10 Things that Will Bring You Fulfillment
Life without fulfillment can be meaningless
Many of us feel lost in the rat race. We work day and night at jobs we don’t even like; barely sleep and don’t exercise enough; our health suffers, and our bodies shut down at the end of a long day. We are unhappy. We are unfulfilled. We are stuck.
Sometimes we forget the meaning of life. It’s not about money or worldly possessions. It’s not about titles or material things either. It is all about peace, fulfillment and happiness. Certain things can bring all of us a sense of emotional and spiritual fulfillment.
Help Others, Especially Less Fortunate
Dalai Lama famously said:
“If you help others with sincere motivation and sincere concern, that will bring you more fortune, more friends, more smiles, and more success. If you forget about others’ rights and neglect others’ welfare, ultimately, you will be very lonely” — JustDharma.com.
Taking care of other people makes us feel more human, compassionate and sensitive. It reminds us we are not the only ones on this planet, and we shouldn’t be self-centred. Participating in an activity that involves altruistic motives makes us more grounded and appreciative of what we have.
There are countless ways to help others around us. We can volunteer, initiate a food drive, collect items for donation, assist someone at a free tutoring center, organize an online fundraiser — and many other ways. Even a small donation to the local charity or bringing in a few toiletries to donate to a homeless shelter can go a long way. It’s all about the intent and our willingness to take care of others.
Surround Yourself with the Right People
You won’t believe what kind of energy you attract once a negative influence if removed from your life. There is always at least one person in our friend group whose presents negatively impacts us. Deleting toxic individuals is crucial for ensuring peace and emotional stability. It doesn’t necessarily mean that person is “bad”; it merely signifies that we don’t wish to have any toxicity around us.
Surrounding yourself with those who lift you, offer support, inspire and stand by you is essential. It’s better to have one actual positive friend than five questionable ones.
Add Meaning to Everything You Do
If our life has no meaning, it frustrates us and makes us feel as if we are not doing anything valuable. But there is a way to change that: add value. Talking to your family shouldn’t be a habit — it should be a meaningful conversation allowing us to connect to the loved ones. Walking in the park with a partner isn’t a routine — it’s the precious time to establish a connection and exercise a love language. Completing tasks at work can be meaningful, too, as long as you remember how your job helps people.
Spend Quality Time with Others
Don’t connect with people due to the sense of obligation — turn every interaction into meaningful bonding time. There is no point to visit a fancy restaurant and spend the entire time staring at your phone — this is an entirely meaningless experience. Taking a walk at a park and having a deep conversation is, on the other hand, extremely valuable.
Choose quality over quantity. Prioritize your family and relationships. Remember about close friends and meaningful connections. Life is about those who matter the most.
Choose quality over quantity. Prioritize your family and relationships.
Focus on Your Emotional Needs
While caring about others is the crucial element of fulfillment, taking care of yourself is essential too. Don’t lose yourself; make sure to focus on your needs. Listen to your mind and body. Are you feeling drained after work? Put the housework aside and practice self-care: take a hot bath, meditate, read an inspiring book. Wellness and mindfulness should have a permanent residency in your life — it will help you gain a sense of fulfillment and happiness.
Start a Meaningful Project
Grow tomatoes. Draw a painting. Get a colossal puzzle. Put some effort and energy into a small project while completing it slowly and mindfully. Don’t rush — on the contrary, focus on every little detail. Learning how to enjoy little things and put meaning into them can be beneficial for your mental health.
Be Grateful
Always practice appreciation even for the smallest thing. We tend to forget how much we have and focus on what we don’t instead. It causes us to obsess over things we could potentially own (a mansion, pots of gold, a fancy car) instead of valuing what we already have. The roof over our heads, friendships and relationships, food on the table, access to clean water, hot showers, health products — and many more things we are accustomed to.
Taking things for granted is a bad policy. Being appreciative and mindful about how fortunate we are is an entirely different attitude.
Write a List of Things You Would Like to Change, and Change Them
I know, I know, you cannot merely change all that’s wrong with your life in one sitting. If you have a ton of debt, you may not be able to quit your job tomorrow and travel around the world. If there are medical bills, you may not decide to drop everything and climb Everest. There are restrictions and obligations we signed up for.
Sometimes small changes can help. For example, I am not a morning person. Waking up early makes me upset and depressed, as well as extremely unhappy. So, I opted in for working the late shift. As the result, my social life suffers a little bit during the week, but this made me much happier. I wake up well-rested, I don’t function as a zombie the entire day, and my evening schedule works perfectly.
Maybe you can make a few tweaks to your schedule too. How about adding a ten-minute yoga in the morning if you wish to exercise more? Or a twenty-minute walk during lunch? If you don’t like your job — make a list of alternative career routes and financial plans — you can make it work. What if you are unhappy in your marriage — can a marriage counsel fix your problems? In case your communication isn’t perfect — come up with a plan to work on it. If you have an education-related problem — come up with ways to resolve it.
Fixing problems and implementing changes take a lot of effort. But doing nothing won’t serve you well.
Select a Writing Exercise that Works for You
Naturally, we all like to write. Numerous writing exercises can add value to your life. Here are a few examples:
- Listing three things that went well by the end of each day. This exercise can do wonders for you! It reminds you that you did something valuable, and your day went well, even if you listed something as simple as enjoying a great coffee. Read more about this exercise here
- Bullet Journaling. This is a practice that allows you to write bullet points related to a particular topic: life, career, health, and anything else. This article gives a great insight into bullet journaling, and here you can see excellent examples.
- Describing your emotions in writing form. This practice can benefit your desire to express feelings and to ease the waterfall of emotions you’re experiencing during the day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach — you can do it your way.
The world knows many different mental health writing exercises — see this article to discover more.
Be in Tune with Yourself
You have the right to feel the way you think. You are entitled to your emotions and feelings. None of them should make you embarrassed or ashamed. If you feel something — it’s for a reason.
Avoid self-nagging for overthinking or having an emotion. Listen to your body, explore your mind and be in harmony with yourself. Even if it happens to be negative at a particular time during the day. We don’t live in Utopic: we are human beings, we feel bad sometimes too.
Avoid self-nagging for overthinking or having an emotion. Listen to your body, explore your mind and be in harmony with yourself.
The importance of self-care and mental health wellness is monumental. If you’re experiencing problems, please consider seeking help. If you are going through a crisis, please consider contacting the local crisis line. In case of an emergency, please call the emergency services.
Take care of yourself. Stay safe. Stay well.
