Benefits of Living with Quality

What is a Quality Life?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined quality of life as “An individual’s perception of his or her living situation, understood in a cultural context, value system and in relation to the objectives, expectations and standards of a given society”.

From this definition it can be seen that quality of life depends on what an individual considers to be a life of quality. Whereas one person may define quality of life according to wealth or satisfaction with life, another person may define it in terms of capabilities.

Another definition from the Encyclopedia Britannica states that, “Quality of life refers to the degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy life events”.

This shows that the experience an individual has in his or her own life, and the living conditions in which he or she finds himself or herself will form the opinion he will have on what quality of life he or she is living.

The basis of living a life of quality is therefore dependent of the individual’s views, perceptions and opinions and sometimes life experiences.

A disabled person may judge his life to be of a high quality, whereas a healthy person who has recently lost a job and has no means of earning income may say he is living a low quality of life.

How Quality of Life Impacts an Individual

The quality of life of a person has a whole lot of impact on the total wellbeing of that person in terms of physical and mental health, social relationships, finance etc. It affects the way a person feels, thinks, interacts with others and even affects his financial status.

Sometimes people become preoccupied and worried with little pieces of their budget. ‘Can I afford this house?’ ‘I have to tell my friends I can’t afford their asoebi because it means money.’ ‘Where am I going to be in 10 years?’ ‘Am I going to be a failure?’”

The Impact on Your Feelings

Quality of life tends to impact individuals emotionally. We hear people sometimes expressing feelings of hopelessness, fear, resentment, anger and bitterness the worst of all. Most times some people blame others for their failures and woes, and neglect to see where they might have gone wrong.

To become more positive, we have to make a conscious decision to change our thinking and accept that life will bring difficulty and negative moments. Our choice must be to live effectively within the challenging times and make the most out of any difficult situation in order to improve the way we live.