Hello future audience,

I have never written an article before and as the anxiety settles in, my ideas for an article begin to wane. Struggling to think of something meaningful to write about, I decided on a subject that will allow my readers to better understand me. So I present to you: 10 questions I ask myself everyday to improve the quality of life.

1) What are today’s goals?

This question comes first because it is the most essential question each day. Sometimes the day’s goal is just to survive, and that's okay. Setting goals each day increases your chances of having a successful day, no matter the circumstances. Typical goals I like to set for myself are also questions that you will find below.

2) Did I help somebody today?

If you are able to answer this question with a “yes” every day, then you always have a reason to feel good about yourself. This doesn’t have to be answered extravagantly by paying for someone’s college tuition (still seeking donors for myself if anyone is interested), but can be something as small as holding the door open for the person behind you, or giving a genuine compliment.

3) Was my carbon footprint as small as possible?

This is the most undervalued question of the day. The littering, lack of recycling, number of unnecessarily large trucks, etc. I see everyday gives me insight on how seriously Americans consider the protection of our environment. By the time I have grandchildren, plants may be nothing but a legend. I encourage everyone to research the problem of global climate change. It's science, not a hoax. Please take individual responsibility in keeping our home clean.

4) Did I learn something today?

I value learning as one of the most important attributes of life. In today’s age of “fake news” and “trolling” it's important to keep in touch with reality. Personally, I love science and I enjoy reading about new discoveries in physics. Learning can take many forms—learning a new skill, learning about a new friend, learning facts, etc… All learning helps keep the brain healthy, which brings me to my next question…

5) Did I live healthy?

“You are what you eat”—I never believed this when I was a child, but it's become more evident the more I've gained life experience. Eating healthy creates healthy bodies and minds. Obesity, diabetes, depression and stress can all be attributed to poor eating habits to some extent. Also in this realm, I include chemical intake. This refers to caffeine, alcohol and whatever other chemicals people flood their brains with. Try not to overload your brain with more chemicals than it can handle.

6) Did I minimize my sedentary behavior?

This strongly coincides with question #5. Exercising (or the lack of sedentary behavior) is arguably just as important as eating right. Your muscles and joints were not designed to stay in the same position without moving for hours at a time. They were designed to move! So treat your body right and move around as much as you can.

7) Did I treat all life with respect?

I want to emphasize ALL life. I've noticed a lot of humans don't look out for one another. I've also noticed that plants do. Plants actually respond favorably to life that treats them with love and they respond poorly to surrounding death and hatred. That lovely smell of freshly cut grass? That's actually a distress signal to warn other plants as well as an SOS to mutually beneficial insects that will help preserve their life. In times of natural disaster, you'll see all types of animals (the hunters and the hunted) sharing the same water source because they understand that the next life form is just as important as their own. We humans should be treating ALL forms of life with the same love and respect. Maybe the key is starting with forms of life that can't argue back to you.

8) Did I love every minute of my day as much as I could?

This is the most difficult question. In part because of the subjective definition we've given to love, but ultimately it is incredibly difficult to love everything. Hatred is fueled by hatred. Whether it's genocide, theft, bullying or any other form lacking justice, they all result from a viscous cycle of hatred. The only way to combat the negativity is to love it and to love every aspect of each day. Without the bad times, we wouldn't know what good times are. So embrace and love all of it!

9) Was my existence a benefit or a burden to the world today?

Everyone will want to answer this question with an emphatic, “Of course I'm a benefit to society!” But to be honest, there are a lot of days where I just need to escape reality and be alone with my thoughts. I'm not doing the world any harm but I'm not doing it well either. This is a question that can only be answered by the person posing the question, without judgment, and used as a reflection.

10) Did I grow today?

Continuing on the theme of reflection, this is the most important question to ask at the end of the day. Answering yes shows an increase in maturity and wisdom.

Not every question gets answered ideally at the end of the day, but that goes back to my first question: what are my goals? I know that my weaknesses are eating healthy and loving as much as possible. The next step is for me to act upon those weaknesses, so I can grow as an individual.