been thinking a lot lately about the things that determine my 'quality of life.' contextually i am referring to the smaller things. the things that can add up and effect your general mental or emotional state. if i look at a normal day, most of it is dictated by what i am thinking and feeling from the moment i wake up till i lay back down at the end of the night. all of the decisions i make, my productivity, how i treat others and myself, the things i choose to do with my time are all based mostly on how i am feeling at any certain moment. of course there are constants such as personal and moral conviction, work ethic, responsibility etc. which should (in a perfect world) take precedent over all of this, but i am not perfect and i tend to slack off in these areas when they are being affected by outside variables. these 'small things' come in so many different forms. they are physical, emotional, spiritual, and on and on. an example of say, a physical variable, could be how often i exercise. there are times when i won't have any exercise for weeks and i will feel lazy and depressed and unmotivated all the time and then one night go on a jog or for a bike ride and all of a sudden feel like a fog has lifted. i know this seems like kind of an obvious example but exercise is usually something we mostly think of in the context of 'getting in shape.' the truth is though, when i go for a jog or a bike ride i am getting exercise which will give me more energy, it will get my blood pumping and help my body to deliver all of the right hormones i need to keep happy and in a good mental state, it will get my digestive system moving etc. it is also a good excuse to get out of the house and get some good alone/thinking time in. it is movement. you are 'out'. interacting with the outside world. it is the act of taking you off the mental couch as well as the physical. it also helps me to sleep better which has a huge effect on my day. exercise also gets your 'sexy blood' pumping which, for a single guy i could probably use less of, but i know that this is something that is very important for all of my young married friends.
using the very general example for a physical variable such as running, you can take it further and get more specific and think about how you treat your body over all. exapmles of this could be vitamins you take, how you eat and the purity of what you eat, the different drugs you depend on (caffine, nicotine, alcohol). anytime i show any kind of disrespect to my body it affects me more that just physically.
shoot, i have to go to work, i have been doing a lot of thinking about this lately though and i will be writing a lot more...
peas