Fulfilling Life (7 Reason & 16 Tips)
Being happy is a very personal thing and it’s completly on you if you want to have a happy life or not. In this article we want give you some simple tips to get happier and understand why your life is not that much bad you think.
16 Ways to Be Happier and Live a More Fulfilling Life
A life of regret is no life at all. Sure, we all have regrets for things we’ve done, mistakes made and opportunities lost. But if we make a conscious decision every day to minimize those regrets, we will lead a happier more fulfilling life. And hopefully those around us will as well.
These sixteen ways to live a happier more fulfilling life come from my past and present experiences from getting it right, as well as getting it wrong. They are delivered in no particular order.
Prioritize your time wisely.
As we all know, life moves at the speed of light. Time is our most precious asset. Wake up each day with a plan to accomplish something meaningful. Something you will feel good about when you turn out the light that night.
Build relationships over possessions.
You won’t be taking your possessions with you nor are they a meaningful source of lasting happiness. The relationships you build and the lives you impact will be your legacy.
Take what you can from life, but always give back.
There is nothing wrong with investing in yourself and your future. For pursuing success in all areas of your life. But one of the best ways to seek happiness is through service to others. Remember that giving time is more valuable than giving money.
Be accountable for your words and actions.
Accountability is the path to true accomplishment. Personal accountability is infectious and others in your life will follow suit. Always consider the consequences of your words and actions. Not doing so can be a fast track to regret.
Be disciplined in your personal and professional life.
Being accountable requires discipline. Discipline is the only way to discover your best personal self: the cross section between purpose, talent and effort. Discipline leads to accomplishing goals and avoiding bad decisions.
Expunge hate from your heart.
Life is too short. This too requires discipline. Hate will consume you, exhaust you and distract from the positive aspects of your life. Put your ego aside and replace it with humility.
Forgive yourself and others quickly.
We all make mistakes, hurt those we love and meander off the path of righteousness at times. The faster we forgive ourselves and others the more time and energy we have for love.
Put your family first.
Your family relies on you to be strong, to lead, mentor and provide for them. Making time for work and hobbies is important, but every now and then we need to remember that making more money or the extra round of golf can wait.
Find purpose in your life’s work.
Without purpose it’s hard to truly be passionate. And without passion it’s impossible to inspire and lead others. Living a purpose-driven life is the foundation of fulfillment and happiness. Find your purpose and pursue it relentlessly.
Chase your dreams and never quit.
As a former Navy SEAL, the never-quit attitude is ingrained in me forever. Just make sure you are pursuing the right “dreams” that will add value to your life and others. Dreams that are aligned with your purpose.
Pursue passions bigger than yourself.
If we don’t break outside our comfort zones and find pursuits that leave a positive impact on the world, we live a very small life.
Don’t hold on too tight.
I often find this very hard to do, but sometimes we just have to let go and have a little faith. There are things simply out of our control and we can drive ourselves crazy trying to contain them.
Lead by example on and off the battlefield.
We all have the opportunity to lead in our lives. At home, work, in our communities. But leadership requires consistency of character. Actions speak louder than words.
Protect those who can’t protect themselves.
This doesn’t mean we all have to grab a weapon and head down range. It can come in the form of a simple gesture. Don’t stand on the sidelines with your smart phone. Do something.
Strive to improve a little bit every day.
If we can attempt to improve ourselves even 1% each day, at the end of a year we will be 37x better than when we started. Improvement requires regular learning, feedback and reflection. But don’t forget to take action as well.
Leave no regrets on the battlefield of life.
As Tecumseh said in his poem “Death Song”:
“When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear death, so that they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”
Take a few minutes each day to reflect on how to practice these tips and see what happens!
7 Reasons Why You’re Not Satisfied
Do you wake up and hit the snooze button? Well, that’s rather normal, so don’t worry.
But if you lack the motivation to get up every morning—even after you’re all showered up and up on your feet—then it’s probably a sign. A sign that you live an unfulfilled life and that you’re not satisfied.
Most people feel confused at some point in their life, but if you feel unsatisfied and unhappy about your life on a daily basis, then it’s time to do something about it.
Maybe you feel like you’re meant for something bigger, maybe you just want to do something different with your life, or maybe you have no idea what you want, or why you feel unsatisfied.
This article will take you through 7 reasons why you might not be satisfied with your life and it will help you take a step towards a fulfilled and happy life.
You Don’t Realize You’re Wasting Time
It’s easy to say you’ll do something. Another thing is to actually do it. We have all tried to put off something for the next day and we’ve said: “I’ll do it tomorrow.” But if you do this often, then it could turn into a habit.
If you feel like you’re meant for something bigger, but you’re not moving forwards at all, then it’s time to take a look at your day and your time management. You might not even realize that you’re wasting your time.
Sometimes, people tell themselves it’s enough to get out of the door in the morning and sit at the office until they clock out.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough if you waste your time during the day. Some of the most common time stealers are Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. In other words, take a look at how much time you spend on social media every day. You’ll probably be able to tell if you have a problem.
Or maybe you plan on working on your personal projects at night or during the weekend (probably both if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur), but you end up on Netflix or only have fun with your friends and family.
If you re-examine your life, you’ll find out what you do right and wrong, and how you can make a better daily and weekly plan for yourself.
It’s not about neglecting people or only being able to do one thing. It’s about understanding yourself and your habits better.
You’ve Lost Touch with Yourself
People do different things to feel good about themselves. For some, it means going to the gym and working out.
A study made by Ceren Doğan from the Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck College, University of London shows a connection between going to the gym and people feeling good about themselves in more than one way:[1]
“Overall, it is argued that for many participants gym exercise is more than physical training; it is also training for life. Based on a thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews it is argued that gym workout is a means to create better versions of the self on mainly three levels.
First, gym participants perceive themselves to be efficient and productive in general. Second, gym training is believed to increase the control they have over their lives. Third, gym members associate their gym workout with amplified emotional resilience, believing that fitness workout makes them not only fitter in a physical sense but also fitter and better equipped in a psychological sense. “
In this case, the gym is simply an example. The point is that we all have something we do that makes us feel good and if we neglect it, then we can lose touch with ourselves and how we feel.
If you suddenly stop doing whatever you do to feel good, or it falls down on your list of priorities, then it might sneak up on you later.
You Put Too Much Pressure on Yourself
While it’s good to create a plan and be ambitious, it can also backfire if you put too much pressure on yourself.
A clear goal helps you move forward in the right direction. But if you put too much pressure on yourself to achieve it, you’ll slowly feel the drive disappear day by day.
Or maybe you have taken on too much weight on your shoulder at work and at home at the same time.
If you need to focus on an important project at work, talk to your family and let them know that you need to focus on that for the next few months, but make it clear that it won’t be forever.
If it’s the other way around, then don’t take on more than you can at work. Every work situation is different, but if it’s possible for you to not take an extra shift, work late all the time, or place yourself on a difficult project, then do it, and focus on your family for a while.
You Don’t Finish Things
Many people have ideas. Some of them are great. Some of them are not. But it’s often not about the idea itself. If you set out to do something, but don’t finish it, then it doesn’t come without a cost.
In your mind, it might just be the idea that never goes any further. In reality, it can be about so much more than you not finishing a project.
Humans are creatures of habit. If you decide to do something and then don’t manage to finish it a couple of times—it slowly turns into a habit — a bad habit. Once you start to feel like you can’t do anything, then you’ll feel unfulfilled.
The good news is, we’re able to break habits and create new ones. Take back control and finish your projects (big or small).
You Don’t Have Social Life
Human beings are social animals, we all need some sort of social life to feel happy and fulfilled.
Even if you prefer your own company in most situations, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need some sort of social life.
Maybe you’re lonely without even knowing it, but you’ve told yourself that you don’t need a partner in life because you’ve been on your own for so many years.
Or maybe you’ve never really had any good friends, so you’ve given up on meeting new people and socialising.
Either way, it’s never too late to change it. It’s true that you don’t necessary need both a partner and a good friend, but you do need someone.
No one is meant to live a completely isolated life. Put yourself out there or reach out to someone you lost touch with.
You Lack Purpose
It’s easy to wake up every morning and go to work. Well, maybe not completely easy, but we can all do it. The same way we can go out and smile, but on the inside we might not feel like smiling.
If you lack purpose, then it’s probably not something that will sneak up on you over night. It’s going to take some time for you to realize that this is why you’ve been feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
It’s going to take some time for you to realize it because you can easily live a good life on the outside and still lack purpose. You can have a good job and a great family.
This might make you feel bad about feeling unsatisfied, but you shouldn’t. Purpose is about you and it’s okay to want something that you maybe forgot about along the way.
You can always change direction and find it.
You Feel Distant
A lot of people can be present without really being present. If you’ve been feeling distant from your own life, then you get the idea. You can go to work, events and meet friends while your mind is not really there at all.
It can come from something deeper like a lack of purpose, but it might also be as simple as remembering why you do the stuff you do on a daily basis.
Peter H. Diamandis uses a self-talk technique when he feels out of funk:
“It’s going back to ‘Why do I believe this is important?‘ It’s, ‘Look how far I’ve taken it so far.’”
Use this self-talk to ask yourself the same questions about your life in general. Look at your job, your habits, and your social life etc.
This might be a wake-up call or help you find what you once saw and lost sight of.
In the end, an unfulfilled life comes down to asking yourself some tough questions and react to what you find out. Find out why you’re not satisfied with and change it.