Summary

The primary reason people feel unfulfilled is due to poorly defined goals, with money often becoming an overemphasized measure of success that overshadows true life fulfillment.

Abstract

The article emphasizes that when individuals lack clear personal goals, they often default to using money as a metric for success, which can lead to a sense of unfulfillment. It suggests that truly fulfilled individuals typically prioritize time over wealth, having made conscious decisions to forgo significant financial gains for a lifestyle that aligns with their personal values and goals. The author, Sah, advocates for a deep understanding of one's motivations, urging readers to define specific, actionable goals that reflect their true desires rather than societal pressures or undefined notions of success. By doing so, individuals can ensure that their actions are driven by their own objectives, not by external expectations or the pursuit of an arbitrary amount of money. The article encourages readers to introspect during the holidays to reassess their priorities and avoid years of living without a clear sense of purpose.

Opinions

Money should not be the primary measure of success; it often becomes a default goal in the absence of personal aspirations.
Fulfilled people often choose to sacrifice financial wealth for more time to pursue what truly matters to them.
A certain level of financial stability is necessary for freedom, but not as much as one might think.
Continuously asking "Why?" can help individuals uncover their real goals and motivations.
There is a common dissonance between people's desired lifestyle and their current actions, often due to undefined goals.
Time is an irreplaceable resource, and spending it in pursuit of poorly defined goals can lead to a life of unfulfillment.
Specific and actionable goals are crucial for personal accountability and to ensure forward progress.
Without clear goals, individuals risk moving aimlessly or in directions that do not serve their true interests.
Taking time to reevaluate one's goals can prevent years of living without fulfillment.

Poorly Defined Goals Are The #1 Reason People Feel Unfulfilled

And money is the biggest culprit.

Money becomes the default measure of success when you don’t know what you want.

It’s the most basic way we keep score in modern life, and honestly, this tool ends up becoming the goal and ruining any semblance of the happy life you could have.

And look, think about the times you see someone who’s figured it out, seriously have a think — they usually aren’t rich, right?

In fact, from personal experience, the fulfilled people I see have all made a conscious choice at some stage of their life to give up significant chunks of money for more time.

And you might say, “Sah, I don’t want money to buy happiness; I want it to buy freedom, you know, that time thing you just mentioned.”

And look, I get it; you do need a certain amount of money to get there — but surprisingly, not a lot.

Those people realized this, not by just mentally taking a note and continuing with their career, burnout, and ever-inflating lifestyle costs, no sir — they spent the time to make it crystal clear to themselves why they were doing what they were doing.

“I want x, y, and z, and that is my northern star, not money.”

Every decision after that definition of the goal, whether it leads to success or failure, is the right decision — because what you want is now in the driver’s seat, not some unknown amount of money, status, fame, or undefined level of “success.”

And if your x, y, or z goal is to make a certain amount of money, then all of this falls apart. Trust me; I’ve been there. An excellent place to start is asking “Why?” to yourself a few times, you’ll get to the bottom of your real goal, I promise.

And when you start to get there and define these goals, you quickly realize the dissonance between them and your current lifestyle.

You might want a lifestyle involving coffee and a surf every morning, and yet you’re working 80 hour days in a corporate job so you can afford to live on a beachfront.

We both know getting there takes so much time away from just living that lifestyle right now without a made-up list of “necessities” like a beachfront house.

Time isn’t a renewable resource, ladies and gents.

Figure out a goal. Make it specific. Make it doable and actionable. Visualize it and really think, “Is what I’m doing right now being driven by that goal? Or is it being driven by pressure, routine, expectations, or a lack of having a goal?”

I’ve been there. Loose goals mean loose targets and no accountability for yourself.

And when you can’t measure if you’re moving forward or backward, it usually turns out that you’re moving sideways, diagonal, or you’ve got no direction.

So take some time over the holidays to reevaluate what’s important to you. A couple of days of considering this could save you years of being unfulfilled.

Best of luck, my friend :)

Talk soon,

Sah

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