Do you live a Psychologically Rich Life?

1. Do you think you experience more intense positive and negative emotions?

2. Are you hardly jaded with the day-to-day life and activities?

3. Do you enjoy pushing the your boundaries and abilities?

4. Do you explore different, or novel experiences?

5. Do deep philosophical questions or complex theories excite you?

6. Would you like to/ Have you lived abroad?

7. Are you awed by nature?

If you answer YES to all these questions, then there's a good chance you are living a psychologically rich life. One may lead a happy, or meaningful life, but may lack in adventure, and possibilities. Researchers say that “Taking the psychologically rich life seriously will deepen, broaden, and, yes, enrichen our understanding of well-being,” (Newman, et al., 2020).

There are various ways to enrich your life psychologically and it doesn't always have to be a risk-taking, thrill-seeking adventure.

Psychologically enriched lives are neurologically beneficial. It is not so much about meaning making or personal growth- it's more about the zest for life. It's about being curious, being open.

So, how can you make your life more interesting? How can you seek beauty or color in everyday mundaneness? Where can you add more 'jazz' in your life? Here are some examples:

We can simply call a friend instead of a text- a call can be more personal as it allows for an emotive connection.

Collaborative work enhances the minds of those involved. It gives us the opportunity to take different perspectives, and to work with others. We learn more about ourselves, the task at hand, and the people we work with. 

Adopt a new skill, a personable skill. One that can be shared. One that helps you connect with yourself, nature, and/or others. Art, music, listening, writing, etc. Something that engages your mind, challenges it- even though subtly, and one that can engage others too.

Surround yourself with acts of altruism- need I say more?

These are some of many many ways to leading a psychologically rich life. Many of these can fill us a mix of apprehension, interest, thrill, fear, excitement, doubt...but most importantly- there has to be an element of joy.