**10 Secrets to a fulfilled life
**The two things you MUST do to live a fulfilled life
**Five ways food can lead to fulfillment in life
**This is the key to finding fulfillment
These are just 4 of the articles that popped up when I started researching what fulfillment really means in life and work.
The thing is, fulfillment doesn’t just happen in some number of pre-determined steps. And, as much as all of these articles are trying to be helpful, using someone else’s definition of fulfillment is also a way to ensure you will NOT be fulfilled.
Fulfillment is an inside job.
This means it is often about perspective, the choices you make, and what you learn when inevitable adversity comes to visit.
On the podcast this week, I relate the story of a man I met in Guatemala who was literally sweeping the floor of the jungle with a sort of broom made from twigs and bound together with twine. Because of my perspective, I thought about how this job is never ending, and how he must never really get to see the fruits of his labor. I made the assumption he was pretty miserable. Note, these were all MY definitions. When we stopped to chat with him, he gave us the most amazing 1000-watt smile and shared that he was clearing the area for children to play. He was neither paid to do it, nor did anyone ask him to, but by doing so, kids in his village would have more space to kick a ball.
My guess is, that guy was pretty fulfilled.
Further into my lazy-research (AKA Googling) was the plethora of definitions, the worst of which popped up first (thanks, Cambridge Dictionary): “feeling happy because you’re getting everything from life.”
uggggg
This makes it sound as if there is a place called “fulfillment” to try to get to. This is the land of the carefully crafted Instagram post; and the “I’m so Zen I’m beyond the mere mortals on this planet” look that we see splashed across magazine covers.
For instance, see the two pictures I have listed here. Both are legit me, but, in the one at the left, I'd had my hair and makeup done; I hired a professional photographer, and we specifically chose a time and place to capture the light. I am in NO WAY truly meditating, but I think I wanted to convey that in this picture. The one on the right more or less captures me rolling out of bed, but if I was being truly honest, I would probably also have had my reading glasses on as well.
What do these two pictures say about fulfillment? Not much. One is curated, one was snapped this morning. Both are me. Fulfilled? Who knows…but the woman on the left looks like she is trying AWFULLY hard to make you believe she is fulfilled.
There is no destination called fulfillment; being fulfilled is a bit like the ebb and flow of the tide. Often the best we can do is roll with it, ride the waves when they come, and shake ourselves off when we’re pummeled into the shore. It’s in the way we think about being washed up on the sand – awesome learning experience, or terrifying act of stupidity never to be repeated?
