Quality of life is a term used across industries. The focus of today’s blog is quality of life as it applies to YOU. How do you define living a healthy and comfortable life, and be able to participate in or enjoy life events?
There are many topics we avoid in and about life. Quality of life came to mind this week because 4/16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day. In preparation for this, let’s expand health decisions to include the quality of life topic!
National Healthcare Decisions Day
National Healthcare Decision Day is April 16th! The NHDD was created in 2008 by a health care lawyer, Nathan Kottkamp from Virginia to create awareness regarding advance directives and healthcare decisions.
The mission of NHDD is to create awareness regarding the importance of advanced healthcare planning by educating both the health care providers and the general public to empower them to express their health care decisions to facilitate and determine the course of action in the future. These initiatives also emphasize that these decisions should begin with an open conversation followed by contacting a suitable agent.
The National healthcare decisions day is a great initiative that urges all adults to plan ahead of a health care emergency. It’s a collective effort of organizations at the national, state, and community levels.
This collective effort is channeled to provide access to information and opportunities to make healthcare decisions and to officially file them. The focus is mainly on advanced care planning by enabling people to be proactive in expressing their wishes and respecting and implementing those decisions in case of a future incident.
2021 statistics show that up to 63% of Americans have not completed Medical Directives documentation, Think about that, only 37% of Americans have completed Medical Directives documentation. We’ve got a long way to go people 😞
Discussion About Quality of Life
When you plan for healthcare decisions, it’s helpful to broaden the planning to ask this question, “what does quality of life look like for you”? This is a powerful question to ask, especially when we get real about it.
Use the five senses as your guide to begin.
- Sight – what is visually appealing and stimulating for you (i.e. watching the birds, star gazing)?
- Touch – do you have favorite textures or the feel of the wind on your face that matters to you (i.e. soft, cozy)?
- Hearing – are there favorite sounds like music or noises that pump you up, wind you down or just say “everything is ok”?
- Smells – what are your go-to pleasant smells (i.e. essential oils, smell of freshly cut grass)?
- Tastes – special comfort foods and drinks?
Create Comfort
You are the creator of your life. All life stages represent an opportunity to check-in with yourself to ask, “what’s important to me now”? From 18-98, our wants and needs change, as does your day-to-day life!
Do you have information to help you progress through the crazy life paperwork involved with protecting your life decisions and wishes? Are you willing to jump in and do some work? If so, reach out anytime by email: Lynn@thelivingplanner.com to find how best to get you started.
Check out all my online offerings, resources, and information focused on the interconnected aspects of life: https://bit.ly/LPCourses. Tuesday, I’m holding a Live Interactive Webinar 5 Practical Tips Before Kids Leave Home Join us! https://courses.thelivingplanner.com/live-webinar/5-practical-tips-before-kids-leave-home/register
Feel free to send along any feedback about ways to make this easier for you anytime 🙂 –Lynn
“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.” Luther Burbank
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