfortune in your life, or deal with it positively to the best of your ability. That’s not to say that gaining control of your life won’t take some planning.
Optimal Living Is Finding the Perfect Balance
Contentment with your life and circumstances comes from striking the ideal balance in your health, wealth, relationships, and mental well-being. Optimal living means you should not emphasize one to the exclusion of others.
Optimal living also does not mean for example that you should live in poverty and be content with it. There is no denying that you need money to survive in today’s world, and if that is what you find missing in your life, you need to work towards improving your wealth. The same goes for all aspects of optimal living.
Let’s take another example. Having a happy family life is an important part of optimal living for many. If your family relationships have broken down for whatever reason, taking responsibility for improving family relationships can contribute a great deal to leading an optimal life.
It all starts with your mindset. Your perspective, your way of thinking is what determines whether your life is optimal. In the process of finding an optimal life, you may need to re-examine your ideas. Your thinking or ideas may be what is stopping you from an enjoying an optimal life.
Striking a Balance between Health and Wealth
Your health is your most valuable asset. In fact, it would be true to say that if your health is lost, everything is lost. For optimal living, this is the first issue you need to tackle. Whether you understand good health to mean to be superbly fit, or just the absence of disease, it boils down to one thing – being able to make your life more productive. This will enable you to lead a more enriched and optimal life.
If you think about it, wealth follows good health. Only when you are healthy, can you perform well at work and in earning an income. That’s why people save to ensure their financial security in their old age, when they may be no longer able to work on account of frailty or ill health. You need good health to be able to earn money and to enjoy life.
Some people think that wealth can buy good health. After all, money can buy the best cures or medical treatment. Or enable you to spend more time exercising and looking after yourself. Sure, but it is better to be healthy first. Wealth is no guarantee of good health. The secret to optimal living is to strike a balance between health and wealth.
Optimal Living and Your Family Life
For many people, the family is the most important part of their lives. They say, a man (or woman) is only as happy as his family is. Any problem within your family is bound to manifest itself in your behavior. When thinking about optimal living, You cannot ignore your family.
The reality is society is changing. We drift apart from those close to us, even when we are living in the same house. Impersonal communication technologies make people are losing the emotional their connection. Celebratory family dinners and festival gatherings are dwindling away. People are bringing their work home, leaving them less time for family.
The lack of family time leads to issues as loneliness, depression, family spats, and a refusal to talk to each other. All of this take a toll on those involved. The solution is communication. You need to make a point of talking to your family members every day. They say, a family that eats together, stays together. Make emphatic, responsive family gatherings a routine. Participating is such exchanges will help you find a balance between work and family life.
Enjoying Life
If you wish to create an optimal life, you should indulge in the joys and delights of life. These mean different things to different people. Some people enjoy cooking, while others may have fun by listening to music, or participating in sport or other exercise. Whatever it is that drives you, make enjoyment and fun part of your life.
Everyone likes food, though individual tastes may differ. In all societies and countries, all over the world, people are entertained and treated with good food whenever there is any cause to celebrate. That does not mean you should turn yourself into a food hog or use it as a means of stress busting. Optimal living means having great food, whether at a restaurant or at home, but in moderation.
Another source of enjoyment, is entertainment and recreation. Whatever your idea of fun is – whether it be watching movies, attending music concerts or sporting events, traveling, or just reading – you should not deprive yourself of it, due to work or other demands on your time. A dose of entertainment will rejuvenate you and help you work at the other aspects of an optimal life.
Exercise doesn’t have to be a sole destroying activity. Sport is exercise too, and an integral part of life for many. If you’re able, you can join a sport club to play your favorite sport, or participate in weekly fun runs. Participating in sport will also allow you meet new people and make new friend. You will soon find that your quality of life improving.
You should not downplay the importance of getting out and finding entertainment and new friends in your pursuit of an optimal live.
Pursuing a Hobby or Other Pastime
If you want to make your life more meaningful, you should fill the voids. An optimal life is a productive one. One way of doing this, is to pursue a hobby or other part-pastime. A hobby is something that you enjoy doing. Whilst it probably won’t bring in any money, it will give you peace of mind.
Having a pastime, helps you getting more out of your life than what your work can give you. You will doing some creative and that will make you feel good about yourself. Popular pastimes include gardening, traveling, painting, and reading. In fact, any hobby that has something to teach you, or helps you to see things differently can add richness to your life.
Investing in the Future
A conventional piece of advice is that you should live in the present. But you would be mistaken if you think achieving happiness is thinking only about the present. Optimal living means you also have to invest in the future. An optimal life is one which is secured for the future.
Living with the knowledge that your future is secure, will certainly not enable to make the most of today. Securing your future does not only mean taking out insurance against future mishaps or emergencies. It’s not just about monetary security. You also have to invest in relationships. Spreading love, building trust with and reaching out to people, and offering companionship where needed, will ward off loneliness and despair later in life.
Optimal living means that you are also looking to the future, and making life choices that will stand you in good stead in time. It also means that you build relationships that will last.
Assessing Your Life
Do you go to bed fearful, dreading the next day? Or do you go to be, relaxed and eager to face the next day? Those few minutes between hitting the bed and falling asleep are when we assess your life. This is when you assess how far you have come and where you’re headed. It may be your best indicator of how optimal your life is. Whether you fall into a careless slumber, or toss and turn, may give you an indication of the state of your life.
Optimal living is not about the amount of money you have, but how content you are. It is dissatisfaction with your life that makes you depressed. How much you earn matters less. So ask yourself, are you content with your life, happy with your relationships with family and friends, and satisfied that you have secured your future?
Putting Yourself in Your Life
Your life should not control you. It is you who should control your life. Once you take control, you will be on your way to optimal living.
There will be times in your life when you will forget about your life and put other people first. This will happen, for instance when you first fall in love, or have a first child. But don’t forget that your are an individual too. Instead, place yourself in the equation too. When doing something for others, think how happy that makes you. Give attention to your yourself too.
Why is this important? When you remember how content it made you feel doing something that benefits other, you will want to do it again. One relationship will never dwindle, and that is your relationship with yourself. Optimal living means putting yourself in your life, without excluding others.
Living an optimal life is entirely in your hands. You have to manage your life and your relationships in a way that fulfill your needs and those around you.
