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Quality Of Life – Let’s Understand It Better

Table of Contents What is Quality of LifeQuality of Life and Standard of LivingFactors that Contribute to the…
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Quality of life is the term you often use to signify the goodness in life, or a good life. But have you tried to understand its deeper meaning and know what it’s all about?

If you did, then you’d probably know the ways to make your life more valuable.

Since I use this term in many of my posts, I decided to make an effort so that we can all understand it better. And in the process, I learned something that might surprise some of you.

For example, many of you might think that only affluence or richness can make your life worthy.

Do you also think so? Can money alone make your life better?

Yes, you all know that money can help a lot. But many people out there would doubt that it can provide you with real, long-term happiness.

In fact, there’s a research report that suggests wealth can make your life better to a certain level. Beyond that, the quality of life deteriorates even with the increase of wealth.

I know many of you’ll disagree, and I can understand your thoughts and feelings. After all, we attach so much of importance to money.

But you’d be more surprised to know that most of the definitions of “quality of life” completely exclude the reference of wealth!

Well, then why don’t we ourselves find out if it’s money or other things that really improve the quality of our life.

Let me remind you that we’re only trying to understand the quality of life of an individual, and not of a community or a place.

“The quality of life is determined by its activities.” ~ Aristotle

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What is Quality of Life

First, let’s understand the meaning of the term as evident through these definitions.

One dictionary defines quality of life as your personal satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with the cultural or intellectual conditions under which you live (as distinct from material comfort).

It is also defined as the general well-being of a person or society, defined in terms of health and happiness, rather than wealth.

World Health Organization (WHO) defines “Quality of Life” as an individual’s perception of his/her position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which he/she lives and in relation to his/her goals, expectations, standards and concerns.

From all the above definitions and the meaning of quality of life, you can conclude that –

a) It is not essentially related or proportional to money or wealth.

b) It is subjective and depends on your perception of life.

c) It is more about happiness and satisfaction in your life.

d) It is affected by your expectations, desires, and goals.

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e) It depends on your well-being, including health.

Making a rational inference from the above conclusions, one can say that eventually if you’re heartily happy and completely satisfied with your life, you have a high quality of life.

In other words, can you then say that the quality of life is determined by the absence of suffering in life?

This suffering can be in the form of having negative attitude or perceptions, disappointments, regrets, anxieties, stress, anger, disputes, and physical pain or ailments.

Wouldn’t you love to have such a life characterized by optimism and peace!

But then does money make no difference at all? I’d say it depends on the individual.

Some like frugal living, being minimalistic, and are content with whatever they can get with the money they possess.

There are also people who want all types of material comforts and best of facilities to make life easy, and they desire lots of money for that purpose.

Whatever be the case, I think some amount of money is essential for everybody to have goodness in life – unless of course, you renounce worldly life and become a monk or a nun!

You need money to fulfill the basic necessities of life, which are food, water, clothes, and shelter.

The modern basic human needs are not limited to these and extend to health care, access to education, employment, and freedom.

According to World Bank, people deprived of any of the above basic needs are said to live in poverty and have a low quality of life.

To assess your life in terms of money and related factors, you can use the concept of “Standard of Living”.

woman practicing wellness yoga for better life

Quality of Life and Standard of Living

Perhaps some of you might think that both these terms are similar and more or less mean the same thing.

However, there’s a big difference.

Quality of life is very subjective and intangible. It’s difficult to evaluate it in general or global terms, because its criteria vary from person to person, society to society, and culture to culture.

Your idea of having a particular quality of life might be different from my concept of making my life qualitative.

It may depend on some basic factors that you take for granted, that is, the basic freedom and rights of life and living.

Besides that, your attitude towards life, your relationships, and acceptance of life also matters.

Whereas, the standard of living is objective and it can be quantified. It denotes the level of comfort attained through necessities, material goods, and wealth.

Some of the factors that help assess the standard of living of any place are income, employment, affordability, life expectancy, leisure time, infrastructure, facilities, care, and safety.

Can we say that the standard of living is about external comfort and how easy life is, whereas, quality of life is all about internal satisfaction and how happy and peaceful you feel in life?

Ideally, it is expected that a good standard of living should mean a good quality of life. However, practically, a high standard of living may neither guarantee nor be a necessity to have a quality of life.

In other words, you can have a quality of life with or without a high standard of living.

But many people and organizations do consider the standard of living as a part of their concept of quality of life, and a life with low standard of living might not be qualitative for them.

Nevertheless, it’s not with just one aspect, rather you need to be happy and satisfied with all the aspects of your life to make it qualitative.

Social scientists have helped identify the various factors that account for and contribute to quality of life.

“The quality of life that you have is determined solely by the effort you put into giving your life value, purpose and a reason.” ~ Steven Redhead

woman enjoying quality of life with office in nature

Factors that Contribute to the Quality of Life

According to the WHO, your quality of life depends on the following aspects of your life:

1. Physical health and level of independence

2. Psychological state and spiritual level

3. Personal and social relationships

4. Environmental conditions

When you take care of and fare well in all the finer aspects of these broad categories, you’ll experience the richness in life.

Another term that closely identifies with the quality of life is wellness, which is the full integration of states of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

If you wish to have wellness in life, you should read my detailed post about easy ways to achieve wellness, where I’ve discussed about how you can achieve emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, occupational, social, spiritual, and financial wellness.

Well-being in turn is defined as a contented state of being happy, healthy, and prosperous.

Further adding to the factors that contribute to the quality of life are moods and emotions, happiness, and life satisfaction of the individual as described by the concept of subjective well-being (SWB).

Though a qualitative life is concerned with happiness and health, but it does not entirely depend on prosperity.

Do you think all wealthy and prosperous people enjoy quality of life? No, it doesn’t always happen so.

It’s the control over your mind and body, that mainly helps you avoid all the sufferings and makes your life worthwhile. You can take the help of money and comfort to achieve that, but you can also do without.

This is evident through the widely used comprehensive scale of the good life called the self-perceived quality of life scale (SPQL), which helps monitor the quality of life by taking into account the individual’s well-being, emotions, and physical and mental health.

“Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” ~ Mihaly

This knowledge of the meaning and factors of the quality of life will help you understand how to improve your life.

Life nowadays has become too hectic, busy, stressful, and boring for most people, isn’t it?

Well, except the life getting boring, the rest applies to me too – and that means I need to make efforts to improve the quality of my life. 🙂

What would I want so that my life becomes better?

I’d like to have more time to spend with my family, time for myself, less stress, and a full night’s sleep every day! I’m sure most of my other blogging friends would want all of this too. 🙂

Blogging or your work may earn you money, and money can buy you comfort, but there is something that money can’t buy.

What is that – you might ask! Well, money cannot bring you long-term happiness and peace of mind, which are needed to make your life worthwhile.

The quality of your life depends on your physical and mental health, happiness, well-being, relationships, work, personal constitution and the environment.

In one of my future posts, I’ll be writing about the ways to improve your quality of life – so stay tuned for that!

Till then, try to be happy and satisfied with life to enjoy it. 🙂

Over to You –

What is your concept of quality of life? What place do money and standard of living hold in your life? Share in the comments.

 

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos

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  1. The quality of life is the effect that an individual’s life has on their physical and mental health. Factors that contribute to the quality of life are: happiness, health, and social relationships.

    Quality of Life is a broad term that can be defined in many different ways. Quality of Life can be measured by factors such as happiness, health, and social relationships. The quality of life also depends on the individual’s perception of their own lives.

    The quality of life for most people is not determined by just one factor; rather it is a combination of many factors that contribute to each other like you rightly explained.

    Thanks

  2. I really like the way you ask your readers at the end of every post to share their views. I am also planning to do something like that on my blog.

    I think money does not play very important role in quality of life, however its role is substantial in Standard of living.

    I would like to cite an example of Bhutan, the country known to have pioneered the concept of Gross National Happiness. Bhutan actually calculates the quality of life index while other countries have indicators like GDP/GNP to measure the standard of living.Also, as we all know it is one of the poorest country but yet the quality of life is amazing there.

    See India, Very competing GDP but then where is quality and I don’t think there is also enough standard of living(As calculated by GNP). Also, if it is there at least it is not reflected.

    Just to add, Bhutan recently discontinued this indicator with the advent of Tshering Tobgay, newly elected PM who is more focused towards development of Industries and manufacturing units. But, the fact that how western world remain intrigued by this concept of GNH (Gross National Happiness) can’t be ignored.

  3. Hello Ms. Harleena

    What an interesting subject; the quality of life.

    I read the comments and it’s so amazing how many look at the quality of life without money in the equation. Money is needed, but our quality of life is NOT based on money.

    I have known many people with a lot of money, but they were very unhappy due to the illness in their bodies. Money cannot buy our happiness or our health. It is needed because we are to take care of our livelihood, but our joy and freedom is the quality of life I am enjoying.
    I am not considered a wealthy person when it comes to money, but I am considered wealthy when it comes to contentment and compassion for others.

    Thank you for this great article that inspires us to think deeper.

    Gladys

  4. Hi Harleena,

    In your next article, when you discuss ways to improve your quality of life, you might want to include reading Aha-Now. Your articles always cover ways that we can improve our quality of life.

    You bring up so many fascinating points, Harleena. Millionaires might be miserable and those living in poverty may be serene. It’s not how much you have, it’s how much you enjoy what you have. The World Bank point about having enough to subsist is a good one. After that, it’s all a bonus.

    Experiences and relationships are what bring true joy, not material objects. Yet so often our quest is for more money and more stuff.

    One of my favorite movies is A Simple Plan. It’s about a couple who comes across a lot of money and they think that will help make them happy. But when the money goes away and they have to return to their lives they had before they are no longer satisfied with what brought them joy previously.

    Thanks for sharing this wealth of information with us, Harleena. Such an important topic!

  5. Hey Harleena,

    My Entire concept of “quality of life” has dramatically changed after watching the movie “In-time” with “Justin Timberlake”,
    it opened my eyes to a simple concept we are living, “you do not pay for things with money, you pay with the time of your life you are wasting working and doing things you don’t enjoy”. That’s quality of life, how much is your time and life worth. How many years of your life are you wasting to afford whatever you think it is worth it!!

    Many thanks and Best wishes!

  6. I love this, Harleena.

    I can honestly (and gratefully) say, while my standard of living would be meager in anyone’s eyes, my quality of life is through the roof.

    It would be easy to write a litany about how much I don’t have in the way of standard of living, but that would be to the detriment of my quality of life. Those closest to me are aware of my circumstances, but I don’t harp on them because it doesn’t do me a whit of good.

    Keeping a positive frame of mind, maintaining a peaceful existence, and enjoying life and what it has to offer to the best of my ability is what matters most.

    Peace. ~Ellen

  7. Harleena, your posts are simply irresistible anytime. This is another great post that demands some form of brain storming.

    Yes, money is good and cannot be wished away. It is needed to afford the basic things of life. However, we must all know that money cannot buy everything, otherwise the billionaires of this world would never die.

    Money can contribute to happiness to an extent; but money can never give you joy and peace. These two are God’s gift and there is no way you can create them artificially.

    I have come to realize that those who have money never get satisfied, and they even have more security concerns than the average person. The rich want more money and in the process they get more and more dissatisfied with what they have; that in itself eventually affects their quality of life negatively.

    A lot of things combine to give you a better quality of life – physical health, intellectual life, social health, spiritual state, family disposition, etc. So a rich man could be having severe distress in his immediate family and that could negatively affect his quality of life.

    If one has enough money but no quality education, he is going to feel inadequate in the midst of his contemporaries. That is also a problem in itself. If you have the money but you don’t know how to live a philanthropic life, the feeling of guilt and inadequacy would still exist.

    Like you rightly said, a lot of parameters are used to measure the quality of life. The quality of life is subjective; meaning that if we chose to be satisfied with what we have our life would be more meaningful to us. But if we see life as a place of competition and we covet everything around, life would never be satisfactory.

    Once we can afford the basic necessities of life, we should be truly satisfied with ourselves and be grateful to God for the privilege. Every other thing we get in addition should be seen as mere addition that we can even give out to those in need.

    What brings satisfaction in life is our ability to be grateful to God for the little we have and keep believing in him to improve our lives in whichever ways he deems fit.

    Thanks Harleena! God bless you for this piece. Do have a wonderful day.

  8. Excellent points, Harleena!

    I’ve never been one to equate wealth with happiness, (probably because I’ve never been wealthy) and have very little interest in material things, but, I do like to travel and would be less happy if we couldn’t ever do that, so, yes, in some respects, money CAN contribute to one’s overall quality of life. On the other hand, we don’t even have a flat screen TV. 😉 It’s all a matter of priorities and perspective.

    Every individual has their own take on what makes them happy and content. Personally, I find conspicuous consumption, (huge mansions, ornate furnishings, super stretch limousines etc.), totally vulgar and distasteful, not to mention, bad for the global environment. Think, how many valuable resources are wasted when smaller would do just as well! Pardon my rant – pet peeve. 🙂

  9. Hello Mam,

    This is really another brilliant read for the new week, I am of the opinion of the quality of life having to do with; how healthy how wealthy how comfortably and how much are you contributing.

    I have to personally agree with all your points in this article but has just aired and concluded my view on how I measure up quality of life.

    Thanks for sharing Mam, do have a splendid week too.

  10. Great topic Harleena!

    The way I see it is that if we don’t have our health, how the heck can we enjoy money? Also our psychological health. It brings to mind some of “famous movie stars and singers” that die early. They have received tons of money from their efforts, but whatever happens, they might commit suicide or overdose or become ill.

    Also, “money can’t buy you love.” Love is the essence of the human condition. That’s what we are here for right? All the money in the world cannot create love.

    Now don’t get me wrong, I like money as much as the next guy. I think it improves living conditions. Plus, the more you have, the more you can give. It is a good thing.

    But…without our physical, mental, and emotional health, it’s not worth a thing.

    -Donna

  11. The concept of quality of life & quality of living are often confused for the other. The quality of life is not measured in affluence or wealth, i blame our society for it, we have redefined success as the physical things we can see & touch, the things we can show for it rather than what makes us who we are, the quality & morals in us.

    A man could own all the wealth in life and still have a low quality of life, for me health comes first in my table, good health & education, my spiritual consciousness and family are what makes up my ow quality of life.

  12. Quality of life is very important to live healthy life. But I think to maintain a standard life, we need money. Although money is not everything, yet its important to live a good life. But excess of money is too bad. I never thought deeply as you mentioned in the article. Life doesn’t mean just to live with ownself, its important to enjoy with family, relatives, neighbor.

    Anyway have a superb day 🙂

  13. Hi Harleena,

    This was an excellent post, indeed and I could resonate with so much of what you wrote.

    My own personal perspective on quality of life is that more money doesn’t really improve it. Quality of life for me is internal happiness with our lives, our relationships, good health etc. Unfortunately, we can have excessive amounts of money and still be deeply unhappy inside. Hence, we will have a poor quality of life.

    Have a wonderful week ahead, Harleena!

  14. Interesting perspective, never thought about it like that. It all depends on what you want and what your aims are. Some people are just happy what they have while some are aiming for higher. You are right, money can’t buy everything but it does pay the bills and seem to buy nearly everything other than health, love etc.
    That’s what most people are after these days.
    Great post Harleena and something to think about.

  15. Hi Harleena,

    Wonderful points here.

    I feel quality of life is being happy with what you have.

    If you would also be happy with more, go for it.

    But in getting stuff focus your attention on the giving to let the getting happen more effortlessly.

    This creates peace of mind and a higher quality of life.

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hi Ryan,

      Welcome back to my blog!

      I very much agree with you – being happy and content with what you have surely enhances your quality of life.

      Very important point you contribute here is that you need to make giving too a part of your life.

      Giving gives you real happiness and creates a peace of mind that increase the quality of life. Well said!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wise thoughts and views. I appreciate it. 🙂

      Have a great week ahead!

  16. Hi Harleena…..I like your blog, just read a few posts and would be reading more.

    Thanks for writing your experiences about blogging…they have boosted my confidence.

    No doubt health, family, relationships, happiness and leisure are important but money is the only medium to enjoy all these blessings. So to put it succinctly money and health are the two components that make life better and worth living.

    1. Hi Balroop,

      Welcome to my blog!

      I’m glad you like the blog and I hope you’ll keep enjoying it.

      I accept your viewpoint that money and health do make up for your quality of life. It’s interesting how you put it, but yes we can take money as a medium to enjoy all the blessings in life.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your important thoughts and views. Have a great week ahead! 🙂

  17. hahaha! Finally I am here, in Harleena blog. Now, I see what I have missed. I am that stubborn but I should be here earlier.

    I love your style of writing and I am going to start sleeping on your Love & Relationship section. That’s one aspect of my life that needs a gradual fix.

    Thanks for your lovely article Harleena 🙂

    1. Hi Nosa,

      Welcome to my blog!

      I’m glad you like this post and my writing. I’m happy that you find rest of the articles too as helpful and worthy.

      Have a great time on my blog and also in your life.

      Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it. 🙂

  18. Hi Harleena,

    I have visited your site couple of times before. But this is the first time i read your entire post and i liked it very much. I think, You write from your heart. The indepth outlook that you have shown in this article, impressed me a lot.

    I am eager to read your post on ways to enhance quality of life.

    Thanks 🙂

    1. Hi Ashish,

      Welcome to my blog!

      I’m glad you like this post and that you commented too.

      Yes, this was an issue very close to my heart, and I wanted to vent out my thoughts and feelings on this topic for a long time.

      I’ll come up with a follow up post and I hope you stay tuned.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a great rest of the week! 🙂

  19. Quality of life has different meanings to everyone. I don’t look at quality of life in relation to having wealth, but I do relate it to being financially independent. To mean that is knowing I have enough saved for retirement.

    Quality of life to me is having your health. If you have your health you have it all. Having health issues in the past, I would say this is the most important to me.

    I enjoyed your story.

    1. Hi Arleen,

      Nice to know your personal meaning of quality of life. It’s health and not wealth that really makes your life worthwhile.

      I accept your point that you should have that much of money that makes you independent financially so that you live life well for the rest of your life.

      Health is the best wealth you can have, right?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your personal thoughts and views. I appreciate your contribution. Have a great rest of the week ahead! 🙂

  20. Thanks for striking the difference between these often misunderstood states of life. Truth is, now I’m fed with real knowledge of these 2.

    Yes, in most societies, quality of life is taken to mean how much materials you have or how ‘fat’ is ones bank account. Truth is, the more money one has, the more exposed he/she becomes – often traveling exposes one to more dangers (accidents, AIDs and other infections,etc), living in constant fear of being robbed (that’s why poor people don’t have personal guards), etc

    One can still live a low quality of life in affluence. Peace of mind and internal satisfaction are most important for long life. Yes, one needs money for health care and education but a certain quantity of it can do.

    Always coming up with well researched articles Harleena. That’s what makes your articles sticky.

    Have a wonderful weekend there

    1. Hi Enstine,

      Yes, quality of life and standard of living are two different concepts, and people need to know the difference to plan their life in a better way.

      How ignorant and novice we make ourselves by treating money as the source of permanent happiness. If only material things and big bank balance were to make you happy, every rich person would never be sad or suffer from misery.

      You’re right that money brings with itself the miseries of life – its a fake quality of life if it isn’t made up with peace of mine and internal satisfaction.

      Money does take care of our basic needs, but we need to get our basics right to be happy in life.

      I’m glad you like the post and I thank you for stopping by and sharing your wonderful thoughts and views.

      Have a wonderful week ahead! 🙂

  21. Hi Harleena, great topic 🙂

    For me it is HEALTH – You cannot do a lot of things if you don’t have your health. I learned this years ago when I had Lyme Disease and ended up in a hospital with meningitis.

    Life really stopped for me for a while. Sometimes when I’m driving faster than I should to work I think back and slow down. As for money, it’s not everything but if you can have enough to not worry about paying the bills that adds to quality of life. One really needs to like what they do to make money so they can enjoy the hours spent on it which are more for most than spending time with family (sad but true)… I used to say I wanted to live to 100 but if I lived to 99 with health and happiness that would be better. Have a great weekend Harleena.

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Wise choice and a great reasoning – you can’t enjoy money if you don’t have a good health! It’s so elementary, isn’t it?

      I’m glad you’re through the ordeal of diseases and that you learned this important lesson of life.

      Modern life is a fast-track life and people forget to slow down; we want to achieve so much in less time, and we think that we make the best of time by converting every moment into work that earns money. Whereas, we also need to have rest for a healthy living.

      I certainly attest your point that you need to have money with which you can pay the bills to have a quality of life. And another great pointer is that we should try to choose a career that involves doing what we love to do, or simply like whatever you do, whether you chose it or not.

      You’re right that we spend more time in office or working to earn money than at home with our family. The quality of life certainly increases if you spend more time having healthy relationships and having a good health. I agree – health and happiness enhance the quality of your life.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your life experiences and the important lessons of life. Enjoy the rest of the week ahead! 🙂

  22. Great work Harleena,

    Yea, money, good health, peace of mind and the many other factors you mentioned above are all the things that makes up a quality life.

    And like you also mentioned, anyone that rejects money has certainly renounced worldly life, and it’s not easy to do so.

    Everyone wants money because, its plays a huge role in life and without it, life itself becomes so boring that you will even start wondering if you were created by the same God that created others.

    And yes, I so much believe with that quote you mentioned above “The quality of life that you have is determined solely by the effort you put into giving your life value, purpose and a reason” its so true and I can’t agree more.

    So, we all have to put more efforts in whatever we’re doing in order to ensure a quality life for ourselves and family :).

    Thanks for sharing my good friend and, have a lovely weekend :).

    1. Hi Theodore,

      I’m glad you like the post. You’re right, quality of life is a mixture of many ingredients. And, money is one of them.

      Now, different people have different recipes to make the same dish – and that’s happiness! Some use more of money, while some feel that its quantity should be less.

      But if you don’t at all put the ingredient of “money”, it could turn out to be a tasteless dish apt only for a renounced person or a hermit!

      And, you’re right that its not easy to live that way. The easiest way is to have money in your life.

      Yes, your quality of life so much depends on your purpose of life and the reason for which you live and work. Believe me or not, your life values make a more powerful ingredient in your dish of happiness than money.

      You can also equate money with sugar – just as too much of sugar can cause you diabetes or obesity, too much of money can also cause you stress and bring a bunch of diseases if you can’t control yourself.

      We do need to make efforts to be happy, and happiness is always a choice that we’ve in our hands.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts and views. I appreciate it. Have a great rest of the week ahead! 🙂

  23. Hello Harleena,

    Wow, this is a very moving post.

    I can definitely see why money would play an important role in defining ones quality of life.

    For me personally it’s doesn’t play a part in mine. I base my quality of life on my health, family relationships, and spirituality.

    Of course we do have to have money in order to get the things we need to survive but I never was one for material things. My husband likes that because he says he saves a lot of money on jewelry, LOL.

    Thank you for putting this post together. It was also great to read everyone else’ point of view on this subject.

    Hope you’re having a great week my friend! We’re almost at the weekend but lucky for you, you get there first LOL :).

    1. Hi Corina,

      It’s so important to have the right perspective about money and what it can do to enhance the quality of our life. As we learn from the experiences and views of all the commenters on this post, money helps only to a certain limit.

      The real happiness comes, as you suggest, from health and family relationships, and if you’ve spiritual inclination and incorporate spirituality in your daily life, you really have a happy life at hand!

      Each one to own, I guess. Yes, we need money to survive, but then accumulation doesn’t always help. Back here in India, people invest heavily in gold jewelry, and I think its the biggest importer of gold after China.

      I’m glad you like the post, and yes it’s always interesting to know the views of people living in different situations at different places on the same issue.

      Thanks for stopping by and sorry that this reply comes a bit late to you. It’s almost another weekend, and my best wishes for it to you in advance. 🙂

  24. Hi Harleena,

    So most people think that “quality of life” has to do with wealth. I’ve shared with you in previous comments about my old boss and how wealthy he was but how unhappy he was. Money does NOT buy happiness and not only was he miserable but he had a lot of health issues as well.

    To me, quality of life means happy, healthy and thrilled with your life. I mean if you’re happy and healthy then to me the rest just will naturally fall into place. I’m a firm believer in that so I’m sure everyone has their own definitions of that but that’s what it means to me.

    Being financially free would just add a relief to things. Never having to worry about money would be wonderful but I’m not wealthy now yet I’m extremely happy. Money has never been an issue with me, it’s just part of life. I think as long as I have a roof over my head, food to eat and the basics I’m doing fabulously. I really seriously do not need more. Having more is good don’t get me wrong and I do have more but it’s not what makes me happy.

    You also have a point about our environment and our freedom, all those other things that we take for granted. I know that I probably do because it’s all I’ve ever know. I have no intention though of moving someplace where my freedom is taken from me and I also have a wonderful family that I think if my environment would be taken from me too I would still be okay.

    It’s good to hear what others think about this topic and it’s obvious we don’t all agree that it’s the same thing. That’s okay, I know what it means for me so I appreciate you sharing this with us as always. Great job Harleena.

    Enjoy your weekend.

    ~Adrienne

    1. Hi Adrienne,

      It comes as no surprise to me that most people tend to associate happiness with money! You can say that the sole reason for writing this post was to let people know that money is not everything, and you need to attend to other priorities in life too.

      Of course, you need money for your basic necessities and financial security or freedom. But as evident from the example of your ex-boss, too much of money doesn’t guaranty you of peace and happiness forever!

      You got an excellent pointer here – you’re happy if you’re thrilled with your life. And that’s when you feel at the top of the world. If I were to put your suggestion into a formula, it should become; quality of life = happy + healthy + life satisfaction, right?

      Yes, I’m sure when you’ve these basics, the rest will fall into place, and it could work for anyone. I’m impressed with your thoughts about life and living. Everyone needs to have this attitude. Work for money and have your basic needs fulfilled and save for a rainy day too. But what you say in the end really makes sense – it’s not what makes you happy.

      Oh yes, we all take our freedom for granted. We can’t even imagine living in the past or in any country or area where freedom was restricted – in those conditions, even if you had all the money, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. Freedom and a conducive and healthy environment plays an important role in deciding our quality of life.

      We all may not agree on the means, but the aim of life is to be happy. It’s always good to have diverse thoughts and views and that makes the discussion all the more interesting. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and pouring your valuable thoughts and ideas. I really appreciate it. Do have a great rest of the week! 🙂

  25. Hi Harleena,

    Like this quote, “Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” ~ Mihaly

    I find this very true. As for money and quality of life. You can have all the money in the bank you could ever need, but if you don’t have your health, good relationships, good moral values that money is not going to make you happy and have a good life.

    Life is about relationships. Put it this way if you were on an island all by yourself and had a pile of money, that money would do you no good. Now if you were on an island with one or more people you would be happier, because you had someone to share life with.

    Quality of life is about people and sharing life with them. Let me tell you a story, As a single mother there I sat with 3 little girls and a quarter in my pocket. I have a sister that has No children, but lots of money. She is an alcoholic. At that time and even now, I am more blessed and have a much better quality of life because I have love.

    Love the post Harleena
    Debbie

    1. Hi Debbie,

      I’m glad you like the post.

      Yes, it is a great quote. If you control your mind, and know your self, then you really find your life meaningful and purposeful, and you enjoy living it!

      I totally agree with you – if money were the sole or main criteria for a good life, then wouldn’t all the millionaires and billionaires be having a quality of life? All of them might have the physical comfort and facilities, but mental peace and happiness?

      Health, relationships, and morals – these are enough to set you sail through a good life. And that’s a great example to understand the importance of relationships.

      Thanks for sharing your truly inspiring story. You’ve demonstrated that there are things other than money which can help you lead a life of satisfaction. A remarkably courageous and wise lady you’re!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wise thoughts and rich personal life experiences. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend that’s just round the corner! 🙂

  26. Life is what you and your spouse makes out of it, it starts with good understanding of your selves. Once the understanding is there you enjoy quality life and union even when there is food on table or money in the pocket.

    Therefore, let us strive to found our union or relationship on mutual understanding rather than he/she being able to satisfy me financially and otherwise.

    1. Hi Emebu,

      Nice to have you back!

      Very true – if you and your spouse have a great mutual understanding, and a relationship built upon the foundation of love and care, you two would love each other for who you’re and not for what you’ve. And, it wouldn’t make any difference even if you don’t have anything as far as you two have each other.

      But if a person is single, then he or she should find a purpose in life and live it to enjoy life, isn’t it?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wise thoughts and words. Have a great week ahead! 🙂

  27. Money has very little to do with the quality of my life. In fact, earlier this year I quit my full time job to take a part time job making less money so I could improve the quality of my life.

    As long as I have enough to pay the bills with a little going to savings, well I don’t need much more!

    Now that I have less money and more time and energy I can focus on what’s really important to me- staying healthy, volunteering, and starting to build my work-life balance speaking and coaching business.

    Thanks so much for clarifying what quality of life really means! Understanding this concept is important to living a great life!

    Chrysta

    1. Hi Chrysta,

      Nice to have you back! Hope you’re well and enjoying your life. 🙂

      What better example could there be than your life to understand the importance of quality of life, and what is important to have such a life!

      Hats off to you taking such an important decision of life, to live a quality life. It’s remarkable how you dealt with money to create more time and space in your life to do what you really want to do that gives you more happiness and satisfaction.

      Look at the contrast and contradiction – people spend more time working so they can earn more money to lead a good life, and you decided to work less to earn less money to lead a good life. And, I’m sure it works better for you!

      I’m impressed with your philosophy, however, I understand that not everyone will have the liberty or capability to make such a move as you did.

      I too thought of having more of free time when I quit my full-time job and took up freelance writing and blogging, but I ended up in being more busy even though I operate for home, and that’s where work-life balance becomes so important to improve quality of life.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your beautiful thoughts and interesting life experiences. I’m sure they’ll help the readers a lot. Have a great weekend ahead! 🙂

  28. Hello Harleena,

    This is indeed one insightful post.

    You know, there is an old saying that goes like “the best thing in life are free”. I do believe that money is not everything, but money can play major role in once life :). But if you have money and nobody to spend it with, the money will be a waste. To me, quality of life is about good health, free mind, healthy life(understanding its meaning), lovely family…

    Thanks for the lovely post. Do have a wonderful week ahead… 🙂

    1. Hi Babanature,

      I’m glad you like the post.

      Ah.. the best things in life are indeed free… the love you’ve in your relations, the time you can use to enjoy life, good friends, your ability to make good choices, and so on!

      That’s it, you can use the free things in life to be happy and lead a life of quality. It’s of course helpful if you’ve money, but it shouldn’t make much of a difference if you’ve understanding and caring spouse and family, good friends, perfect health, broad perspective, an open mind, and an unbeatable positive attitude!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your lovely input and it makes great sense! Thanks for adding value to the post. Have a great coming weekend! 🙂

  29. Hi Harleena !

    I love the way you structure and write your articles. Anyways, life is very precious and we need to enjoy every moment of it. To enjoy every moment of life , we should be fit and we must not try too hard to earn the extra cash. Earning decent income that makes our family happy and live a good life is what we should target for. Thanks for sharing your articles with us.

    -Pramod

    1. Hi Pramod,

      I’m glad you like the way my posts are!

      Yes, if we’re fit and have free personal time, we’d be able to enjoy our life better. And yes, if you enjoy every moment, you make the most of your time.

      I know people will have their own standards and limits for “decent income” that can make their family happy. Whatever it is, you should be left with enough time for yourself and your family to lead a good life, isn’t it?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a great weekend ahead! 🙂

  30. Hi, Harleena Mam,

    No, Money is not sufficient to make our life happy and it is unable to provide quality life single handily. Yes, it can uplift our life to a certain level and can change standard of life style. It will leave you far behind in getting the satisfaction and happiness in life.

    We only get quality life when we have good health (physical and mental) and have lots of caring friends.
    What happen if I have plenty of money and I have to survive on medicines? Or I have to pay a regular visit to a doctor or hospital. Here, our money becomes worthless. Here, we need good health enjoy our wealth. Isn’t it?

    Yes, I know, people have different opinion on this topic and about happiness, money, satisfaction and quality of life. It is just because they have different parameter to measure quality life. Perhaps, money comes first for some.

    However, I do agree that money is essential and necessary to live standard life.
    In one sentence, I am in the favor of having collective life style; means I need money as well as other stuffs like health, environment, peace and happiness to make my life happy. 🙂

    Thank you for the wonderful post.
    Happy festive week. 🙂

    1. Hi Kumar,

      Oh yes, money is not the synonym of “quality life”. But yes, money is not bad and in fact, money does help a lot, but again it depends from person to person. Some people learn to be happy even with whatever little money they’ve – they learn to be content, and that’s really an art as well as a skill. But that does not mean that you stop becoming ambitious, or stop making efforts to earn more money.

      I want to say that it’s wrong to think that you can’t live a quality life if you don’t have much money. There are millions all over the world who aren’t affluent, so do they lose their right or ability to be happy, satisfied, enjoy, and to have a quality life?

      You might’ve read this popular quote before : “If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. But, if character is lost, everything is lost.” So, its not the first time that wealth comes down the order. 🙂

      Well, let’s be honest – wealth can help you pay your hospital bills when you’re sick, and may be even save your life. Money can also buy you hearing devices or even get you an artificial limb if you lost your natural one. Wealth may help, but as I wrote before, it remains as a means, and we shouldn’t treat it as an end.

      You’re right in that people have different parameters to measure the quality of life. And perhaps, have their own meanings and definitions of the terms. Your idea of a collective lifestyle is good, and that’s how it should be and you should’ve your priority laid out.

      Thanks for sharing your in-depth and wonderful thoughts and ideas about understanding quality of life. I really appreciate it. Enjoy your festive week too! 🙂

  31. Hi Harleena,

    You have always chosen great topics to write. Thank you for this interesting post.

    I would see quality of life relates to how much freedom we have in living the life that we want. Everyone is different. For instance, being able to stay home with their kids constitute great quality for some mums (or dads) but is may be the worse scenario for other parents!

    Being able to live life according to one’s highest value is what constitutes a great life. We are here to honour our authentic self. What you you reckon?

    Viola Tam – The Business Mum

    1. Hi Viola,

      I’m glad you like the post and the topic.

      Yes, your quality of life depends on your basic freedom and rights of life and living. But then, it may not be the case in some countries and cultures.

      Ah, stay or work at home mums…that’s a good example. Having the freedom to work at home surely helps them by lessening their problems and worries, and increases the quality of their life. Yes, every situation and case can be contrastingly different for different persons!

      I like your definition of a great life – being able to live life according to your highest value! Indeed, it would give you immense happiness. Oh yes, how important it is to know about our authentic or true self, and how many people really do that when they think of quality of life and about making money.

      I believe that if you truly know yourself, you don’t need anything else. You’ll be happy and you’ll live a quality life, with or without money.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wonderful thoughts. They really add value to the post.

      Have a fantastic week ahead! 🙂

  32. Yeah quality of life is definitely not “all about the money”. Which is why I advise against people making decisions based on salary alone. If you made millions staring at a brick wall for 16 hours every single day, how happy would you actually be? Not very.

    Instead of trying to focus only on one area, focus on improving in ways that intertwine all the necessary factors. Like improving your relationship with people at work.

    Take some time to slow down, and really try to enjoy each moment. Rediscover the art of cloud starting and shower singing. Reconnect with old friends.

    Just some of my ideas.. great post Harleena!

    1. Hi Ragnar,

      Yes, I’m totally with you when you say that quality of life is not all about money – it is good and necessary, but you can’t make money the backbone of your life.

      Great example, exactly – is money the means to an end, or the end in itself?

      Definitely, you need to develop all aspects of your life and take care of all the factors that affect the quality of your life.

      You’ve given a very important tip to enhance the quality of your life – slow down and enjoy each moment! You need to have time for yourself, pamper yourself, and give space, time, and opportunity to your emotions and relations to help you feel good and relaxed.

      Thanks for stopping by and contributing your wonderful and helping ideas. I appreciate them.

      Have a fabulous week ahead! 🙂

  33. My concept of quality of life?

    A world where humans live in peace, we co-exist peacefully with other species, and one in which we actually care about everything (members of our species, other species, the planet as a whole) and take action to solve problems instead of wasting time in meetings and fighting each others.

    That wouldn’t happen, would it?

    It’s a dream – a dream worth dreaming.

    My purpose is to strive towards that dream. And until I get there, I won’t have a higher quality of life (Well, that’s what I want to believe. But, my belief in possibilities says that I may be having a good quality of life right now).

    You know, sometimes I think about power. What would happen if one person were able to control the world? What would happen if he/she actually cared about this world? (Like forcing the governments to solve the problems, instead of fighting against each other). When I think about power, I think about that kind of power.

    A part of me wants to do that. I want to force the leaders of the world to take action (I believe that if we work together, we could solve a lot of our problems).

    Perhaps, I may do that 😉

    But, I do plan to use my business, to acquire power and to lobby governments to help – because those in power can make a difference, within a shorter time span (And time is everything, right?).

    Think about the amount of money governments spend on defense? We could have use all that money and resources to solve a lot of our problems – malnourishment and raise the standard of living for many in the world.

    Anyways, back to the post 😉

    I have a good standard of living – I am happy with my life, but not so happy with the world around me (then again, I can’t expect the world to work like I would want it to, right? That would be selfish).

    Anyways, thank you for sharing your insights, Harleena 🙂

    1. Hi Jeevan,

      Interesting comment from you, as always. 🙂

      It’s nice to know about your concept of quality of life. A life where there’s only love and peace, care and concern, good intents and actions. You aim for a utopia, and that’s not bad.

      That can really happen if more of us really desire that badly and will it through their thoughts and actions. To make it into a reality from a dream, you need to believe in it – believe that it’s true!

      However, you also need to adopt a practical approach, and start working from the base and have intermediate short goals to achieve. If you’re determined and passionate enough, and follow the 4D’s, you’ll surely get nearer to your dream.

      I’d suggest that if you’ve a good quality of life then don’t deny that. You can enjoy your life and also keep working to make it better.

      There’ve been many in the world who’ve wanted and tried to have all the power and exercise it to have all the control. Some did it ruthlessly and some diplomatically and politically. But some didn’t want to have power and never thought of controlling anyone, yet they ruled over the hearts and minds of millions.

      If it’s got to be one person to control the world, that person needs to posses the qualities that we generally attribute to God. Else, such a control would be short-lived, even if it’s through the ways as tried by Hitler and other dictators. When you talk of forcing governments to solve problems, you’ve live examples before you of the United States of America and the United Nations. Do you think the exercise of power in their cases have resulted in permanent violence-free solutions?

      Using your business and the wealth earned from it to help change the world is a good idea. Many companies are doing that. Some companies like Google have grown more richer and powerful than many nations in the world. Future may belong to powerful companies rather than nations as you see in some science-fiction movies.

      It’s not wrong to wish to have a greater company than Google and be more powerful than the President of the USA, but then to be able to control the world and all the countries is a bit extravagant ambitious dream.

      You’re right about how money spent elsewhere can help the needy, poor, and help raise the standard of living. But before everything else, we must learn to improve the quality of our life and be giving ourselves. If we’ve quality, then only can we offer quality to others, right?

      If you’re not happy with your environment and your relations with it, then it does affect your quality of life. It’s very important to be at peace with yourself to spread happiness, the standard of living is secondary. It’s a tool or a means, and not the end in itself.

      Leave alone the world, even desiring another person to be as you want is not easy. But you can always change and control yourself, and be as you want yourself to be by making efforts. That can be a starting point, don’t you think so?

      Thanks for sharing your big scheme of life and ideas, and how interesting that it is all related to your own self and your quality of life. 🙂

      Enjoy your week! 🙂

      1. Indeed 😀 But, people aren’t willing to believe. They dream, but not believe.

        Of course 🙂

        I think the problem is that they act in their own interest; they don’t think about our species as a whole (and they tend to believe that they are always right). But, you are right about maintaining the power.

        I do have an idea to conquer the world, but I do know that is close to impossible, and why should I try anyway? I could achieve the same goals through my a corporation (corporations these days are very powerful, and can influence the governments to do a lot of things).

        I think the present already belongs to companies – it is shocking to see how much power they really have. Take for example: Google – they probably know everything about me (okay, probably not everything, but the important details).

        Indeed 😉 But, we have to be ambitious, right? I know if I aim that high, I will at least get close (like the quote, “aim for the stars and reach the moon”, it is something like that, right? :D).

        Agreed 😀 But, I think we are spending too much money and effort into fighting against each other (I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are aliens, and they do not wish to communicate with us due to our nature). Think about it: If I was an alien, and if I happen to see what’s happening on Earth, I wouldn’t want to contact or go anywhere near that planet. Instead I would be trying to avoid them, present humans from finding me).

        Agreed. It is hard to convince people to live in harmony.

        No mention, Harleena 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts 😉 Hope you are having a good weekend!

  34. Excellent topic worth writing about, Harleena.

    For me when I think quality of life I think first and foremost about mental and physical health. As far as I’m concerned I do not see quality of life when and if those are gone.

    When mental disease started to affect my mother every word and movement it was not difficult to see that her quality of life was no more.

    On the other hand, I know that quality of life has not always anything to do with money, even though poverty will affect your quality of life as well.

    As you mentioned, it is also different from one culture to another, and what’s quality of life for one culture might not be at all for another and vice versa.

    Thank you for explaining all the facets of quality of life.

    1. Hi Sylviane,

      I’m glad you like the post and the topic.

      I can’t agree with you more – mental and physical health are and should always be the primary concern. If you lose on these aspects, then you can’t fully enjoy the other things of life. But yes, you may require money to help you maintain the mental and physical health.

      Too less money could mean poverty, and too much money can also mean more stress and less time for things in life other than what makes money for you, if you’re working and not a member of a royal family!

      Either of the extremes is not good. So, having moderate amounts of money that take care of your basic needs and a bit more so that you can save and splurge is okay. But then what matters is how you define your quality of life and how you set the order of priority of things in your life.

      I’m sorry for your mother and such sufferings do impact the quality of our life, and money doesn’t help to avoid them. Yes, it can help to lessen the pain or suffering, but then you can’t call it uplifting the quality of life, can you?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your personal thoughts and experiences. I appreciate your time and efforts. Have a great week ahead! 🙂

  35. Hi Harleena,

    Wow! A very well researched post with a lot of awesome quotes! I enjoyed this one:
    “The quality of life is determined by its activities.” ~ Aristotle

    Speaking of what place do money and standard of living hold in my life, I think after Oxygen, if anything matters the most, is money (believe it or not). I don’t think there is anything (especially where I live) you can get without money apart from Oxygen. So, money holds pretty high ground 🙂

    However, as you said, money doesn’t really define the quality of my life or yours. To me, it is a standard we all set for ourselves and if we are able to meet those standards on a daily basis, we are having a pretty awesome quality of life.

    Health, wealth, spiritual alignment, relationships with others etc. play a tremendously important role in defining that for us. The way we define our standards, drives our quality of life, I am sure you will agree.

    But I enjoyed your writing and it’s a pleasure contributing through comments here.
    Regards,
    Kumar

    1. Hi Kumar,

      I absolutely agree with you that money is an important aspect of our life. Even our daily living depends on it. If I hadn’t had money, I wouldn’t be blogging and wouldn’t have got connected to great bloggers like you.

      But for me, there are certain other things that come before money as I’ve mentioned in the couple of comments before this one, but then that’s my personal view and it’s okay to have different views.

      Of course you need money for the basic amenities, and these can vary from place to place. If it costs a lot at your place, then you need to work for that and that’s not wrong at all. There’s always a certain minimum level of wealth that you need to maintain.

      Everyone has a standard of living, and if you’re happy and satisfied with your standard, then you enjoy your life. However, if you’re emotionally, mentally, or physically disturbed, then you may not be able to enjoy your own standard or even higher standards of living. And this is when and where we realize the importance of these so called secondary factors of life.

      Aristotle could’ve said money, but he didn’t; he said your quality of life is determined by its activities. The activities that are related to and affect your thoughts, emotions, relations, and your body. Money can also be a part of it.

      I agree with you that “the way we define our standards, drives our quality of life.” Each one to his or her own standards, and definition of quality of life. But still among them, some would be less and some more happy. What makes the difference, apart from money?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your personal views and experiences – they add to the richness of the post. 🙂

      Have a fabulous week! 🙂

  36. Hi Harleena,

    Nice to be here again. I love this topic quality of life, to me the quality of life depends on three main things, Peace, Happiness and satisfaction though money plays a good role but not all the time because you may have money and not have peace or happiness so I will say you have a poor standard of living If you don’t have happiness and peace. And If you are rich and you do not help the poor, you also have poor quality of life because how you help other really matters you must and should give back to the society that made you and I must I enjoy coming here that’s why I mentioned you in my last post 🙂

    Have a nice mid week

    1. Hi Bob,

      I’d like to continue as an extension to my previous comment here that focusing on stable and long lasting things or concepts do give you stability and long-term happiness and peace.

      The funny thing with money is that it tends to take most of your time to make it, even though you know that it’s going to remain with you for a short while. And to keep it with you, you need to work more for it and give it more time. Sometimes, you even give it the time you had kept for your health, family, and relationships. In the process, you lose a vital aspect of happiness and peace.

      But if you’re satisfied with your life and have happiness and peace, you won’t miss money much. Money isn’t there forever but your thoughts, mind, understanding, attitude, emotions, body etc. are going to be there with you forever. Wouldn’t it be wise to invest your time on these permanent properties that you have?

      I agree with you that living a life devoid of happiness and peace is equivalent to having a poor standard of living, even if you have lots of money. And if you don’t give back, it’s as good as that you can’t give back, so you still remain poor!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wonderful thoughts and thanks for mentioning me in your post. I appreciate that and wish you’ve a great week ahead! 🙂

  37. The truth still remains, you can’t be talking about the quality of life without money coming into play. In the words of the wise, “Money is not everything but make sure you’ve made enough of it before making that statement”.

    If you have money, you have a voice; if you have money you rule your environment. Money brings to you some measures of fulfilment. Wether you like it or not, Money answereth all things.

    1. Hi Yemi,

      Welcome to my blog! I knew this post will have contrasting views as feedback, and that’s good because every thought and experience counts. 🙂

      You’re right that money is important and I’ve accepted that fact in the post. However, I hope you agree that it’s not the “only and foremost” factor to determine your quality of life.

      Some other things that come before money are relationships, physical health, and your own mental state. If you’ve money and neither or even any one of the other factors as mentioned above, do you think you still would have any quality of life?

      I’ve seen people living in villages who’re so happy, satisfied with their life, and they enjoy it to its bits. They say they’ve a quality of life and you can’t deny that because you can see it on their faces! Not surprisingly, one thing they don’t have much is money.

      However, the concept of quality of life varies from person to person and you cannot write off money from it. Money does give you a name, fame, and power. Yes, it does fulfill our desires and give us comfort that make us happy.

      Money is an answer to everything, but if money vanishes at my point of time, then what’ll happen to your quality of life? It’s good to speculate sometimes!

      Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your views, I appreciate them. Have a great week ahead! 🙂

    2. Yemi,

      In as much as I agree with you that money is central and should be got before being criticized, I fail to see the rationale for all things answering to money…

      You see, there are a number of things that would not answer to you, no matter the amount of money in your bank account…have you thought of those? Joy, happiness, peace, respect, self fulfillment etc. All these contribute in an unquantifiable measure to make life excellent. And the ‘bad news’? They answereth not to money!

      – Terungwa

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