Simple ways to improve the quality of your life. I call it the blue chip life.
Do you have preferred goods or services that you’ve used for decades? They were probably produced by blue chip companies. What does blue chip mean? Blue chip companies are well-known, established entities with a sizeable market for their quality products or services. They can survive economic downturns because they have consistent revenues, stable growth over time, and enough capital to survive hard times. (Source: Investopedia)
What makes them successful in the long term? For starters, they don’t take their value and quality for granted. They keep scanning the horizon for fluctuations and are prepared to absorb possible shocks. They know when and how to change strategic direction or downsize, taking care not to become too heavy or bureaucratic to move in a new direction. They diversify rather than keep all their eggs in one basket.
They move with the times, refreshing and tweaking their products to cater to consumer needs in different markets. Above all, they innovate and take risks. They produce new goods or services periodically. If the product doesn’t live up to expectations, they move on because they can absorb the loss. This does not stop them from continuing to innovate and taking further risks. Many entities have sunk because they have stagnated or lived off past glory instead of embracing change.
A life lesson to learn from blue chip companies is their commitment to quality. We would gain so much more from our lives if we could commit to prioritizing its quality. After all, it is the only one we have. Most prefer to float along, until their days blend together in a haze of monotony. They do this because they feel safer doing similar tasks that require little original thinking. Except studies show that this doesn’t work if we need to live a quality life.
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
Life doesn’t lend itself well to a lifetime of stiff rituals. It speaks to fear and kills creativity. It kills dreams and our spirit. Yet, millions still trudge along that road, blinded by the dust of the weary millions ahead of them. And all that time they ignore the many paths that lead off into green vistas because they keep hearing fearful whispers. Isn’t that too risky? Keep to the main road at any cost or you will get lost.
How can you turn off that hot, dusty road into a cool, green path that will lead you to a blue chip life?
Absence of noise. When the noise of others’ opinions – how life should be lived, what you should buy or not buy, how you should live your life, why you should believe in something… – is silenced, you free up much-needed time to listen to yourself. Turn away from social media and all screens. Ah, blessed silence. Finding that space within, free of distracting external noise, is the key to a better life. It is in your hands to create that niche for yourself as often as possible.
“To listen is to search for new opportunities, to seek fresh challenges. The most important book you can read is the one about yourself. It is open.” – Erling Kagge
Sit still, in silence. What do you hear? How does the experience of listening to yourself change you and your expectations of life? What does it teach you about how you want to live your life? The more you listen to yourself, the most you learn about what you want from life. You feel lighter, and the lighter you feel, the more joy you attract.
“Simply wait, be quiet, still. The world will freely offer itself to you.” – Franz Kafka
Have an experiment or two going on the side. It might be meeting a new community or interacting with people in a different field, away from your usual circles. Experiments expose you to new topics and force you to step outside your usual boundaries. The more you enjoy these little adventures, the easier it is to understand your own needs.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Get good sleep. Sleep, which is our natural right and necessity, has become scarce and disturbed because we allow many distractions to disrupt it. Train yourself to stay away from your phone at night. Better still, switch it and let everyone know that you are focusing on something every human needs to function well – sleep.
“A well spent day brings happy sleep.” – Leonardo de Vinci
Work consistently on these to see an immediate improvement in the quality of your life. It becomes even better when you start reaching out and helping others or volunteering in your community.
Does a quality life mean a problem-free life? No life is problem-free. What it does mean is that you savor life better. You make more conscious choices and as you become better at this, you control more of how you live your life.
When issues arise, as they will, you have the freedom to find solutions that best suit you rather than having someone dictate solutions to you. It minimizes fears and allows you to take risks because you understand the nature of life better. And when you take risks, life is generous. It allows you to enjoy the spoils and sit back, drinking in the green vistas, feeling the deep sense of peace that so many crave. Isn’t that worth working towards?
“The quality of life is more important than life itself.” – Alexis Carrel