The world is moving at Mach II, while life choices and options are seemingly endless. Achieving fulfillment in today’s frenetic world is more of a challenge than ever. Where do you start, how do you sustain momentum, and do you know if you have achieved fulfillment?
Maybe you’re a recent high school or college graduate who needs a plan for the big question, “what comes next?” Perhaps you’ve started a new career and wonder if you plan to move to a new job every few years or build a track record in one. Some of you may feel like your life has stagnated, and you need change. Or, perhaps you are wondering if retirement would be more fulfilling? It is my hope that this multi-part series will be start a journey to fulfillment for you.
This of course begs the question, “what is fulfillment?” In my recent book Fulfilled!, I define it as, “a critical quality that is evident when individuals are conscientiously living in accordance with a plan that brings out the best in themselves.” In essence, being all you can be!
This leads us to the inevitable question: are you fulfilled? The answer to this is both an inner barometer of truth-telling coupled with some personal criteria of success, happiness and contentment. Basically, living a fulfilled life means that you are in internal and external harmony. Our research tells us that true fulfillment isn’t just about making money, becoming a VP, or marrying the prom queen. It is achieving one’s long-term dreams, and reaching our full potential. What’s more, fulfillment is in the eyes of the beholder. What is fulfilling for Rafael Nadal, Mark Zuckerberg, or Lady Gaga will not necessarily be fulfilling for you.
To delve deeper into fulfillment, let’s take a look at an example provided within the book. Marisa is the poster child when it comes to engaging herself in her life’s work. Whether it be career or personal, she gives every ounce of energy and passion she can muster. Early on, Marisa first engaged herself in her work through raw perseverance and motivation until she achieved a position that she thought fulfilled her.
Along the way, a new challenge presented itself: stage four pancreatic cancer and given a six to nine month life sentence by her doctors. But Marisa stepped back and refocused all of her energies and created a holistic focus on one thing – survival! She applied tools from her work such as the balanced scorecard to her unitary mission. She created a winning team of supporters in all walks of life to educate and rally her. She was engaged and fully committed to conquering this next phase of her life. Through hard work, preparation, complete engagement, and a little luck, she was able to win.
From there, she engaged herself in her last, and current, means of fulfillment: helping others to overcome the same life obstacles. For the third time in her life, she engaged and committed herself to her goals.
We will explore what we can learn from Marisa’s life fulfillment experience as we progress through this series. While this story is incredible, it’s not your story. How can you cater to your individual and unique fulfillment? The first step is thinking about your life goals and where you are today along that path.