Ever wonder why you are feeling disconnected, hating your work, dreading going to work, and clamoring for a better quality of life?

Oh, I know, you are probably thinking, it’s the pandemic! The world has been shut down, daily routines have come to a halt, unlimited movement has been restricted and for God’s sake, people have lost loved ones! It’s a chaotic world!

Ouch! I hear you. Trust me, I’ve heard it all. I’ve felt it too. My heart aches for all of you who have experienced the loss of loved ones and feeling discontent in what seems like a crazy and chaotic world. The overall stress of the last two years has been unimaginable.

Go with me for a few moments.

I want to flip the script.

I believe you can achieve and experience quality of life despite the chaos and feelings of discontent.

What if I told you, feeling disconnected and craving for a better quality of life, existed prior to the pandemic? The pandemic is not the instigator. It is the agitator.

Stay with me.

The pandemic is simply agitating conditions that already existed and is bringing greater awareness to what was missing prior to it happening.

Let me explain.

With the hustle and struggle of day-to-day activities, you are over-stimulated, stressed and unaware of what goes on around you. You only see what’s before you. For example, your next work assignment, the next deadline, the unanswered emails, the chores, and on and on. Your focus is tied to your work, not on what’s not working in your life. All of us have the tendency to take life for granted and assume life is supposed to be a certain way. It’s an easy mindset trap. Work hard, achieve status and prestige; accumulate money and wealth; and the rest of your life will take care of itself. Your joy and happiness will come. Right? We all have been conditioned to believe it.

But reality is far from it. When your basic physiological and psychological needs go unmet, over time emotions disrupt.

Sound familiar?

Years ago, while driving my normal route to work one day, I noticed beautiful trees with fluffy, white blooms planted along the medium separating the two lanes. I literally took this route for years, but that day, it caught my attention in a way that felt new. I felt joy rush over my spirit. When I got to work, I anxiously shared my experience with a team member who live in the same area. I expressed my appreciation for the great work the County Executive was doing to beautify the roadways. She looked surprised. Her response was, “Jena those have been there for years.” Another team member chimed in and pointed out other places as well. They both were fully aware. My amusement turned to sadness. Later that evening driving home, I was overcome by emotions. I realized, I had been so busy making a living, I was not living. I was unaware of my surroundings. My work was my life. It was my aha moment. I needed to refocus and prioritize my life.

In the stillness of the pandemic, a similar impact is happening across the masses agitating existing anxieties. People are becoming more aware of the world around them and want to see and experience more beauty in their life.

The challenge is to figure out what quality of life looks like for you and how you can achieve it. It’s the same challenge that my clients face when they come to me. They have lost their identity outside their career and must rediscover who they are before they can truly create the life they want. Quality of life is different for every person, but you can achieve it and have fun discovering it for you.

To help you get started, here are 7 key elements that bring quality to your life:

1. Focus on what’s truly important in your life.
Society puts a huge focus on your career and job as measures of success and you lose sight of what’s important to you. The work culture pushes you into overdrive at a pace that forces you to choose work over your personal life. This is not sustainable. While work is important to financial well-being, it is only one aspect of well-being. Focus on other aspects that create fulfillment, sense of belonging, contribution, significance, and total well-being. I use a proprietary life tool with my clients to help them identify gaps and establish aligned priorities.