How to Improve Quality of Life as A Self-Minted Millionaire
What shapes your well-being? And ultimately your quality of life? As self-minted millionaires, the ultimate discovery is that nothing fundamentally changes when you have a lot of money. The zeros in your bank account aren’t a Limitless drug for everything. You still have relationships you need to nurture, and there’s always more to be worked on. Wealth management and the accumulation of large funds, however, have confronted you with virtually unlimited choice.
You have to embrace the fact that you’re in control of your own destiny and that you get to decide what you want from life. Chances are you have already done this in some respects if you have “made it”. Take this opportunity to find out what you really want, to discover your true authentic desires, desires that may be buried beneath a mountain of other’s choices for you.
Choose to adopt the habits of happiness. Living a luxury lifestyle is great, but often unfulfilling in the long term. By having belief, optimism, and purpose in your life, you are sure to maintain optimal serotonin levels, at least most of the time. Taking care of your health, being proactive, being yourself, maintaining your integrity, and giving back are all simple secrets to living a life of substance. Let’s take a more in-depth look at ways in which you can improve your quality of life.
Understand Wealth Is An Amplifier
Wealth is but a magnifier of your character and the personality traits you possessed before becoming wealthy.
If you are an insecure, prickly person, then wealth will most likely blow that up. If you are a giving, generous person, it could be wonderfully amplified through philanthropy and generosity. If you were happy before you got rich – a cheerful person with a strong social network of friends, and indestructible family ties, your happiness is sure to continue. However, if you weren’t, that unhappiness can grow.
Your quality of well-being, the gold grail of happiness, is far more influenced by the strength of the relationships in your life than it could ever be by income and wealth.
Active Leisure
Spending more on experiences, such as travel, rather than the collecting of material possessions can affect one’s happiness profoundly. ‘The good life’ is, in essence, better lived by doing than by having.
A Harvard Business School working paper “Time use and happiness of millionaires,” found that millionaires allocated their time virtually identically to the rest of the population, in terms of, time spent cooking, shopping, doing household chores and for leisure.
But how they spent their leisure time was radically different and accounted for greater life satisfaction and happiness. The main difference was how much more time millionaires spent doing things, such as exercising and volunteering – what the researchers called “active leisure” – while the rest spent their leisure time in passive endeavours, such as watching TV and relaxing.
Give More
Studies have proven that how money is used directly affects the spenders’ level of happiness. Spending money on other people, such as giving gifts or donating to charity has been described as prosocial behavior, with those practicing this behavior experiencing a superior sense of happiness to those who spent money on themselves.
Positive emotions and revaluations are in abundance when we give. Philanthropy and volunteering allow well-being to be defined more by having a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfilment in life. Eudaimonia – human flourishing through prosperity. You got to give to receive!
Slow Down
Make sure you’re getting the basics right. Eat healthily and get nine hours of sleep per night. Exercise every day and start meditating. If you’re in a relationship, spend more time with your spouse or partner, and perhaps consider couples therapy.
Continue working but remember to take some time off to relax too. This might not sound like slowing down, but in fact, making time for these things will help you achieve balance and improve your quality of life long-term.
Put Family First
Family is the most important element of life. Dedicating at least one hour each night of your undivided attention to your family can change everything. It may not sound like enough time, but one hour of focused time is better than three hours with your head buried in your iPhone. Put time with your family first, scheduling your professional matters around it.
Composure Is Key
When unpleasant sensations arise, we all tend to take action in an attempt to eliminate the unpleasantness swiftly. Don’t be too hasty to take action, though.
This kind of action is not only impulsive and ill-advised but hinders our ability to naturally develop the capacity to soothe ourselves when strong emotions arise without using mood-altering substances or experiences (e.g. alcohol or shopping). Don’t become dependent on these releases to deal with tension or frustration - learn to cope naturally.
Become your authentic, fully-empowered, best self, ready to live a life of affluence beyond the superficial. Enjoy health and wealth in an existence of meaning, where you cherish what’s truly important. Be content with what you have, even as you continue your wealth planning for the future.
Sending positive vibes your way.
Derek Notman
