There are all sorts of different ways of approaching everyday life, facing up against the challenges presented by the moment, and structuring our days in order to create the best possible outcomes for ourselves.
To a pretty significant degree, though, a lot of the different things that we can choose to do with our time on any given day — such as committing to a particular amount of time spent engaged in a hobby, versus creating the right circumstances to really immerse ourselves in that hobby — come down to a question of “quality” versus “quantity.”
This even relates, in many cases, to things as broad as how we treat our pets, such as whether we are interested in things like dog food for sensitive skin or just bulk-buying the most affordable products.
Here are a few reasons to emphasise quality over quantity in your life:
Because “How” We Experience Each Moment Is Often As Important As “What” We Experience
To a pretty significant degree, people are often filled with a sense of frustration and a lack of enthusiasm for the present moment, not just — or even primarily — because of “what” that moment contains, but instead because of “how” they relate to the moment and experience it.
Over the course of any given day, there are likely to be a significant number of moments that could be deeply meaningful and uplifting, if only we would stop to notice them.
Instead, however, we are often so distracted by our broader concerns that we fail to notice the small things, such as the way the morning light streams through the window.
Emphasising quality over quantity can help us to engage more mindfully and deeply with the present moment, and can lead us to appreciate the things we have much more.
Because Real Connection And Satisfaction Typically Are Not A Matter Of “More”
As human beings, a big part of what we are looking for will always be connection, meaningful relationships, and a sense of overall life satisfaction.
Since time immemorial, though, it has been widely recognized that these things do not come about through the mindset of always looking to “maximize” and acquire more.
Emphasising quality over quantity in your interpersonal relations, for example, can prevent you from wasting your time trying to carefully curate your image, and can instead get you focusing on spending more quality time with your loved ones.
Because It Is The Deepest Experiences That Will Tend To Be The Most Memorable And Uplifting
There is something great about having the sorts of life experiences that we can look back on with a sense of fondness, and can remember in rich detail.
Typically, it is our deepest experiences that end up having this effect — and the depth of those experiences often has a lot to do with their “quality,” both in terms of how we approach them, and also in terms of how in tune we are with our true passions, hopes, and values.
As a general rule, deeper experiences are more powerful and shallow ones.
