The monotony of life can catch up to you quickly. Once you’ve checked all the boxes from graduating high school and college and getting a good job – it becomes a conscious effort to make life meaningful and fulfilling for yourself.

Meaning and fulfillment are not things that just happen in life. They come to fruition because of a conscious effort to do so. As I reflect on my life, there have been many opportunities where life forced me to rise to another version of myself.

I didn’t like it at first. It felt uncomfortable. It was new, but I knew I needed to change internally before my life could change externally.

As I continued to grow, it became very apparent to me that my daily habits ultimately determined the quality of my life. I had to start identifying the habits that were no longer serving me vs. those that aligned with who I wanted to become.

Well, a question remained stuck in my head: who did I want to become? I wasn’t sure then, but I knew I yearned for a better version of who I was. It wasn’t until I started taking an objective view of my life that I realized the happiest, fulfilled, and most content versions of myself all stemmed from integrating a few positive habits that naturally overflowed into other areas of my life, including – my relationships and work.

When good habits, such as a morning routine, were established – I felt a gentle flow into my day that allowed me to get into bed in the evening and say to myself, “I had a good day.”

When my day felt unfulfilling, sporadic, and all over the place – it was usually tied to how I woke up that morning. There was no flow or control, and I felt pulled by every distraction and demand. And minor stressors would influence me internally more greatly.

As the saying goes, who we are now is because of past behaviors. But who we become will come from our current behaviors.

The quickest way to improve the quality of your life

So, what’s the quickest way to improve your quality of life while cultivating the person you intend to become in the future? I’ve found from personal experience that it derives from a few essential habits:

Implementing a morning routine and continuously cultivating a worthwhile future vision for yourself.

We are creatures of habit. Our body craves them throughout the day; most of the time, we are unaware of them. Implementing a morning routine to kickstart your day takes advantage of your body’s craving for routine and habits.

Most importantly, it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Good days start with great mornings. And when you wake up with a morning routine, it has a domino effect into every other routine throughout your day—everything from making positive eating decisions to your productivity while at work.

This is what’s known as a keystone habit. As Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit, a keystone habit can reprogram other routines in your life. Thus, improving the quality of your life.

For example, starting your day off with a meditation session or exercising can give you a feeling of accomplishment, sufficient energy, and calmness heading into your busy day.

Throughout the day, you may notice how these simple morning habits can radically transform how you show up on the job, in your relationships, and even more patience for yourself and others.

Implementing positive daily habits in the morning is critical to improving the quality of your life, but if you don’t have a future vision for who you want to become, it makes it difficult for your mind to formulate a picture of how you desire to show up in the world.

In short, your mind works better if it knows where it’s going. So when you get good at picturing your future self, you’ll know how to make better decisions that align with your goals. Essentially, you will get to your goals faster if you can picture in your mind’s eye the ideal version of yourself.

Now ask yourself this question

So, ask yourself the question. What habits, mindsets, or behaviors do you need to adopt to show up as your full authentic self? How do you truly want to live?

Does it mean feeling comfortable in your own skin? Does it mean having more patience and confidence in yourself? Do you desire to travel the world more? Do you want to live financially free? Do you want to focus more of your free time on your hobbies and creative projects? Do you want to spend more time with people who share similar interests? Get specific.

These are essential questions to ask yourself to begin developing a future vision of how you truly want to show up as your full authentic self. This can turn your life into a worthwhile adventure by setting the intention of working towards something. After all, how do you put two feet on the floor in life and not have some idea of what you are working towards?

Developing a future vision for yourself is not easy work, and it’s a lifelong process. So be patient with yourself and continue asking yourself these questions.

As you develop the future vision of your life, you’ll start to identify habits and behaviors that align with who you want to become so you can meaningfully enjoy life.